Greece is famous for being the first nation to vest ownership of all of its antiquities within the state. All cultural property, defined by its Antiquities Law is thus owned and regulated by the government, and registered on an official inventory that comprises objects of the Hellenistic, Early Christiantity and Medieval eras. All cultural property, including objects in private collections or those belonging to a religious organization are property of the State. The State maintains the rights to exhibit and exploit this cultural property, and thus any objects discovered, by accident or otherwise must be reported within 15 days to the nearest archaeological authority.

• Importing Objects from Greece

• Law 2646 (1899): “On Antiquities”
  • Stiffer penalties for antiquities theft than previous law passed in 1834

Greece's Antiquities Law (1932)

• Ancient Works: defined as all art in general (6)
  • works of architecture
  • sculpture
  • graphic art
  • edifices
  • architectural monuments
  • stones bearing sculptures belonging to these monuments
  • foundations
  • aqueducts
  • streets
  • walls
  • tombs
  • statues
  • reliefs
  • figurines
  • epigraphs
  • zoomorphs
  • mosaics
  • vases
  • weapons
  • jewels

And all other works and objects in whatever material, including precious stones and coins

• Law 654 (1977): allows for the temporary export of antiquities, meaning “loans”
  • Any private citizen who wishes to export an antiquity across the border must have documents certifying its purchase from a licensed antique dealer
• Law 1103 (1980): Ratifies UNESCO convention of 1970

Departments concerned with Illicit Antiquities

• Historical Artifact Unit of the Hellenic Constabulary
• Greek Interpol
• Hellenic Ministry of Culture
• Archaeological Service (Through the Dept. of Museums)
• Ephorates (Supervisor, Overseer) of Antiquities (regional)
• Ephorate of Antique Shops and Private Collections
  • An ephor (Classical Greek Ἔφορος) (from the Greek ἐπί, epi, on or over, and ὁράω, horaō, to see, i.e. one who oversees, a supervisor) was an official of ancient Sparta. There were five ephors elected annually, who swore each month to uphold the rule of the two kings, while the kings swore to uphold the law.