Pope Francis Orders Return Of Vatican Parthenon Sculptures To Greece

Three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon Marbles will be returned to Greece after sitting in the papal collections of the Vatican Museums for two centuries, as per a new decree from Pope Francis. 

In a statement, the Vatican announced the Pope will be handing over the artifacts to Archbishop Ieronymos II, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, as a “donation” and “a concrete sign of his sincere desire to follow in the ecumenical path of truth.” 

The Vatican’s three fragments of the Parthenon—which was completed on the Acropolis in Athens in the fifth century as a temple to the goddess Athena—include depictions of a boy’s head, a head of a horse, and a head of a bearded man. 

According to Reuters, these pieces have been held by the church since the 19th century, though the head of the boy was loaned out to Greece for a year back in 2008. 

Interestingly, the news outlet notes that the Vatican “donating” the sculptures back to Greece, instead of directly returning them, could be a move to avoid setting a precedent for the state that would potentially affect other objects in its museums. 

This is as many First Nations groups and colonized countries across the globe have been demanding that Western museums return cultural heritage artifacts and artworks that were once looted from their rightful homes. 

The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has thanked the Pope for the “generous” decision, and says it hopes the move will put pressure on the British Museum, which has been at odds with the country over the return of its share of the Parthenon Marbles. 

[via Reuters and New York Times, images via Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports]