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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-06-14
CONTENTS
[01] Stolen statue of Apollo returned to Greece
[01] Stolen statue of Apollo returned to Greece
The Greek government on Thursday praised the return of a marble statue
of the Olympian god Apollo, 16 years after the artefact was stolen,
along with nine other items, from a museum on Crete.
The unconditional agreement to return the priceless statue, depicting a
male marble torso, was reached with a Swiss art dealer with the
mediation of the Swiss government, after the statue was tracked to
Berne, Switzerland.
The statue, temporarily kept at the National Archaeological Museum in
Athens, was discovered by Italian archaeologist Federico Halbherr in
the 19th century during excavations in Gortyna, Crete. It is believed
to be a 1st century AD replica of a famed statue found in ancient
Athens created by either by famed 4th century BC ancient sculptor
Praxiteles or one of his students.
Greek Culture Minister George Voulgarakis hailed the return of the
artefact, the latest in a string of high-profile repatriations of
antiquities smuggled out of Greece.
Caption: ANA-MPA photo / O. PANAGIOTOU
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