Xi Jinping urges Britain to return Parthenon Marbles to Greece
(Artdaily.org)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, wading into a decades-old dispute between the countries over the ownership of the sculptures. The ancient friezes, which include depictions of battles between mythical ancient Greeks and centaurs, were taken by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century and are now on display at the British Museum in London. Britain has always refused to return the carvings -- often still known as the Elgin Marbles -- arguing that they were taken with the permission of local Ottoman rulers at the time. Xi toured the Acropolis Museum, built partly to house the Parthenon Marbles, during a three-day visit to Athens and told his hosts he agreed with them that the sculptures should be returned. `I assure you of our support, because