On Wednesday evening, British actor, author, and director delivered a passionate speech at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, urging for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece. The event, titled In Conversation with Stephen Fry, was organized by the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization to discuss his latest book, Odyssey.
In his speech, Fry began by expressing his deep affection for his homeland. “I love my country, Shakespeare, Dickens, I love anything about Britain. However, I am capable of feeling shame because of my country, and that makes me unhappy,” he said, according to Euro2day. Acknowledging both pride and regret, he added, “Yes, I am proud of Britain because we gave the world Shakespeare and, if you like, the Beatles, among others,” while recognizing Britain’s negative influences on the world.
Fry emphasized the importance of the Parthenon Sculptures and the imperative of their reunification. “We all understand that the Sculptures belong here and must return to Greece. And we should do this so that we can be proud of something,” he stated, according to LIFO. He stressed that the matter transcends legality. “All the details about legality, about the non-existence of a firman, even if there was the firman, even if the Sublime Porte sold the Sculptures, it still doesn’t make sense because it is a matter of natural justice,” he asserted, as reported by SKAI.
Addressing concerns that returning the Sculptures might set a precedent affecting other artifacts, Fry dispelled such fears. “This is a fallacy; the return of the Sculptures is not something that will have a corresponding outcome in other similar cases,” he explained, according to Euro2day. “The British Museum is huge, and more than 90% of its objects are not on public display; they are in storage,” he stated,
Proposing a collaborative approach, Fry suggested an alternative to viewing the return as a loan. “Instead of calling it a loan, there could be a collaboration between the two museums, and that could be the label under the works,” he offered, according to Euro2day. He called for diplomatic dialogue, saying, that “the appropriate words must be found, the appropriate phrases; it is that simple.”
The event was attended by the Greek Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, who expressed gratitude for Fry’s advocacy. “Your voice, Sir Fry, has contributed decisively to strengthening this effort,” she stated, according to Proto Thema.
Professor Nikolaos Stampolidis, the General Director of the Acropolis Museum, provided an overview of the historical efforts to reclaim the Sculptures. “For the first time in the history of humanity’s ideas, Pericles, Phidias, and his workshop thought, designed, and executed something unique. Until then, all the themes in archaic and classical temples were mythological. Here they dared for the first time to give the largest temple of the city a contemporary image,” he said, according to Capital.
Stampolidis noted recent successes, such as the permanent return of the Fagan fragment from Palermo in June 2022 and fragments from the Vatican Museum in March 2023. “What we will do in 2025 is to put back in place all the pieces we have collected in the storerooms,” he said.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
