Friday 21 March was day one of a two day conference, the LSE Hellenic Conference 2025.
The first session included a thought provoking discussion between Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission (2019-2024) with Spyros Economides. The Translatlantic Alliance and Europe's standing on the world stage, gave the audience plenty to reflect upon. Despite the challenges that Europe and the world face, there is hope.
BCRPM remembers Margaritis Schinas' article on the Parthenon Marbles too.
The second session of Friday's conference was aptly entitled "Debate on Greek Cultural Heritage: the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles" and was graced by three speakers, two are members of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles: Mark Stephens CBE and Victoria Hislop. Roger Michel of the IDA. The moderator was Dr Tatiana Flessa.
Dr Flessa asked the speakers to start by outlining how they had come to support this cause. Mark explained that his legal background and interests saw him working on both the return of Aboriginal remains and Nazi looted art. Meeting with others that had been involved in the Parthenon Marbles case, he too felt strongly that this was a just cause. Victoria spoke of her childhood and as a regular visitor to the British Museum in the 60's and 70's how she had sat on the fence until Boris Johnson, the then PM declared in an interview that the sculptures held in the British Museum would never be returned (March 2021). Roger Michel remembered speaking with the Greek Ambassador pre Covid and explaining that exact replicas could be the answer to this long-running debate.
Both Mark and Roger spoke at length about the legality of Lord Elgin's removal of the sculptures, not least the sale and the centuries of division. International law, British law and statutes of limitation were highlighted but Roger wanted to question why the Charities Act rather than the Museum's Act had not been used to facilitate the reunification. Dr Flessa also gathered the thoughts of both Mark and Roger regarding good title and legal transfer.
Victoria was keen to emphasise that should the Parthenon Marbles be reunited, the British Museum would not be emptied. That it was time for the British Museum to look where it was in terms of public opinion and that reuniting the Parthenon Marbles would be the best thing that it could do as an institution that also prides itself on education and research.
Mark spoke about UNESCO and the UN, the resolutions passed regarding specific objects that ought to be returned to their country of origin. On the international arena when emblematic cases where return and restitution to their countries of origin is discussed, there is the greatest support for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.
Roger quoted Castlereagh, one of the most distinguished foreign secretaries in British history, and yet it was Byron that criticised Castlereagh. Roger also added that art has its own rights.
Victoria has often imagined the day when the sculptures will finally arrive at the Acropolis Museum, declaring: "There will be great rejoicing in the whole of Greece - and a National Holiday declared. In Britain, most will not even notice or care - there won’t be weeping in the street."
BCRPM wishes to thank the organisers and especially Maria Efthymiadou.
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