Greece has opened its highly anticipated new Acropolis museum. At the opening ceremony, the ancient country had a single message: bring back the marbles from Britain.
Columns, sculptures, and marbles are all characteristics of the Acropolis.
They attract thousands of visitors everyday, though some of them are missing.
Now, Greece is trying hard to have its message heard: the Parthenon Marbles must return to Greece.
Antonis Samaras, Greek Culture Minister, said, "The Parthenon and its marbles were victims of looting. This crime can be corrected today. The museum is the ethical power that calls them back, so they can be re-united. The marbles here are calling for the marbles in London."
In a symbolic move, Samaras placed an original fragment of a marble artifact next to the remaining plaster copy of the same piece. The original artifact is currently in the British Museum.
The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were removed from the Acropolis 200 years ago by British forces. They were later purchased by the British government and given to the British Museum.
Greece has been asking Britain to bring them back since the 1980s. But the British Museum has refused to return the pieces, saying Greece did not have a proper place to store the marbles.
Greece now claims this new museum diminishes the argument.
The new Acropolis Museum is a modern building of 25-hundred square meters with glass walls and floors.
It was built at a cost of 170 million US dollars. Visitors can enjoy the ancient masterpieces while looking at the actual Acropolis through the museum's glass walls.
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