Official: Greeks pull nudes from Qatar art exhibit

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has pulled two ancient statues of nude males from an Olympic exhibition in Doha after Qatari authorities insisted on veiling them.

A Culture Ministry official says exhibition organizers wanted to avoid scandalizing female visitors.

Greek Deputy Culture Minister Costas Tzavaras, who visited the Muslim country last month for the exhibition opening, objected, saying the works should be displayed as they were or shipped home.

So the statues were returned to Athens last week, the official said on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak on the record.

Qatari officials could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday night.

The statues date to the 6th and 2nd centuries BC. They were among nearly 600 antiquities brought from Greece for the "Olympics - Past and Present" exhibition.