Parthenon Temple Sculpture from Vatican Collection Returns to Hometown After 200 Years

Pope to Send Three Sculptures to Head of Greek Orthodox Church
Likely to Impact British Museum Holding 'Elgin Marbles'

One of the marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Greece, held by the Vatican Museums. Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Pope Francis will return three Parthenon temple sculptures held at the Vatican Museums to Greece.

On the 17th (local time), the Holy See issued a statement saying, "Pope Francis will send three Parthenon temple sculptures to Beatitudo Ieronymos II, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church," adding, "This is a concrete expression of the Pope's sincere desire to follow the path of truth."

Built between 447 and 432 BC, the Parthenon temple was dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, and is known as the most beautiful and magnificent structure on the Acropolis.

According to the Vatican Museums' website, these sculptures entered the Vatican in the 19th century and include the head of the fourth horse pulling Athena's chariot, the face of a boy, and the head of a bearded man.

It is not yet known when these sculptures will be sent to Greece. Although the Acropolis Museum in Athens has a Parthenon Gallery built for the Parthenon marbles, it is also undecided whether the Vatican's pieces will be placed there.

This is not the first time the Vatican Museums have returned artifacts. Last October, they returned three ancient mummies to Peru, and in 2008, one of the three sculptures being returned this time was loaned to Greece for one year. Additionally, when the Pope visited Canada last summer, indigenous groups requested the return of several artifacts held by the Vatican's Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum, raising the possibility of future returns.

Regarding the Vatican's return of sculptures, Lina Mendoni, Greece's Minister of Culture, expressed gratitude, calling it a "generous decision." She also stated that the government will continue efforts to recover the "Elgin Marbles" from the British Museum.

The "Elgin Marbles" refer to marble sculptures taken from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time.

He decided to decorate his home with the temple marbles and transported 253 pieces of Parthenon marble to Britain over ten years. Eventually, he went bankrupt due to excessive home decoration expenses and sold the marbles to the British government. These marbles are currently held by the British Museum in London.

Greece has long made significant efforts to recover the "Elgin Marbles," a representative relic of ancient Greece's Parthenon temple, from Britain.

Until now, the British government and the British Museum have maintained a firm stance that the Elgin Marbles were legally acquired with the Ottoman Empire's approval at the time of removal and therefore have no reason to be returned. However, recent reports by local Greek media have detected a shift, reporting that the Greek government is secretly discussing the return of the Parthenon Marbles (Elgin Marbles) with the British Museum.

Earlier, in January, the British daily "The Times" published an article urging the return, stating, "Times and circumstances are changing. Since the sculptures belong to Athens, they should now return there."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.