The “Fagan fragment” of the Parthenon returned to Greece forever
The “Fagan fragment” was permanently reunited in the eastern frieze of the Parthenon, from which it had been removed, in the Acropolis Museum, on the first repatriation from state to state.
Repatriation was made possible by agreement between the Regional Archaeological Museum “Antonino Salinas” of Palermo and the Acropolis Museum.
The so-called “Fagan fragment”, the part of the plate that belongs to the eastern frieze of the Parthenon and represents the foot of Artemis, goddess of hunting, sitting on a throne, ended up in the early 19th century in the hands of the English consul Robert Fagan under . fully understood.
After his death it was bequeathed to his wife, who then sold it, between 1818 and 1820, to the Royal University of Palermo, whose current successor is the Regional Archaeological Museum “Antonino Salinas”.
Since last January, it is located in the Acropolis Museum, where it was reconnected with the original frieze from which it was removed.
“The process followed by the Sicilian government and the Ministry of Culture of the Italian Republic for the final repatriation of the Fagan fragment shows the clear and moral path for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures,” said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.
“Our Italian colleagues have paved a path that is not easy, but it is very substantial. A road that can be a model for the behavior of those who still have parts of the Parthenon. I hope after this second big step, to follow the third that will be maximum “, said the chairman of the Board of the Acropolis Museum, Dimitris Pantermalis.
“The Fagan fragment is no longer an orphan, a cut-off, a fragment. Because the Parthenon is not a corpus Christi, which was dismembered as you receive. It is a body that demands its union, a request of the world community “, notes the general director of the Acropolis Museum, Professor Nikolaos Stampolidis.