The Greek Current

Pope Francis returns Parthenon sculptures to Greece, turning up pressure on the British Museum

Episode Summary

Professor Angelos Chaniotis joins Thanos Davelis to discuss the significance of Pope Francis' recent decision to donate fragments of the Parthenon sculptures held by the Vatican to Greece, and looks at whether this serves as an example for the British Museum to take similar action that would finally reunite the Parthenon sculptures in Athens.

Episode Notes

Pope Francis made headlines this week with his decision to return to Greece fragments of the Parthenon sculptures that the Vatican has held in its museum. This, along with recent reports of negotiations between Greece and Britain over the return of the Parthenon sculptures, has once again put this issue in the spotlight. Angelos Chaniotis, a professor of ancient history and Classics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, joins me to discuss the significance of this decision by Pope Francis, assess whether ongoing talks are moving the issue of the return of the Parthenon sculptures closer to the finish line, and look at what can be done to break the decades-long deadlock with the British Museum.

Read Prof. Angelos Chaniotis’ latest in Kathimerini: The Parthenon Sculptures. Now what?

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:

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