Yesterday I made my way in the crisp morning sunshine to the British Museum to gaze at the utter magnificence of the Elgin Marbles, the future of which have become a thorny topic again. In December we heard it was likely they were returning to Greece, this week they are not. The chair of the museum, George Osborne, its directors and board have been holding protracted talks with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis since last year. Now discussions are on hold — there are too many red lines on both sides.
Not surprisingly, the Greeks have long desired the return of these great treasures, once part of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple in Athens. In the recently built Acropolis Museum there are empty sections, outlining each missing sculpture. Every Greek who visits must feel suffused with nationalist anger of what is missing. And ahead of an election, and buoyed by UNESCO’s recent intervention, what Greek politician would not try to bring them home?
