Khaberni - The Greek Ministry of Culture announced on Saturday that a German woman returned an ancient column capital to Greece, which was stolen from the Olympia site more than half a century ago. The limestone capital, which is 24 centimeters high and 33.5 centimeters wide, had been removed from the building "Leonidaion," a guesthouse constructed in the 4th century BC.
This is the third artifact to be returned from the University of Munster in Germany in recent years. The handover took place on Friday, and the ministry said the woman "inspired by significant artifact repatriation operations from the University of Munster to their countries of origin recently, decided to deliver the piece to the university, which in turn helped return it to Greece and ancient Olympia," praising her "human decency and courage."
In 2019, the university returned a two-handled wine cup belonging to a winner of the first modern Olympic games held in Athens in 1896, and in 2024, they returned a Roman-era marble head originating from a cemetery in the city of Thessaloniki.
The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture, Georgios Didaskalos, stated, "This act proves that culture and history know no bounds; they require cooperation, responsibility, and mutual respect," whereas Torben Schreiber, the curator of the Archaeological Museum at the University of Munster, said, "It is never too late to do the right thing, what is ethical and just."
Athens has been striving for years to reach agreements to repatriate artifacts to their homeland without resorting to legal proceedings, with its main objective being the return of the Parthenon Marbles, which have been held by the British Museum since the 19th century.
