"As of today, a monumental work of art that links myth and history and takes us back to the roots of Europe will adorn the courtyard of the European Parliament,” said Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos. The minister was representing the Greek government at a ceremony in Strasbourg to unveil “The Rape of Europa,” a statue sculpted by Nikos and Pantelis Sotiriadis and donated by the Municipality of Aghios Nikolas in Crete. It was “a great honor and pleasure” said Avramopoulos, to represent the government “at such a deeply symbolic event.” The sculpture will be a reminder of Greece’s contribution to building the idea of Europe, which needs myth and history to consolidate its identity in the minds of EU citizens. “This conjunction of meanings which has been handed down to us through the ages is depicted by the sculpture which we give to the European Parliament, the temple of European democracy, where a new European architectural policy is gradually being built and the foundations are being laid for a shared cultural structure,” concluded the minister.