Greece's Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni, has characterised the move of the eighteen members of the United States Congress as "highly symbolic."
It is recalled the members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging “earnest” talks for the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece.
Mendoni contacted the senders of the important letter, which she said "emphatically recognises our claim for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to their homeland."
She continued: "the eighteen senators with this initiative confirm their admiration and respect for the values bequeathed to the western world by classical antiquity and urge Great Britain to strengthen its ties with the Hellenic Republic and the Greeks."
The minister also invited the congress members to Athens and live the unique experience of a visit to the Monuments and the Acropolis Museum, once travel resumes following the pandemic.
The 2,500-year-old marble sculptures have been the subject of dispute for over three decades, with Greece and the international community repeatedly calling on the British Museum to return them to their place of origin.
The sculptures were ‘violently’ and illegally removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the 1800s and sold to the British Museum.
The British Museum has consistently refused to return the priceless marbles.
