ATHENS (Reuters) – Britain is the rightful owner of the Parthenon marbles, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a Greek newspaper, rejecting Greece’s permanent request for the return of the 2,500-year-old sculptures.
Since independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly called for the repatriation of treasures – known in Britain as the Elgin marbles – that British diplomat Lord Elgin withdrew from the Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century, when Greece was under Ottoman rule.
But the British Museum in London has refused to return the sculptures, about half of a 160-meter frieze adorning the 5th-century BC monument, saying they were acquired by Elgin under a legal contract with the ‘Ottoman Empire and that they are part of the “shared heritage” of all.
In an interview with the newspaper Ta Nea published on Friday, Johnson, a former student of the classics very much cited in Latin and Greek, reiterated that the British Museum was the rightful owner of the marbles.
He said he understood the sentiment of many Greeks on the subject, but said Britain had a “firm and long-standing” position on sculptures. “They were legally acquired by Lord Elgin, in accordance with the laws in force at the time,” he said.
Greece’s conservative government has stepped up pressure for the return of the marbles since it took power in 2019, a campaign it said would intensify with Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, who has previously referred to Elgin as a “serial thief,” said Johnson seemed unaware of recent historical evidence showing the former envoy had not legitimately acquired the marbles.
“For Greece, the British Museum has no legitimate ownership or possession of the Sculptures,” it said in a statement.
In 2019, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he would be willing to lend important artifacts to London in exchange for exhibiting the marbles in Athens in 2021, when Greece celebrates the 200th anniversary of its independence.
Reports by Angeliki Koutantou; Edited by Paul Simao and Hugh Lawson