Athens angry with British Museum after fashion show in front of Parthenon friezes

In Greece, the friezes of the Athenian Parthenon, which have been exhibited in the British capital for more than two centuries, are once again making headlines. A fashion show at the British Museum in front of these famous sculptures, during London Fashion Week this weekend, has in fact aroused the diplomatic wrath of the Greek authorities, who have been demanding the return of the famous marbles for years.

Vogue editor-in-chief and creative director of Conde Nast, Anna Wintour, sits in front of the Parthenon marbles at the British Museum before Erdem's Fall/Winter 2024 collection show during London Fashion Week, February 17, 2024. AFP - HENRY NICHOLLS

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With our correspondent in Athens, 

Joël Bronner

For Athens, every opportunity is good to remind London - and anyone who will listen - that the Greek capital intends to have the statues which originally belonged to the Parthenon temple, the jewel of the summit of the hill of the 'Acropolis. A Parthenon that has become the symbol of ancient Greek culture, but also of modern Greece and its tourism.

The whole story is based on a legal imbroglio which originated two centuries ago. A British lord – Elgin – seized the famous sculptures before the creation of modern Greece, with the more or less explicit agreement of the Ottoman authorities, then masters of the region. The lord ended up selling them to the British Museum, which therefore claimed to be the owner. For Athens, however, Elgin is nothing less than a thief and the London friezes would rightfully belong to the Greek temple from which they came.

Also read Parthenon friezes: Greece's ruined hopes

An “

insult 

” to the monument

It is therefore this quarrel which is the backdrop to the somewhat hyperbolic reaction of Athens, after a fashion show in front of Greek statues. The Greek Minister of Culture who vilifies the supposed lack of “respect” by the British Museum, for example, seems not to remember the fashion photo session of the Dior collection in front of the Parthenon in Athens in the 1950s.

“

Those responsible for the British Museum devalue and insult not only the monument, but also the universal values ​​it represents. The conditions for exhibiting sculptures in the Duveen gallery are deteriorating day by day. It is time for this stolen and mistreated masterpiece to shine again in the light of Attica

 ,” she added.

Read alsoGreece maintains pressure on the British Museum for the restitution of the Parthenon statues

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