As Western nations increasingly move to restitute looted cultural artifacts to their countries of origin, pressure is intensifying for London’s British Museum to return Greece’s famed Parthenon Marbles.
The latest figure to come out in support of the Greek cause is Ed Vaizey, the former U.K. culture minister.
“It is so obvious to me that [the Parthenon Marbles] are so woven into Greek identity. It would be a wonderful thing if they could be returned,” Vaizey, the nation’s minister for culture from 2010 to 2016, told the Hope and Dread podcast.
He acknowledged that doing so could potentially open the door to other restitution claims against the nation, and that “it is extremely hard to know where to draw the line.”
The comments come just days after the revelation that Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has for years defended the U.K.’s right to own the statues, wrote an article in 1986 arguing they should be returned.
“The Elgin marbles should leave this northern whisky-drinking guilt-culture, and be displayed where they belong: in a country of bright…
