The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
The
Academy of Athens
The
Academy of Athens is part of the so-called "Neoclassical
Trilogy" of the city of Athens. It consists of aesthetically
distinct parts that form a harmonic ensemble. A corridor connects
the two lateral wings to the main body of the building, which
is set-off by its Ionian-style entrance and its big pediment.
The entrance has elements originating from the eastern side
of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. The predominant material
on the facets is marble.
It
was built in two phases, in 1859-1863 and 1868-1885,
based on studies of the Danish architect Theophile
Hansen and it is believed to be his most exquisite
work in Greece. Hansen himself was also supervising
the construction up to 1861 when Ziller took
over. The embossed compositions on the central
pediment and the statues outside are works of
the sculptor Drosis. The embossed compositions
on the eight small pediments are work by Melnizki
(1875) and the wall-paintings in the interior
were made by Grupenckel.
The
main donator to finance the construction was
the family of the Baron Simon Sinas, Ambassador
of Greece in Vienna, Berlin and Munich. In 1887,
the architect Ernest Ziller, acting as proxy
of Sinas' heirs, delivered the building complete
to the then Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis.
Sculptures
There are many sculptures
in the Athens Academy. There are seated statues of
Socrates and Plato in front of the building and the
central pediment depicting the birth
of Athena . The building’s emblem, the
statues of Athena and Apollo on two high Ionic columns,
are works of the sculptor Leonidas Drossis.
The eight small pediments on the sides of the building,
by Franz Melnitzki, depict Athena offering art and
science to the Athenians. The bust of donor Simon Sinas
stands in front of the building among the gods of wisdom
and light and the most eminent philosophers of Greek
Antiquity. They were chosen to adorn the most important
spiritual institution of Greece.
From
time to time, preservation and restoration works
take place. The facets, the statues and other decorating
elements were cleaned in 1980 and the wooden roofs
were restored between 1990 and 1992
Panepistimiou
Panepistimio
The Vallianios
National Library
The
National Library also forms part of the so-called "Neoclassical
Trilogy" of the city of Athens: the Academy, the University
and the Library. It consists of three solid parts, out of which
the one in the middle, which is also the biggest, houses the
reading room. To enter this part, one has to pass through a
Doric-style row of columns (designed after the Temple of Hephaestus in the Ancient Agora of Thissio, which served as its model),
after climbing a monumental curved double Renascence style
staircase.
The
reading room, surrounded by Ionian-style columns,
is covered by a glass ceiling. The cast-iron
constructions of the bookstands were referred
to as exceptional back in their time. In general,
the building is considered to be a characteristic
sample of mature Neoclassicism.
As
early as in 1858, King Otto had ordered Hansen
to make a study for the construction of a Library
next to the University, that had already started
being built. It was built between 1887 and 1902,
based on a study of the Danish architect, Theophile
Hansen, brother of Christian Hansen. Ernest
Ziller was the supervising architect who also
studied the entrance stairways and the main
bookstands. The project was funded by the Vallianos brothers,
Russian Greeks, while the Greek state contributed financially
to the completion of the works.
The
first public library in modern Greece was founded on
the island of Aegina in 1829 by the then Governor
I. Kapodistrias and in 1834 was moved to Athens
where, before ending up next to the University
building, it had been temporarily housed in
various old buildings. In 1884 the then Prime
Minister Charilaos Trikoupis took the final
initiative in constructing the Library. Today,
it houses the most complete public library of
Greece.
Panepistimiou
Panepistimio
The University of Athens
The
National and Capodistrian University of Athens is the last
part of the Neoclassical Trilogy. It was founded on 3 May
1837 and was housed in a residence of architect Stamatis
Kleanthes, on the north east side of the Acropolis. It was
the first University, not only in the newly established Greek
State but also in all the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean
in general. The "Othonian
University", as it was called before taking its present
name, "National and Capodistrian University of Athens",
consisted of four faculties: theology, law, medicine and arts
(which included applied sciences and mathematics). It had 33
professors, 52 students and 75 non-matriculated
"auditors". In November 1841, new classes began in
a new building (at Panepistimiou), a design of the Danish architect
Christian Hansen.
Between
1895 and 1911 an average of one thousand new
students entered the faculties each year, a
figure which rose to two thousand at the end
of World War I. This led to the decision to
introduce entrance examinations for all the
faculties, beginning with the academic year
1927-28. Since 1954 the number of students admitted
each year has been fixed by the Ministry of
Education and Religion, by proposal of the faculties.
A
major change in the structure of the University
came about in 1904 when the faculty of arts
was split into two separate faculties: that
of arts and that of sciences, the latter consisting
of the departments of physics and mathematics
and the school of pharmacy. In 1919 a department
of chemistry was added and in 1922 the school
of pharmacy was renamed a department. A further
change came about when the school of dentistry
was added to the faculty of medicine. In the
1960's construction work began on the University
campus in the suburb of Ilissia. The Ilissia
campus now houses the schools of philosophy,
theology and sciences
The
university consists of a group of buildings that shape up
a double "T", with two symmetrical courtyards.
The facade is strictly symmetrical to the arcade of rectangular
pillars, set-off by an Ionian-style entrance. The bases of
the columns and the capitals of the entrance are perfect
replicas of the equivalent found in the propylaea of the
Acropolis. The outside statues complete the entrance's composition.
The
building now serves as headquarters of the university
of Athens, housing the offices of the rectorate,
the juridical department, the archives and the
ceremonial hall for official ceremonies that
refer to the university community. With a wide
offer of intelligence to Greek and foreign students,
today the university fulfills its leading role
as an important European university.
Panepistimiou
Panepistimio
The Student Club
of the University of Athens
The
building of the student club was constructed
in the period between the two World Wars, with
plans based on the study drawn in 1927 by the
architect E. Lazarides. Today, it belongs to
the National and Capodistrian University.
By
a ministerial decree of 1988, the building was
identified as a work of art because of its eclectic
elements on its facets and of its important
theater housed in its ground-floor (which is
important for the study of the theatrical development).
In
1991, its facets were restored after some rotten
varnished parts started falling down. The restoration
study was conducted by the technical services
of the university of Athens.
Today,
the building houses shops and the students'
theatre in the ground-floor and the first floor,
the students' restaurant on the second and third
floors, and offices on the fifth floor.