Pope Francis has called for the return of three fragments from the 2,500-year-old Parthenon Sculptures, which have been housed by the Vatican Museum since the 19th century, to Greece.
It’s the latest move in a global campaign pushing for artifacts to be returned to their countries of origin.
One of the sculpture fragments heading back to Greece is the head of a horse, which the Vatican Museum’s website says comes from the horse that was pulling Athena’s chariot. The other two are from the head of a boy and the head of a bearded man.
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The relics will be gifted to Ieronymos II, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Vatican said Friday in a statement, calling the donation “a concrete sign of his sincere desire to follow in the ecumenical path of truth.”
The pope’s decision could place pressure on other museums, specifically those in the United Kingdom, that house even larger pieces of the sculptures.
Greece has repeatedly called for the British museums to return the artifacts, which British diplomat Lord Elgin removed when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
The U.K. has insisted the marble sculpture pieces were acquired “legally” and do not need to be returned.
While one Greek newspaper reported in early December that a deal with the British museums was close, the government has denounced the claims. The United Nations has also called on the two countries to reach a settlement.
The Culture Ministry in Greece said it welcomes the pope’s donation. The return from the British Museum is also necessary for the “reunification with those on display in the Acropolis Museum,” the ministry said. The Acropolis echoed the sentiments.
Donation of the fragments was religiously inspired and not a bilateral state-to-state return, the Vatican also clarified in its statement.
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An Italian museum also sent a fragment of the Parthenon Sculptures back to Greece at the beginning of this year, receiving a new statue and vase on loan.
“The return to Athens of this important artifact of the Parthenon goes in the direction of building a Europe of culture that has its roots in our history and in our identity,” Sicily’s councilor for cultural heritage and identity said at the time.
The piece returned to Greece is the right foot of a draped figure of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, originally located on the eastern side of a 520-foot frieze that ran around the temple.
