A German girl who stole the highest of an historical column in Olympia over half a century in the past has returned it to Greece, the Greek tradition ministry mentioned Saturday.
The capital of the column, made from limestone and measuring 9 inches excessive and 33.5 cm 13 inches broad, was taken from the Leonidaion, a 4th-century BC guesthouse.
In a social media post, the Greek tradition ministry praised the “sensitivity and braveness” of the girl who returned the artifact.
It’s the third artifact returned by the College of Muenster lately. The handover occurred on Friday.
“Motivated by the current return of necessary antiquities from the College of Muenster to their international locations of origin, she determined at hand it over to the college, with whose invaluable contribution it returned to Greece and Historical Olympia”, the ministry said, hailing the “sensitivity and braveness” of the girl.
Greece Tradition Ministry 
In 2019, the College of Muenster returned a twin-handled wine cup belonging to a champion from the primary trendy Olympic Video games in Athens in 1896.
Then in 2024, it returned a Roman-era marble male head which got here from a cemetery in Thessaloniki.
“This can be a significantly transferring second. This act proves that tradition and historical past know no borders however require cooperation, accountability, and mutual respect,” Giorgios Didaskalou, a senior tradition ministry official mentioned.
Torben Schreiber, curator of the College of Muenster’s archaeological museum, added that: “It’s by no means too late to do the best factor, the ethical and the simply.”
Athens has been attempting for years to dealer offers for the repatriation of antiquities with out resorting to authorized motion.
Its chief objective stays the return of the Parthenon Marbles, held by the British Museum for the reason that nineteenth century. A number of European governments have been pushing for the sculptures to be returned to Athens for the reason that early Nineteen Eighties.
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