What Does It Take to Protect Cultural Property? Some Aspects on the Fight against Illegal Trade of Cultural Goods from the Greek Point of View

Abstract

An overview of both the theoretical approach and the set of actions taken during the last decade by Greece - a country with a profound historical background and rich cultural heritage - to face the problem of the illicit trade of cultural goods. The article contains not only statistical data on recent cases of thefts, clandestine excavations, confiscations, and repatriations of cultural goods but also information on law enforcement and the effort to establish a network to fight the phenomenon on an international level. Aspects such as conforming to the international law, monitoring auctions of antiquities, raising people's awareness, and reinforcing the current security status of museums and archeological sites are taken into consideration as successful methods for protecting the cultural heritage.