Acropolis Museum

A loan agreement between Britain and Greece over the Parthenon Marbles may be on the table after Mark Jones, the British Museum's interim director, told a British newspaper that he would support such a plan.

The monuments on the Acropolis of Athens and any work carried out on the Sacred Rock always tend to draw attention. We saw this happening again with the interventions to facilitate wheelchair access, which sparked controversy among experts concerning the impact of this work.

With very few exceptions, Athens has by no means experienced the so-called "Bilbao phenomenon," which occurred in the Spanish city; namely a domino effect of changes that would improve the urban environment around its museums and large cultural sites.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday repeated calls for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens from the British Museum, months after a diplomatic spat with Britain over the 2,500-year-old pieces.

The streets and hills of Athens are ribbed with marble steps, ancient and modern, rising and dropping in the dawns and dusks of time. One recent addition to these monumental pathways is the set of paved stairs facing the performance area at the new Acropolis Museum that sits convivially below the Parthenon.

The Acropolis Museum launched an exhibition Tuesday that includes a renowned ancient Greek water jug from 420 BC on loan from the British Museum.

The exhibit comes during a dispute over Greek demands for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures that are housed in the British Museum.

“You have an excellent Museum in Athens, the time is right for the Sculptures to return”

For decades, Britain and Greece were able to differ, largely politely, over the world's toughest cultural heritage dispute: What's the right place for some of the finest ancient Greek sculptures ever made, which have been displayed in London for more than 200 years but which Greece vocally wants back.

An ancient Greek red-figure vase is to be loaned from the British Museum to the Acropolis Museum, leaving London for the first time in 250 years.

The nearly 50-centimeter-high hydria (a form of Greek pottery from between the 7th and 3rd century BC) by the Meidias Painter, dates back to 420 BC. It is painted with scenes from mythology, including one featuring Hercules.

Greece's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday he would push for the return of the Parthenon Marbles when he meets U.K. leader Rishi Sunak in Britain this week.

The sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were taken from the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, the earl of Elgin.