We are still pinching ourselves with excitement over the news. Athens Acropolis Museum Director Demetrios Pantermalis was quoted by the Greek media as saying on Thursday that Greece is getting set to begin talks with officials of the British Museum on the return of some of the Parthenon marbles that were stolen by a British diplomat, Lord Elgin, between 1801-12. Agence-France-Presse said in one report that the pieces expected to be returned include hands, heads and legs of sculptures.
The British Museum has long refused to discuss the return of the marbles. At first they said Greece did not have a proper museum to store them in, and then after the Acropolis Museum opened in 2009 the UK Museum even had the audacity to argue that they no longer belonged to Greece!
Only an idiot would believe that...
Everyone knows that Lord Elgin removed about half the marble friezes from the GREEK Parthenon while Greece was under Ottoman rule. This basically means that Britian never received the consent of Greece to remove them, but rather the consent of Turkey!
But let us not get our hopes up folks, the proposal has only been accepted in principle and discussions are set to begin in autumn. Pantermalis, on the other hand is very optimistic and says that the return of at least some parts of the marbles is the key which could eventually lead to the return of all our marbles. Let us hope he is right!
Here is one campaign that can unite all Hellenes, worldwide.
Our hope here at hellasfrappe is that the Greek community in England will rally hard and LOUD for their return.
BRING THEM BACK HOME!
Article in Greek - iefimerida
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