Greece and The Vatican finalised a deal on Tuesday for the return of three Parthenon sculpture fragments which have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries, AP News has reported.
The 5th century BC sculptures are mostly remnants of a 160-meter-long frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis in Athens.
One piece is the head of the horse that was pulling Athena’s chariot on the west side of the building. The others are from the head of a boy and the head of a bearded male.
The Vatican has termed the return an ecumenical “donation” to Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens and all Greece, not necessarily a state-to-state transfer.
The deal to implement the “donation” was signed during a private Vatican Museums ceremony on Tuesday.
The head of the Vatican city-state, Cardinal Fernando Vergez, was present at the signing to represent Pope Francis. Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni was also in attendance, as well as Reverend Father Emmanouil Papamikroulis representing the Archbishop.
Mendoni told Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) the donation of the Parthenon fragments was “an especially generous gesture and an example of spiritual and brotherly relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.”
Father Papamikroulis told The Associated Press the Greek Orthodox Church and Archbishop were grateful to Pope Francis for the deal.
“It has taken place at a difficult time for our country and it will hopefully provide some sense of pride and happiness. I hope this initiative is followed by others,” he said.
The Vatican’s gesture puts pressure on the British Museum to conclude a deal with Greece over the fate of its much bigger collection of Parthenon Marbles.
The British Museum has long refused to return to Greece its collection of Parthenon Marbles. Earlier this month, however, the Chair of the British Museum said the UK and Greece were working on a deal that would see his institution’s Parthenon Marbles displayed in both London and Athens.
Source: The Associated Press and Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA).
