Greek medal in London for Bethany Hughes and Sarah Baxter – “The Parthenon Sculptures belong to Greece”

London, Thanasis Gavos

The Golden Cross of the Order of the Euphrates of the Greek state was awarded at noon on Thursday to the famous British historian Bethany Hughes and to the distinguished British journalist Sarah Baxter, in a ceremony at the official residence of the Greek ambassador in London.

The Order of Eupoia is a Greek order of excellence and its decorations have been awarded exclusively to women since 1948.

The specific awards were awarded by Ambassador Ioannis Raptakis on behalf of the President of the Republic as a moral reward for the contribution of Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Baxter to the promotion of Greece.

Speaking to SKAI on the sidelines of the ceremony, both awardees spoke about the Greek request for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, which each of them has promoted in Britain through their field.

Asked to give her historian’s perspective on the importance of reuniting the Sculptors, classical historian, author and popular TV historical documentary host Bethany Hughes said:

“The restoration of the Parthenon Sculptures is clearly something that must happen at some point, because they are Sculptures that belong to Greece. As a historian what I see through the history of time is that we exchange goods and art and culture and often those goods travel around the world. So we should love the culture that ends up in our country, we should respect it, but also share material objects. It would be terrible for us as a human species if we didn’t. I think from the atmosphere I received today, step by step it is going in the right direction.”

Former Sunday Times deputy editor Sarah Baxter said that when she first wrote in favor of reuniting the Glyptos in the flagship British press she did so because she thought it was obvious that they should be united in Athens and that she had not even visited the Acropolis Museum.

“Later I visited Greece and was completely convinced of the arguments. It is the natural home for the Parthenon Sculptures and frankly any Brit who takes five minutes to think about it agrees. In the last few years of writing on the subject I have found that public opinion here in Britain has changed enormously on the subject and I am so grateful for that,’ Ms Baxter continued.

When asked what she thinks the British Museum means by recent statements about “agreement” or “cooperation” regarding the Parthenon Sculptures, Ms. Baxter commented that as far as the substance of such statements is concerned the Museum continues to “evade”.

“But what the British Museum is well aware of is that public pressure is really intensifying to do something about the Sculptures and that more and more polls show that the British public is interested in their return to Greece. They know they’re losing the argument, so they talk about getting some deal – we’ve heard the chairman (of the management committees) George Osborne say there’s some deal that can be done – and then they get very vague and vague. But I believe they are moving to a position where there is a diplomatic solution, where they will agree to lend the Sculptures, the Greek government will agree to accept them, not as a loan but as a (long-term) deposit (deposito), and the talks will continue until the the law in Britain changes and they find a new home back where they belong, in Greece,” added Ms. Baxter.

Regarding their award, both Bethany Hughes and Sarah Baxter stated that it is a great honor for them, thanking the Greek state.

“It is a great honor, I could not be happier that the Greek state counts me among those who have done well in art, culture and the dissemination of ideas. I’ve been working in Greece for 35 years, I love it, it’s where I take my family on vacation, it’s where I do all my research and it just reminds me that it’s a place that welcomes foreigners, that it’s the foundation of so many elements of culture us, so many great ideas. So I couldn’t be happier with this award today,” said Ms Hughes.

Awarding the medals, the Greek ambassador Mr. Raptakis pointed out that Mr. Hughes and Baxter have highlighted Greek history and culture, as well as the demand for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

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