Pope Francis orders return of three Parthenon fragments to Greece 

As a gesture of friendship, Pope Francis has ordered to return of Athens' three Parthenon temples, the Vatican said on Friday (Dec 16).

However, no date has been given for the return of the fragments, AFP reported.

The papal collection and Vatican museums have held the fragments of the Parthenon on the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for centuries. Parthenon is one of the most well-known ancient monuments in the world.

According to the Vatican, Pope has chosen "to donate" them to the Orthodox Archbishop of Athen "as a concrete sign" of his wish to nurture interreligious ties.

The Parthenon has not been a place of worship since it was attacked by Venetian in 1687 and looted.

Its fragments were scattered throughout the main museums of the world.

Before being transformed into a church and then a mosque, the temple was originally devoted to the goddess Athena.

According to the official Vatican News website, one of the four horses in Athena's chariot was sown on one of the marble fragments.

The other was the head of the child believed to be depicted taking part in a procession to the founding of Athen, and the other was a bearded man.

Greece has been attempting to reclaim them since the beginning of the 20th century.

Similarly, a fragment of the Parthenon's North frieze that the Vatican received in the early century was returned to Greece in 2008.

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