«Greeks, forget about the Marbles!»

With his interview in The Sydney Morning Herald the director of the British Museum is dismissing any possibility for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

In particular, a two-page tribute to, and interview with the director Neil MacGregor is contained inside the Spectrum insert, on the occasion of a lecture he is to give at the Art Gallery in Sydney for the presentation of his new book.

MacGregor, talking about the Parthenon Marbles, stresses that: «The specific artifacts make sense only when shown together, as a storyteller of human history. So, it is necessary to find the best possible way to present them to the whole world, since they cannot be reattached to the Parthenon».

As he said, the museum is willing to lend them to Greece on priority, and has already proposed this to the Greek government, receiving a negative response.

In the past, the British Museum has issued many statements clarifying that it does not intend to grant ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures to a Greek museum. When the New Acropolis Museum was launched, they had appeared «willing» to lend the sculptures, as long as the Greek government would recognize the right of ownership of the British Museum; a proposal which of course was not accepted.