Three marble depictions sliced off from atop the Parthenon in the early 19th century, which subsequently ended up in Vatican’s Museums, were returned to Greece as a gift this week, with a reception ceremony held at the Acropolis Museum.
The gift is a personal decision by the Pope of Rome Francis to Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece.
The three marble fragments comprise the head of a youth, one of the horses pulling the goddess Athena’s chariot, and a male figure with a beard that belongs to a southern metope.
