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The Acropolis museum
The Museum stands in the southeastern corner of the Acropolis
and houses priceless archaeological finds kept in chronological order,
starting with the Archaic (800-600 B.C.), and going
to the Classical (500- 400 B.C.), Hellenistic
(300 B.C.) and Roman periods. Among other outstanding
works of art housed in the Museum's 9 rooms are sculptures and sculptured
reliefs from the pediments, frieze and metopes of the Parthenon, the
Erechtheio and the Temple of Athena Nike. Also on
display is the unique collection of the "Kore"
statues (young girls with the characteristic Archaic smile). Room
exhibits the famous "Moschophoros", a man
bearing a calf on his shoulders. This is an exceptionally fine work,
noted for its composition and elasticity of form.
In Room V are pedimental figures of the "Gigantomachia",
or Battle of the Giants from the old Temple of Athena,
built by the Peisistratids. More works of the so-called "Severe
Style" are on display in Room VI, among them a sculptured relief
showing a "Contemplating Athena" who seems absorbed in her
thoughts as she is resting her head on her spear. The most characteristic
of works belonging to the "severe" style are the "Kritias
Boy", and the "blond boy", so called because
of the yellow colour of the hair.
In Room IV are the majority of the "Kore" statues, among
them the "Peplos Kori", so called from
the girded Dorian peplos (mantle) she wears over her chiton. The statue
is famous both for its facial expression and its original colours.
National Archaelogical Museum
At 1 Tositsa Street (but the public entrance faces Patission Avenue).
Don’t rush in. Enjoy the setting first. From Patission you walk
through a spacious garden with cafes beneath palm trees, up to a long,
classical facade above a sweep of marble steps – ususally crowded
with and footloose young travelers in search of a heritage, or a companion,
and crowds of tourists pouring from sightseeing buses. It’s
not unusual for 8,000 people to visit this museum in one day.
Once in the exhibition rooms proper you’re left with no doubt
that here is the world’s grandest collection of antiquities.
Years after you’ve visited the National Archaeological Museum,
its treasures will be imprinted on your mind. You need several hours,
if not several days, to see everything here. Go on your own rather
than on a tour, when you’ll be whisked through so quickly
you won’t remember a thing; on the other hand, if you have
time for several visits, it might be an idea to take a tour first
time round, make a mental note of exhibits, you want to see in a
more leisurely manner, then return again on your own. At any rate,
the Museum should be right after the Acropolis on your list of priorities
– particularly if you intend to visit, or have just visited,
other ancient sites in Greece.
All the treasures from Mycenae are here in Athens,
and the distant site really comes alive before your eyes, when you
see the fantastic collection of objects discovered at the dig by the
famous German archaeologist Schliemann. Note the magnificent beaten
gold mask of a man with beard and moustache taken from the fifth Shaft
Grave: Schliemann claimed, having removed the mask, to “have
gazed upon the face of Agamemnon”. The Mycenean
Hall contains a staggering variety of finds: intricate gold and silver
dagger blades, gold-leaf portrait masks, breastplates, swords, libation
cups, and many representations of animals and birds – all dating
from around 1550 B.C.
Contrast these objects of exquisite craftsmanship with the comparatively
crude statues of the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. – the stiff,
upright Kouros or youth is represented naked with
one foot forward and the Kore or maiden is draped.
Examples of this sculptural style have been found all over mainland
Greece and the islands. Another remerkable category of exhibits (not
grouped together) consists of bronzes, some of which have lain beneath
the sea for the past two thousand years. Most famous of them is the
statue of Poseidon, dating from 450 B.C. He stands
poised to hurl his trident (which has long since disappeared), not
far from the bronze head of Hermes (which was discovered
at Piraeus) and the Horse and Jockey of Artemission.
If you are a lover of fine pottery, upstairs there’s a huge
and bedazzling collection of red and black figured bases of all
shapes, from all periods. (The pieces you will see in the gift shops,
with little metal tags attached, are hand-painted authenticated
copies of these originals in the Museum.)
You should also visit the exhibition of the finds from Santorini
(or Thira, as it has now been officially named), the frescoes alive
with colorful representations of swallows, monkeys, dolphins, and
elegant figures of youths and maidens. Thira/Santorini was an island
civilization that flourished at the same time as the Minoan,
back there in the second millenium B.C. The islanders built luxurious
homes and decorated them with gorgeous murals and pottery. But one
day, as legend has it, “Engeladus in the bowels
of the Earth was roused with undescribable fury” and the ensuing
earthquake wiped out Thira.
These paragraphs describe maybe one-millionth of this museum’s
treasures; unless you have time to pay several visits, confine your
tour to a couple of halls, and within each focus on a couple of
showcases – such as the displays of gold rings, bracelets,
and seals.
Kerameikos Museum
It is a small square building around a courtyard which you are advised
to visit after your walk around the site. The main exhibits are grave
offerings found inside the tombs while the entrance
is dominated by funerary stelae.
Goulandris Museum of Natural History
In this very important Museum, you will have the chance to learn a
lot about the interdependence of all living things. The Museum exhibits
rich collections of insects, mammals,
reptiles, birds and shells,
as well as rocks and fossils from all over Greece.
It also organises seminars, lectures and temporary exhibitions relative
to crucial environmental issues in Greece and the world.
Greek Folk Art Museum
The rich collections in this Museum cover the period from 1650 to the
present. They include textiles, embroideries, costumes, silverware
and puppet-theatre. Also, fold paintings, works by Theofilos
Hatzimichael, wood carving and stone carving.
Gennadius Library Collections
Valuable manuscripts and books, documents, magazines, maps of the most
important moments in Greek literature are here. There
is also a Byzantine library, a reading room, and
an exhibition room. Make sure to see the collection of Lord
Byron's personal items (golden watch, his laurel wreath,
seals etc).
The Byzantine Museum
This Museum can justifiably be proud of one of the richest collections
of Byzantine icons in the world. The building housing
it was once the town residence of the Duchesse de Plaisance. The building
facing the entrance houses three different churches of different periods:
Early Christian, Byzantine and post-Byzantine.
The Museum of Cycladic Art
This very well organised Museum was founded to house the Goulandris'
private collection of Cycladic art. On the first
floor you will find various examples of the Cycladic culture, while
the second floor houses miniatures and memorabilia from the same period.
In 1992 a new wing was added to the Museum, which is housed in the
Stathatos Mansion. In it you can see the Athens Academy's collection
of ancient Greek art. On the ground floor of the
Neofytou Douka Street building, you can buy replicas of the Museum's
exhibits.
The War Museum
It houses weapons from the Stone Age and the Classical
period to the Second World War. Also on
exhibit are various types of fighter- aircraft, maps, banners, military
uniforms and models of warships and fighter-planes covering the whole
span of Greek history.
See also: history
of Greece, Archaelogical sites
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