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THE NEW Acropolis Museum, a spectacular, ultra-modern glass-and-concrete building opens to the public today in Athens amid renewed calls for the restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece from Britain, reigniting the decades-old controversy between the two countries.

“The Parthenon marbles are the most cherished symbols of our cultural and political heritage, the height of our achievement as a people,” said Antonis Samaras, Greek minister of culture at the opening ceremony. “The abduction of these sculptures is an injustice to everyone in the world.”