Greek Ministry of CultureThe marble fragment was likely once part of a gutter system on an ancient Greek temple called the Hekatompedon.In January 2025, Enrico Tosti-Croce reached out to the Greek Embassy in Chile about a small piece of marble sitting on his coat rack. His father had taken the marble while visiting the Acropolis of Athens in the 1930s, and he wanted to return it. Tosti-Croce believed that the artifact was a piece of the Parthenon, but after experts analyzed it, they determined that it was likely from the Hekatompedon a temple on the Acropolis thats even older than the Parthenon. Now, Tosti-Croce is being applauded for handing over the 2,500-year-old relic.How Enrico Tosti-Croce Got A Piece Of The ParthenonIn the 1930s, Enrico Tosti-Croces father, Gaetano, visited the Acropolis of Athens while enlisted in the Italian Navy. There, he picked up a piece of marble on the ground near the Parthenon and brought it home with him.When Tosti-Croces family moved to Chile in the 1950s, the marble sat on a shelf as just another ornament, Tosti-Croce told El Pas. And when his parents died in 1994, he inherited the artifact and displayed it on a coat rack in his own home.Steve Swayne/Wikimedia CommonsEnrico Tosti-Croce thought the piece of marble was from the Parthenon, pictured here.The chunk of marble weighs about two-and-a-half pounds and stands three inches tall and four-and-a-half inches wide. Tosti-Croce would inform visitors that it was part of the Parthenon, as his father had told him. Some believed me, others didnt, he said. Then, in January 2025, Tosti-Croce was listening to the radio while driving when he heard a story about the efforts of Greek officials to repatriate marble statues held by the British Museum. Wow, I have a little piece of the Parthenon, he thought. I think its time to give it back.So he did.The True Origin Of The Stolen Marble FragmentTosti-Croce reached out to Theodosios Theos at Chiles Greek Embassy, sending photos and measurements of his small piece of marble. Theos, in turn, notified the Greek Ministry of Culture, who wanted to examine the artifact in person. Tosti-Croce happily agreed and handed the marble over to Theos. He did have one stipulation, though: He wanted to know which part of the Parthenon the stone was from.A few months later, Tosti-Croce received an unexpected letter in the mail. It was from Olympia Vikatou, the director of the Greek Archaeological Service, and it stated that the marble was part of the marble gutter of an archaic temple, probably the Hekatompedon, the first monumental temple on the Acropolis.The Hekatompedon was built on the Acropolis around 550 B.C.E., a century before the Parthenon. However, it was destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C.E., and the Parthenon was later built on the site. Public DomainAn artists interpretation of the Hekatompedon, which was destroyed in 480 B.C.E.For Greece, the repatriation of any cultural asset that has been illegally exported gives us great joy and satisfaction, Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said in a statement. At the Ministry of Culture, we firmly believe that all illegally exported antiquities, from any country, must be returned to their place of origin, to the people they belong to, as part of their collective identity.The marble piece is now back in Athens where it belongs. The Greek Embassy in Chile is also applauding Tosti-Croce, and officials hope his actions inspire others to do the same. When I left the Greek embassy after handing over the piece of marble, I felt a special kind of satisfaction, Tosti-Croce said. I dont even know how to describe it I felt like I had done something good.After reading about the piece of marble that was returned to Greece, discover the legends of these 12 Greek gods. Then, go inside the history of the Temple of Artemis.The post A Man In Chile Just Returned A Stolen Piece Of The Parthenon Only To Learn It Was Actually From An Even Older Greek Temple appeared first on All That's Interesting.