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wwarnout t1_jbayhyp wrote

Exactly how did the Vatican come to "own" those sculptures?

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DeadFyre t1_jbcs773 wrote

They were acquired prior to the Greek War of Independence which freed Greece from the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans didn't care very much about Greek heritage and culture, and sold permission to carry off artifacts to various European archaeologists.

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ShillingAndFarding t1_jbblzqp wrote

During the Napoleonic wars, British archaeologists went to ottoman territories under the premise of making casts and buying some artifacts. The sultan made an announcement to make it easier for them to move the casts out. The archaeologists took advantage of the looser customs inspections to smuggle thousands of real artifacts out.

Seems these were gifted to the Vatican afterwards.

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TheGrayBox t1_jbc0olw wrote

The British Empire, famously big fans of the Catholic Church /s

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ShillingAndFarding t1_jbcdah0 wrote

The British Empire didn’t personally steal the artifacts. Individual British people, one of which must have either liked the Catholic Church or maybe was friends with a priest or whatever, stole the artifacts. The British Empire just saw it as a happy accident that they got the real stuff instead of copies.

These are apparently from the acropolis damaged during the Ottoman-Venetian wars. That makes it very very likely it was smuggled out by the British or a catholic working with the British.

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DJCPhyr t1_jbb3coa wrote

Vatican returning stolen property after hundreds of years.

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Massive-Science5568 t1_jbbn23i wrote

Does a good thing: gets shit on"

Britain: keeps it anyway because people will shit on you anyway

People: Pikachu face

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tmahfan117 t1_jbbqqmw wrote

To be bit fair to the Vatican here, its quite possible they were the ones to originally steal it. The Roman empire was stealing from the Greeks long before the church even existed.

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bofh000 t1_jbayzeq wrote

Were the quotes not visible enough, so the irony escaped you?

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xxDankerstein t1_jbb54om wrote

Ahem, looking at you, Great Britain.

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Aalnius t1_jbc7wgz wrote

Well of course you are, our museums are amazing to look at.

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xxDankerstein t1_jbcakfk wrote

Yeah, must be nice to just take the best of everyone else's shit

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Aalnius t1_jbcbhzg wrote

it honestly is, its like making a greatest hits collection.

Just wondering for no reason in particular, you guys have any new cool shit?

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DFuel t1_jbd0m1s wrote

Here take this back, we are overflowing with too much cool shit

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Deathbeforedecaf84 t1_jbfdlsd wrote

Thank you for...regifting.... our stolen history. Vatican- the world's most notorious gaslighting kleptomaniacs

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omegaphallic t1_jc3rfs9 wrote

This isn't good news, one group of Christians with a ling history of destroying polythiestic religious artifacts and sites is giving it to another one. This should go to the greek government to Hellenistic recreationists or something, not a religion that is still detroying artifacts of a polythiestic nature.

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alternatingflan t1_jbdt6fa wrote

How gracious to return to Greece what never belonged to the vatican and further diminish the action by calling it a “donation.”

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RaceDBannon t1_jbbvz9q wrote

Soooo what if they just decide to not “return” it to the Vatican? They gonna send the Vatican Guard? This is Sparta. Good luck.

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