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| Greece unveils Acropolis Museum | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The long-awaited Acropolis Museum in Athens has been opened. | |
| The modern glass and concrete building, at the foot of the ancient Acropolis, houses sculptures from the golden age of Athenian democracy. | The modern glass and concrete building, at the foot of the ancient Acropolis, houses sculptures from the golden age of Athenian democracy. |
| The £110m ($182m; 130m euros) structure also offers panoramic views of the stone citadel where they came from. | The £110m ($182m; 130m euros) structure also offers panoramic views of the stone citadel where they came from. |
| Culture minister Antonis Samaras said he hoped it would be the "catalyst" for the return of the Parthenon sculptures from the British Museum. | Culture minister Antonis Samaras said he hoped it would be the "catalyst" for the return of the Parthenon sculptures from the British Museum. |
| Some of the sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, originally decorated the Parthenon temple and have been in London since they were sold to the museum in 1817. | Some of the sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, originally decorated the Parthenon temple and have been in London since they were sold to the museum in 1817. |
| After several adventures, obstructions and criticism, the new Acropolis Museum is ready Antonis Samaras In pictures: Acropolis Museum Museum raises Marbles' hopes | After several adventures, obstructions and criticism, the new Acropolis Museum is ready Antonis Samaras In pictures: Acropolis Museum Museum raises Marbles' hopes |
| The museum has long argued that Greece has no proper place to put them - an argument the Greek government hopes the Acropolis Museum addresses. | The museum has long argued that Greece has no proper place to put them - an argument the Greek government hopes the Acropolis Museum addresses. |
| Mr Samaras said: "After several adventures, obstructions and criticism, the new Acropolis Museum is ready: a symbol of modern Greece that pays homage to its ancestors, the duty of a nation to its cultural heritage." | Mr Samaras said: "After several adventures, obstructions and criticism, the new Acropolis Museum is ready: a symbol of modern Greece that pays homage to its ancestors, the duty of a nation to its cultural heritage." |
| The building, set out over three levels, holds about 350 artefacts and sculptures that were previously held in a small museum on top of the Acropolis. | The building, set out over three levels, holds about 350 artefacts and sculptures that were previously held in a small museum on top of the Acropolis. |
| Antique ceramics and sculptures are displayed on the first floor while the Caryatids - columns sculpted as females holding up the roof of a porch on the southern side of the Erechtheum temple - dominate the top of a glass ramp leading up the second floor. | Antique ceramics and sculptures are displayed on the first floor while the Caryatids - columns sculpted as females holding up the roof of a porch on the southern side of the Erechtheum temple - dominate the top of a glass ramp leading up the second floor. |
| 'Act of barbarism' | 'Act of barbarism' |
| Sculptures from the Temple of Athena and the Propylaea entrance to the Acropolis will be displayed on the second floor, while the third features a reconstruction of the Parthenon Marbles. | Sculptures from the Temple of Athena and the Propylaea entrance to the Acropolis will be displayed on the second floor, while the third features a reconstruction of the Parthenon Marbles. |
| The structure is Greece's answer to the British argument that there is nowhere in their country to house the Elgin marbles Razia Iqbal, BBC arts correspondent Read Razia's blog | The structure is Greece's answer to the British argument that there is nowhere in their country to house the Elgin marbles Razia Iqbal, BBC arts correspondent Read Razia's blog |
| The reconstruction is based on several elements that remain in Athens as well as copies of the marbles still housed in the British Museum. | The reconstruction is based on several elements that remain in Athens as well as copies of the marbles still housed in the British Museum. |
| The London institution holds 75 metres of the original 160 metres of the frieze that ran round the inner core of the building. | The London institution holds 75 metres of the original 160 metres of the frieze that ran round the inner core of the building. |
| It has repeatedly rejected calls for their return saying they are displayed in an international cultural contest. | It has repeatedly rejected calls for their return saying they are displayed in an international cultural contest. |
| "I think they belong to all of us - we are all global citizens these days," spokeswoman Hannah Boulton said. | "I think they belong to all of us - we are all global citizens these days," spokeswoman Hannah Boulton said. |
| The copies of those held in the British Museum are differentiated by their white colour - because they are plaster casts, contrasting with the weathered marble of the originals. | The copies of those held in the British Museum are differentiated by their white colour - because they are plaster casts, contrasting with the weathered marble of the originals. |
| Museum director Prof Dimitris Pandermalis said the opening of the museum provides an opportunity to correct "an act of barbarism" in the sculptures' removal. | Museum director Prof Dimitris Pandermalis said the opening of the museum provides an opportunity to correct "an act of barbarism" in the sculptures' removal. |
| "Tragic fate has forced them apart but their creators meant them to be together," he said. | "Tragic fate has forced them apart but their creators meant them to be together," he said. |
| Bernard Tschumi, the building's US-based architect, said: "It is a beautiful space that shows the frieze itself as a narrative - even with the plaster copies of what is in the British Museum - in the context of the Parthenon itself." | Bernard Tschumi, the building's US-based architect, said: "It is a beautiful space that shows the frieze itself as a narrative - even with the plaster copies of what is in the British Museum - in the context of the Parthenon itself." |