The mental schema of the return

Nikolaos Lygeros

Translation: Paola Vagioni

The mental schema of the return is not exclusively Greek, as it is promoted by some adversaries of our country. The sculptures of the Parthenon and the Caryatid of Erechtheion are unique pieces of civilization but not the only victims of barbarity.

The recent announcement of Egypt proves it ipso facto. Nineteen pieces from Toutânkhamon's tomb will be returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Most of them are fragments, but four of these exhibit historical interest. Among them there is a bronze dog, but also an element from a small bracelet, which represents a Sphinx. This example of a return of an antiquity is not unique and of course this mental schema is not relevant solely for this period.

Within the context of the G20 summit, France has decided to return to Korea, the 297 manuscript books that are found in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which were seized by the French navy in 1866. This specific example consists also of a variation of the method of a return, since the return is happening with a renewable loan of a five year duration, without expiry date. This methodology allowed the French government to avoid violating the law concerning the désaliénation of works, that is in effect in France. Thus the two nations found an intelligent solution to the problem that impeded their diplomatic relations. The solution also occurred due to the forces that were exercised in the political framework.

The mental schema of the return can operate and be reinforced with every equivalent case. The battle of civilization also aids the evolution of humanity. Every civilization that has overcome the narrow limits of its societies, in order to offer the opus to the collective memory of humanity, has to be respected by everyone. And the single means to achieve this aim, is for all the people of humanity to be responsible for the protection of this treasure.

It is within this framework that we must act and also in our claims as far as the sculptures of the Parthenon and the Caryatid of Erechtheion are concerned. The issue in neither personal, nor national, but humane and for this reason it concerns so little society and the daily routine. However the problem of the return is not solvable with the method of unification, we have a duty to fight for the materialization of the initial steps of justice of the civilizations and humanity, otherwise there is no point in talking about the future, since its past was stolen.