A marble head of a male dated to around 150 AD was returned to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki on Tuesday, in the presence of Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.

A statement by the ministry quoted Mendoni as saying during the event, "The repatriation of antiquities that belong to Greece but are now abroad is an issue of national importance and high cultural priority. International collaboration and synergies for this purpose, through bilateral and multilateral agreements, are always supported and sought. However, each repatriation case is unique."

The Museum of the University of Munster voluntarily returned the head to Greece, after German archaeologists found out the marble it was carved from came from the quarries of Thassos island, which confirmed their belief related to its Greek origin, the Culture Minister added.

Their gesture, she noted, "underlines, in an emphatic way, the significance of the sincere collaboration among museums, scientific institutes, and state services in the common struggle to fight trafficking of cultural goods."

According to the ministry, the portrait of the bearded male is the second object returned from Munster, following the repatriation in 2019 of the ancient skyphos (two-handled, deep wine cup) given as a gift to the winner of the first modern Marathon race, Spyros Louis. The skyphos is now exhibited in the Museum of Ancient Olympic Games, in Ancient Olympia.

Several academics and curators from Greece and Germany attended the handover ceremony on Tuesday.