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Stolen Greek artifacts returned to homeland

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January 23, 2001 

ATHENS-- (AP) - Some 274 ancient artifacts were returned to Greece on Monday, more than a decade after being stolen in one of the country's largest museum robberies.

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos used the occasion to stress the need for an overall return of Greece's cultural patrimony, particularly the so-called Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon now on display at the British Museum in London.

"I hope God will allow us to celebrate the repatriation of other treasures," Venizelos said.

Venizelos also said Greece will better organize its legal efforts for the return of illegally trafficked cultural objects.

The 274 works returned to Greece were stolen from the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth, 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Athens, in April 1990 by at least four men.

The objects were recovered in 1999 when the FBI, acting on a tip that the items had been consigned for auction at Christie's, discovered them hidden in fish crates at a storage area in Miami.

The items included a 5th century B.C. marble head of a young man known as a Kouros; a small marble statue of the god Pan, and 13 sculpted marble heads dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The U.S. ambassador to Greece, Nicholas Burns, said the FBI "is continuing its investigation to locate the items and to locate the people who broke into the museum."

"It is our intention, if they are still in the United States, to bring them to justice," he added.

Two suspects, arrested near Athens last year, are currently on trial for the theft. Two others are being tried in absentia and are believed to be in Venezuela.

Venizelos said the objects will be given back to the museum, which now has enhanced security measures.

The works were discovered during joint digs between Greek and American archaeologists in Corinth, a cooperation celebrating its 110th anniversary this year.