Greek officials are calling on US President Donald Trump to help Greece reach an agreement with Britain over the return of the Parthenon Marbles.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said Trump could be influential in discussions with the British government and support Athens’ long-standing campaign to bring the sculptures back to Greece.
In an interview with Breitbart News published on Wednesday, Georgiadis also spoke in his capacity as vice president of the governing New Democracy party.
Greek officials urge Trump to intervene on Parthenon Marbles
Georgiadis said Trump “could press the British government to make the right move,” arguing that whoever helps settle the dispute would earn a lasting place in the monument’s history. “The leader that will make this happen will be a part of the Parthenon’s story,” he said. “The Parthenon has been here for 2,500 years and will be here after another 2,500 years. I’m not exaggerating.”
Describing Trump as the “natural leader of the Western world,” Georgiadis pointed to the influence of ancient Greek and Roman ideas on the founders of the United States. He added that America’s Founders studied the classical tradition and drew on its political values when establishing the republic.
The dispute over the Sculptures
The Parthenon Marbles include sculptures and architectural elements that Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, removed from the monument in the early 19th century, when Greece remained under Ottoman rule.
Elgin took the pieces to Britain, and the British Museum later acquired them. They remain on display there today. Greece argues that the sculptures left the country under disputed circumstances and belong alongside the surviving sections housed at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
Although the British Museum has opposed permanent restitution, Greece and Britain have discussed possible forms of cooperation, including a loan or broader cultural partnership. Athens maintains that the works formed part of a single monument and should appear together.
Kyranakis highlights historical significance
Konstantinos Kyranakis, secretary general of the governing party, urged Trump to support the Greek position. “If President Trump were to help make that happen, his contribution would extend far beyond diplomacy,” Kyranakis said in a statement to Breitbart News.
According to Kyranakis, the dispute offers political leaders a rare opportunity to protect a defining work of world heritage. “True leadership is measured not only by shaping the future, but also by preserving the foundations upon which that future is built,” he said. “The reunification of the Parthenon Marbles would not rewrite history. It would complete it.”
Greek officials and HALC urge Trump to back Parthenon Marbles return
Endy Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, said Britain can no longer justify keeping the sculptures. “It’s time to reverse history’s biggest theft, and the British excuses for why they can’t give the Parthenon Sculptures back don’t hold water anymore,” Zemenides told Breitbart News.
Zemenides argued that Trump’s involvement could add political weight to negotiations between Athens and London and help bring the decades-old dispute closer to a resolution.
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