“There is an artistic ‘void’ in the Parthenon that needs to be rectified,” said Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, at an event for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptors, organized by “The Parthenon Project”.

As the minister mentioned, there are two different dimensions to the Parthenon Sculptures, which are now in the British Museum, a legal and a political dimension.

“The reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures is a unique case,” he emphasized. “It is an unprecedented case. It is not like other cases of returning works of art, because we have to take into account that there is an artistic “void” in the Parthenon that needs to be corrected. It’s a matter of reunification, not a matter of return.”

“We are talking about antiquities, which are essentially indivisible. That’s the basic idea. It’s not about whether there is a constitutional right for every person to enjoy the art of ancient history or culture,” he pointed out and characteristically added:

“Reunification is today a claim of universal character and I think we all have to emphasize this parameter.”

In recent years, he said, there have been very strong arguments in favor of reuniting the Parthenon Sculptures.

“There is a large majority in terms of public opinion that supports this reunification, even within the UK.”

“It is extremely important that today we are talking about a general request for the reunification of the Glyptos. And obviously, this is logical for it to happen here in Greece or in other parts of the world. But when it happens within the UK, I think that shows that it is clearly a universal demand.”

Also, he said, “we have a series of resolutions from UNESCO, the international organization, which is the forum par excellence where cultural heritage issues are discussed.”

Thirdly, he stressed, “it is important that we have started, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, a series of returns of works of art from other world-class museums, such as the Vatican Museum or the Antonio Salinas Museum in Palermo. This reflects, precisely, the principle that cultural heritage works must be located in their place of origin.”

Finally, the foreign minister said, “the most important argument comes from the very existence of the Acropolis Museum, a work of modern art, which is undoubtedly among the most important museums worldwide. And I think that the very existence of the Acropolis Museum here in Athens calls for reunification.”

As he underlined, in recent years we have been in constructive talks with the British Museum.

“We have a mutual understanding of things and it’s important to understand each other’s position. We have these constructive conversations with openness and honesty.”

“It is important to be open and recognize the “red lines” on both sides. We are doing this together with the Minister of Culture. We have come up with some specific conditions that we can rely on in order to reach a strategic partnership. That is the larger idea of ​​what we are discussing today, a partnership that will ultimately result in the Sculptures returning to their birthplace.”

He also mentioned that there is a new government in the UK to further discuss practical issues of possible reunification. “It is not a matter for the British government to simply reach an agreement to reunite the Sculptors, but it is important that there is political support for any such agreement and we will discuss these issues.”

“There is a relative optimism regarding a possible cooperation that will include other aspects, besides the reunification of the Sculptors, which could be some partnerships regarding the preservation of antiquities, the exchange of exhibits in periodical exhibitions and other joint initiatives concerning the awareness of the ancient Greek culture”.

“Cultural goods need not have a monetary value, as long as they evoke a memory or illuminate history,” writes Geoffrey Robertson in his landmark book, Who Owns History.

“The Parthenon Sculptures are universal, but they belong here. And it is quite different to have these Sculptures here, than in a foreign museum, even a world-class one. And I understand that it was, for decades, useful to have the Sculptures in the British Museum, where one could visit them and “meet” these “evidences” of Greek antiquity. But today, with the Museum of the Acropolis of Athens, the Sculptures belong there and there they must return.”

“The visit of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum is a ‘sight’, while the visit of these Sculptures in the Acropolis Museum is a total experience, a journey into the past and a perspective on the future”, he concluded.