Some news items of little victories! A statue of Persephone whcih has been imported to Great Brittain has been diclared smuggled in, an ancient octadrachm will be repatriated from Switzerland, and the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology hosts a special event about ancient Hellas.


Statue of Persephone eclared illigally taken
A UK judge ruled that a 1.5-million-GBP ancient Greek statue was illegally transferred from a world heritage site in Libya to the United Kingdom. The case revolves around a four-foot statue that was looted from the Libyan archaeological site of Cyrene and smuggled to Britain.

The ancient Greek statue was found in a west London warehouse by customs officials in 2013 and handed to the British Museum, according to the Independent. Meanwhile, a court had taken over the case and the decision over its ownership was pending until this week.

The UK judge ruled that the statue had been misdeclared upon its arrival in the United Kingdom, since customs officers reported that they were told the statue came from Turkey and it was a garden decoration. However, according to experts, the Greek marble statue, thought to depict Persephone, goddess of the underworld, was in fact an ancient artifact looted from Cyrene. Here is to hoping it gets returned to Cyrene soon!


Rare ancient octadrachm to be returned to Greece
An important ancient Greek coin will be repatriated from Switzerland in September following a Swiss court's ruling that the coin is a product of illegal excavation. The coin, a silver octadrachm, was located on the website of an auction house in September 2009 by the Greek authorities. It dates back to the end of the 6th century BC at the era of King of Visaltia Mossi.

The coin depicts a man holding a spear next to a horse on one side and on the back side the word "Mosseos" is carved. It constitutes a very important find because the coins that were found from this specific era were all silver drachmas.


Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology hosts a special event about ancient Hellas
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, the world’s first university museum situated on Beaumont Street in Oxford, UK, opened its doors on Wednesday to young visitors, offering them the opportunity to travel back in time and experience the majesty of the ancient Greek world.

The museum, whose first building was erected in 1678–1683 to host the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677, organized a two-day special event in which children became familiar with the significant role of ancient Greece to the evolution of Western civilization and democracy.

During the event, young visitors also learned about the first Olympic Games that were held in Greece, while they were urged to create their own laurel wreaths, similar to those offered to victors of poetic and athletic competitions.