French and Ottoman soldiers killed 200 Greeks in order to transfer to France the priceless statue of Venus de Milo in 1820, a Greek historian claims.

According to Greek historian Dimitris Fotiadis, who wrote the six-volume History of the Greek Revolution of 1821, the statue of Venus de Milo (Aphrodite of Milos) was discovered on the island of Milos in 1820. The island was occupied by the Ottomans at the time, and was found accidentally by a Greek farmer, Georgios Kentrotas, in his plot of land in April, in 1820.

Louis Brest, the French vice-consul on Milos, bought the statue from Kentrotas after the suggestion of French naval officer Olivier Voutier, who happened to be on the island at the time of discovery. The statue was sold for an unknown, but definitely small amount of money.

According to the Greek historian, the islanders found out about Kentrotas’ precious discovery and his transaction with the French and reacted strongly. According to Fotiadis, the residents of Milos tried to stop the French from loading the Aphrodite of Milos onto the French ship.

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