Ancient artifacts to return home from Switzerland

Fifteen ancient objects dating from the prehistoric to the Roman period are being repatriated to Greece from Switzerland by decision of a Geneva court in July last year following proceedings against an antiquities dealer. 

The items include figurines, clay and bronze vases, a gold diadem with laurel leaves, the torso of a young male figure, a bronze statuette of an athlete, a pair of bronze periwigs and a silver coin (stater). They are being returned as products of illegal antiquities trafficking. 

Their repatriation was hailed by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. “The Culture Ministry, especially in recent years, attaches great importance to the repatriation of any cultural property that is integrally linked to our cultural heritage,” she said, adding that the return of cultural goods to their place of origin, beyond being a universal issue, is a moral obligation among peoples in the context of respect and protection of the common global cultural heritage.