L. Mendoni: The sculptures of the Parthenon are in the British Museum as a product of theft

“The architectural sculptures of the Parthenon are in the British Museum as a product of theft. Therefore, Greece cannot recognize any right of ownership, possession and prefecture over them,” said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, speaking earlier in parliament.

“Greece is constitutionally obliged and morally legitimized, in any appropriate way, to demand their reunification, in the name of law and moral order, in order to restore the integrity of the monument,” said Lina Mendoni, calling the 29th decision “historic.” September 2021, when UNESCO took a clear position and characterized Greece’s request as fair and legal “.

The minister referred to the sculptures of the Parthenon, during the discussion of a topical question of the MP of MERA25 Kritonas Arsenis, with which the MP requested the immediate reunification of the sculptures of Lycosura Arcadia.

“Lycosura is a very important ancient city of Arcadia. Important antiquities came to light there, including a sanctuary dedicated to Despina, daughter of Demeter and Poseidon, one of the most important goddesses of Arcadian worship. of Damofontas “, said the MP of MERA25 who pointed out that” the bodies of the huge cult statues of the sanctuary of Despina in the Museum of Lykosoura, are in the Museum of Lykosoura, while heads, hands and much more are in the Archaeological Museum of Athens “.

“Does it remind you of anything? It reminds me. It reminds me of how the Parthenon sculptures are shared between Elgin’s robberies at the British Museum and the modern Acropolis Museum and how there is this struggle by Melina Mercouri and so many people for their reunion “And this fight had achieved a lot”, said Kriton Arsenis.

According to the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, the Damofontas complex comes from the sanctuary of the great gods or goddesses, Dimitra and Despina. It was discovered in 1889-1890. It is a statuesque complex of worship statues.

“Already, from the time of the first excavation of 1889, the heads of Demeter, Artemis and Anytos, of Titan, which are together with a part of Despina’s robe and the statues of four Tritonides, which adorned the throne, were transferred. The rest of the sections, which were discovered in 1890, are in the one-room Museum of Lykosoura, and if you have visited it, you will have seen what size we are talking about. “because a series of scientific problems must be solved in order for the fragments of this unique statuette to come together, to be united, to be completed”, the Minister of Culture replied and underlined that “this research was started in 2021 by this Government and by the Ministry of Culture today, so when this is studied, then the services of the Ministry of Culture will say how and where the specifics will be exposed. sculptures “.

“Tell us a little about this how and where. Do you mean that what is in Lykosoura can go and go to the National Archaeological? What exactly do you mean? You have everything open, you have it all on the table? Tell us a little about it “How and where. We clearly ask for the reunification of the members of this burial complex”, said Mr. Arsenis.

The MP of MERA25, however, also commented on the reference of the Minister of Culture to the sculptures of the Parthenon. “Did you or did you not bring the law for the lending of antiquities abroad? Is it not your law? We were not in this Room? Did all this discussion start in 2019 or not, when Mr. Mitsotakis said that we should borrow the sculptures of the Parthenon “Recognizing the ownership of the stolen goods to the thief? Why is this the situation?

“From July 2019 until today, this Government has worked extremely systematically on the issue of the return and reunification of the Parthenon sculptures in such a way that it has contributed to the transformation of international public opinion, British public opinion, the most conservative “You obviously ignore all this,” the culture minister replied, adding that no prime minister had raised the issue as clearly as Kyriakos Mitsotakis had in November 2021 with Boris Johnson, in the most official way and in highest level of government.

Regarding Lykosoura, Lina Mendoni said that “after a century and a half, the Ministry of Culture is coming today and doing the digital representation research program to see how the fragments, which are in Lykosoura and the National Archaeological Museum, can be to be united and complemented, where necessary, in order to represent the specific statuette complex freely and as a whole in the space “.

“This complex, because it is supernatural, needs a very specific space. The Museum of Lykosoura is a small, one-room, a few square meters building and can not accommodate this. So, the Ministry of Culture together with the Municipality of Megalopolis is discussing “So when the study is completed – I repeat after a century today this study was commissioned – then the complex in the appropriate space and with the appropriate conditions will be exposed as a whole and not in fragments,” said the Minister of Culture. .

Source: AMPE