Speaking with Greece's Minister of Culture	March 19, 2002

In early February, Evangelos Venizelos, Greece's Minister of Culture, was enroute to the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. While in New York, he spoke about issues such as the ongoing efforts to ensure the resitution of the Parthenon sculptures and the debate about the controversial Olympic venue at Marathon with ARCHAEOLOGY's executive editor, Mark Rose. The renewal of Greek initiatives to help preserve Afghanistan's cultural heritage and news about Greece's own battle against the illicit antiquities market were also discussed.

(Photo by Tim Atkinson)

The Parthenon Sculptures "For me the bottom line is not a legal one or the problem of ownership of the marbles but the fact of the return, the fact of the restitution of the integrity, the unity of the monument." Marathon and the Olympic Rowing Venue "There was no opposition to the installation of the airport, but much regarding the Olympic venues. This is a paradox." Greek efforts in Afghanistan "We have prepared, in cooperation with the Greek Foreign Ministry, the first archaeological mission to Afghanistan." Taking on the Black Market in Antiquities "It was a great success of Greek-American cooperation in the struggle against the illicit trade of artifacts."

© 2002 by the Archaeological Institute of America archive.archaeology.org/online/features/venizelos/