Well-known British writer Victoria Hislop spoke on Mega TV on Tuesday about her love for Greece and her support for the repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures.
The writer said her love for Greece began when she first visited the country in 1977, she felt as if the country was her second home. “It was such a contrast to England, back home we don’t have such sun, light and blue. I fell in love with everything Greek, something that my friends in Greece find it difficult to understand,” she said.
As for her support for the repatriation of the Parthenon marbles, she mentioned that it all started when she realized that the British Museum was lying when claiming that it had official documents with proof that Lord Elgin had legally bought the marbles, when in fact he had stolen them.
“The truth of the matter is that Elgin had a letter which granted him permission to make copies of the sculptures, not keep the originals. It was an act of crime.”
She also emphasized that the British Museum falsely claims that other countries will demand a return of their antiquities and it will be stripped of all its displays. “It has only 1% on display in the galleries, and the rest is in storage. If the sculptures leave, they will have many others to display. It was a smuggling of antiquities. That’s what has happened.” she said.
Referring to her new book, The Figurine, which deals with antiquities trafficking, she said visiting an excavation site on the uninhabited isle of Keros, in the Cyclades, and hearing about antiquities trafficking shocked her but also inspired her to write the book.
