Greece Pulls Ancient Nude Statues From Qatari Exhibition Because Their Privates Were Covered

Greece Pulls Ancient Nude Statues From Qatari Exhibition...
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Greece has pulled two ancient statues of nude males from an Olympic exhibition in Doha after Qatari officials insisted on preserving their modesty with cloths.

Officials said they wanted to avoid "scandalising" female visitors.

But Greece objected, saying the statues should be displayed in all their glory or not at all.

A Greek culture minister told AFP: “Organisers in Qatar wanted to cover up the statues’ members with black cloth. So they were never put on display, they went back into storage and returned on 19 April.”

The row was sparked with Costas Tzavaras, Greece's deputy culture minister, spotted the nudes, which date to the 6th and 2nd centuries BC.

They were among nearly 600 antiquities brought from Greece for the "Olympics - Past and Present" exhibition.

However, Doha News quoted a museum spokeswoman saying: "The decision to remove the objects was based on the flow of the exhibition, awareness of the outreach to all schools and families in Qatar, and desire to be sensitive to community needs and standards.”