A Piece of History

Written by Admin on October 2, 2008 – 10:11 am -

Italy has given Greece back a fragment of the Parthenon sculptures.

The 2,500-year-old marble piece, measuring 14 inches by 13, depicts part of the robe and right foot of the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. It was in a large frieze that originally stood above the entrance to the temple in Athens.

It was among the marble pieces stripped from the temple in the early 19th century. A large proportion of them were taken by Lord Elgin, the then British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, of which Greece was a part.

He sold them to the British Museum, where they reside today, despite Greece’s efforts to secure the return of what have become known as ‘The Elgin Marbles.’

The fragment given back to Greece had been in a museum in Sicily – Elgin had given it to the British Consul-General there on his way back to London. It took thirteen years of delicate negotiations by the Greek government to secure the piece on permanent loan and it’s hoped this will help in the campaign to have the Elgin Marbles returned from the British Museum.

The Greek President, Karolos Papoulias, told a news conference: “This is the first step toward healing the wound left on the holy temple by the removal of the Parthenon marbles.”

by Andy Moreton

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