In the never-ending saga entitled the 'Parthenon Marbles', I have another update for you as posted by the Archaeological News Network: international lawyers have been consulted by the Greek government on the issue. I've already talked quite a lot about the Parthenon Marbles on this blog. You can find posts on them here, here, and here. To recap, though, the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, is a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures, inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens.

International lawyers consulted by Greek government on Parthenon Marbles issue
The Parthenon Sculptures as seen on display at the British Museum
in London on June 5, 2000 [Credit: Reuters]
As the president of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, David Hill has seen years of talks between the Brittain and Greece end fruitlessly, despite the tries of large international bodies like UNESCO. He was asked by Prime Minister Samaras to assemble a group of prominent international lawyers to advise the government of what its legal claim might be, resuming a plan Greece had in the works for years. He has been in Greece for the past three weeks getting ready to meet with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, while working to assemble three famous international lawyers, Geoffrey Robertson, Amal Alamuddin and Professor Norman Palmer to work on a legal case to get the marbles back home.

The meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday will be the first time Greece will consider its legal options. Greece has been reluctant in the past to start legal proceedings fearing it will look confrontational, but after 15 years of the same response from the British and trying everything in its arsenal to get them to the negotiating table, the government is out of patience. After so many years, the British approach to the matter hasn't changed despite the growing international chorus of disapproval. In the meetings, Mr Hall and the contingent will also meet with Greece's deputy prime minster Evangelos Venizelos, the culture minister Konstantinos Tasoulas and director of the Acropolis Museum Dimitrios Pandermalis. It's hoped the government can decide on its next steps to tackling the issue before it becomes too late.