National Archaeological Museum of Athens

City Tours 17 May 2017 7 min read

The National Archaeological Museum (National Archeological Museum) began construction in 1866 based on designs by the painter and architect Ludvig Lange and was completed by Ernst Ziller in 1889. It is the oldest museum in the country and houses antiquities from all over Greece. The imposing neoclassical building is located between 44 Patision Street, Vas. Georgiou Street, Bouboulinas Street and Tositsa Street (pedestrian street). The Museum is divided into thematic halls, covering an area of 8,000 sq m. and housing approximately 11,000 exhibits.

The exhibit halls are divided as follows:

–Neolithic and Proto-Mycenaean

(6^th millennium BC to the Middle Helladic period or Middle Bronze Age, 2000-1580).

The hall includes findings from excavations carried out throughout Greece such as Thessaly, Sterea, Lemnos, etc.

–Cycladic

(Early Cycladic period, 2700-2000 and Late Cycladic 1600-1200).

It includes all the findings of the Cycladic civilization that came from the excavations of Chrys. Tountas in Syros, Paros, Antiparos, Amorgos, Sifnos, of the archaeologist K. Stephanos, in Syros and Naxos and of the English Archaeological School in Milos. It includes marble idols, clay vessels, bronze utilitarian objects of the time, etc. In this room it is worth seeing the 2 great marble idols, made of Parian marble, that were found in the excavations of Keros. In the same tomb, a standing yardman and a seated one harper. The courtier shows that he is in 3D motion, with his body leaning forward and his head backward.

–Mycenaean

(Late Helladic or Mycenaean period, 1580-1100).

It includes the excavations made by Schliemann (1876) of the famous 6 vertical tombs, the tombs of 2^th of the precincts of Mycenae, the Palace of Pylos in Messinia, etc. The 2 golden cups from the vaulted tomb of Vapheion and the fresco from Mycenae, with a female figure, stand out. Eriphyle, holding a necklace in her right hand. The golden Mask of Agamemnon, located here, is the most impressive mask of the 5 found in the royal tombs of Mycenae, during Schliemann's excavations.

–Archaic Sculpture

(Archaic period 650-480 BC)

Here we have 7 rooms with exhibits of funerary and votive kouroi and kores, funerary relief stelae. See the colossal Kouros (600 BC) which was a votive offering (honor in memory), at the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion.

–Plastic of 5^thBC

And here there are 7 rooms full of funerary and votive steles and many other works of the 5th century.^th century. The relief votive offering with the goddess stands out Demeter to offer to the king of Eleusis Triptolemo a bundle of ears of corn and on the right her daughter Persephone holding a torch (430-420 BC). Characteristic is the height of the two gods in relation to the mortal Triptolemus, as a sign of respect for the goddesses Triptolemus is shorter. Also the bronze statue of Poseidon or of the For, archaeologists disagree on this, 2.09 m high, found in Artemision (1928) and constituting a leading work of a coppersmith of the time, as well as the column of Leaders discovered in Kerameikos. The relief shows Hegeso seated taking a jewel from the box held by her slave, with a melancholy expression. At the top of the stele it is written "«Leader of the Consul».

– Plastic of 4^th BC

In 8 rooms you will see marble or bronze works, originals and copies, cult, funerary, votive and also ancient (Epidaurus Room). The room stands out for Hermes of Andros and his bronze statue Horseman of Artemision (150 BC) which appears to be galloping towards the home straight, as the muscles of the rider and horse are clearly visible (it was pulled from the sea of Artemision). An important exhibit in this room is the Teenager of Antikythera. A great bronze statue, 1.94 m high, original, probably depicting Perseus or Pan holding the head of Medusa in his raised hand. It was recovered in pieces from the Antikythera sea and is believed to be the work of Lysippus or Euphranor (340 BC). You can also see the Head of Health (350-340 BC), of the goddess of Health, which was discovered in the Temple of Athena Aleia in Tegea and was apparently part of a statue.

–Sculpture of the Hellenistic and Roman periods

The "Hall of Themis" includes the supernatural work of Chaerestratou (3^th BC) found in Rhamnouda in 1890. Then there are sculptures from the sanctuary of Lykosoura, the head from the bronze statue of a boxer (330 BC), etc.

–Collection of Bronze Works

In 4 rooms, bronze works from all over the country are exhibited, mainly from Dodona, Olympia and the Athenian Acropolis. The most notable is Teenager of Marathon, which took its name from the bay of Marathon in which it was found in 1926. It depicts a boxer and, except for a part of his left hand that is later, the statue is an original and a masterpiece, probably the work of Praxiteles or one of his students (330 BC).

–Collection of Vases and Clay Figurines

(Protogeometric period, 11^th century to 4^th century BC)

It is located on the 1^th floor of the Museum and occupies 8 rooms. Here there are clay pots and figurines from various periods. The Jug from Analatos (700 BC), a typical example of early Attic vases, the black-figure Attic amphora painted with Centaurs and Gorgons (620 BC), the black-figure skyphos with a representation of runners (540 BC), etc.

There is another type of work in one room, votive paintings such as the paintings by Pitsa of Corinth, which are wooden, painted with tempera on a white background (540 BC) and the clay work of Ninnios, painted with the red-figure vase technique.

In other rooms there are many clay figurines from the Protogeometric period to the Tanagraean period (4^th and the 3rd^thc.).

–The Thera Exhibition

It mainly includes wall paintings discovered at Akrotiri on Thera. The wall painting of Spring (showing a rocky place with lilies and swallows), the mural of Fisherman (a naked fisherman holding 2 fish on a rope), the mural of 2 children boxing, etc.

–Eleni Stathatou Collection

It is located in the basement of the Museum and mainly includes jewelry from the ancient Greek and Byzantine periods, from the Stathatos collection.

–Collection of Egyptian and Oriental Antiquities

This collection is unique in Greece and these works date from the predynastic period (5000 BC) to the times of the Roman conquest.

–Epigraphic Museum

It is part of the Archaeological Museum but has its own entrance. It contains approximately 14,000 inscriptions carved in stone from Greece and Asia Minor. They date from the 6th century BC.^th BC to 3^th AD century and have religious, historical and philological content. This particular Museum is considered the largest of its kind worldwide.

After you have finished your tour of the Museum, you can sit down and have a coffee or something to eat if you wish. Inside the Museum, in the atrium, there is a small and atmospheric café where you can enter without a ticket, and in the large square, outside, in front of the Archaeological Museum, there is a café-restaurant, «The Museum Garden».

Next to the Archaeological Museum, towards Tositsa Street, is the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). The Foundation was established at 42 Patision Street in 1873 and for its construction, the benefactors of Metsov, N. Stournaras, M. Tositsas, El. Tositsas and G. Averof, donated money. It is the work of the architect L. Kaftantzoglou. It is the oldest educational institution in Greece in the field of technology.

The emblem of the NTUA is "Prometheus the Fire-Bearer" who, in addition to fire, offered people the Sciences and Letters. The NTUA has a library with 150,000 volumes of books.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the state granted 900 hectares in the Zografou area where the Polytechnic University was later built.. Today, the Rectorate has been moved to a building in Zografou, as have most of the Foundation's activities, e.g. classes are held in the Zografou buildings.

The disembodied head located in the courtyard of the Polytechnic University, off Patision Street, recalls the youth uprising on November 17, 1973 for the consolidation of Democracy.