Στα ίχνη των κλεμμένων ελληνικών αρχαιοτήτων απο τις κατοχικές δυνάμεις (1940-1945): η συμβολή του Σπύρου Μαρινάτου

Abstract

After a short introduction referring to the most significant characteristics of the late Professor Spyros Marinatos’s personality as an excavator, an academic and in general as a public persona of his times, this paper deals with his contribution to the repatriation of Greek antiquities to their homeland. The antiquities under discussion were stolen from Crete by the German occupation forces during the 2nd World War. The paper is mainly based on documents kept in the Archives of the Greek Ministry of Culture, namely The Directorate of the National Archive of Monuments. These documents include the correspondence between various public services, regarding, among other matters, the preparation of Spyros Marinatos’s trip to Austria, Italy and Germany, as well as catalogues of the stolen and repatriated antiquities. The whole undertaking, which was adventurous, highlights his persistence and devotion to duty and his country as well as his love for archaeology.