Acropolis Museum Director: “The Parthenon Sculptures Are Pieces of One Body”
Greece renewed its call for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures on Thursday, as the Acropolis Museum marked its 17th anniversary. Museum director Nikolaos Stampolidis went on state radio ERT with a pointed message for Britain and every other institution holding pieces of the Parthenon.
"The Parthenon Sculptures are pieces of one body, and the body is asking for them back," Stampolidis said, adding that the appeal was not just for Greece but for all of humanity and for how culture and human relationships should function.
"The Parthenon Sculptures are pieces of one body, and the body is asking for them back" — Stampolidis
His remarks were addressed to the British and to anyone else currently holding sculptures from the ancient monument. The pieces were removed from the Parthenon in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin and have been housed primarily in the British Museum ever since. British officials have long maintained that the museum legally acquired the artifacts.
Stampolidis described the Acropolis Museum, which opened in 2009 at the foot of the ancient citadel in central Athens, as the natural home for protecting and presenting the works of the Parthenon. He called it "a living cell" whose connection to the Acropolis gives it a reflection of eternity not easily found in any other museum in the world.
The museum has served as the centerpiece of Greece's reunification campaign since its opening. Greece has consistently argued that the sculptures were taken illegally and that the full collection can only be properly experienced and understood when seen together in Athens.
