Mayor called on American superstar to visit the island and see where the statue was found

The municipality of the Greek island of Milos has invited American pop superstar Beyonce to the island to help their campaign for the return of the Aphrodite of Milos (AKA the Venus de Milo). have asked American pop superstar Beyonce to visit the Aegean island as part of their efforts to have the statue returned to Greece.

The island’s local council extended an invitation to the singer after she filmed a music video featuring the original statue which is now housed in the Louvre, Paris.

Speaking to the Athens News Agency, Mayor of Milos Gerasimos Dimoulakis, said “The fact that even an internationally-renowned artist such as Beyonce chose to appear by world-class monuments strengthens their timeless value. Even more so, when the case of Aphrodite, besides it being a monument of the Greek cultural heritage, is also the symbol of Milos”.

The municipality has launched a campaign to raise awareness and is in the process of collecting signatures for the return of the statue.

The iconic statue was discovered accidentally on April 8, 1820 when a Milos island farmer named Giorgos (or Theodoros) Kentrotas was digging in ancient ruins in his field to get some stones he needed.

Later negotiations between the Ottomans and French Admiral Jules Dumont d’Urville eventually saw the pieces of Aphrodite of Milos safely put on a ship to be transferred to France.

Currently, the Museum of Milos has a replica of the famed statue, with the original one on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris.