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The former Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum is considered to be one of the most important
museums in the world. It displays some of the masterpieces of
ancient Greek art dedicated to the most significant sanctuary
of Athens, that of Athena Polias and of the Parthenon.
The
building is situated on the Sacred Rock, the Acropolis, east of
the Parthenon. It was designed by the architect Panagis Kalkos
and was built between 1865 and 1874. During the 1950s, it was
extended eastwards. Today de construction of the new
museum has begun on the corner of the Dionysiou Areopagitou
Street and the Makrygianni Street in the neighborhood with the
same name next to the Acropoli metro Station on the site of the
old military hospital known as the Weiler building. It was built
in 1834 by the Bavarian architect Wilhelm von Weiler and was one
of the first impressive public edifices of the new capital of
the Greek State. Today it houses the Centre for Acropolis Studies.
Only
stone sculptures from monuments and excavations in the Acropolis
area are included in the museum’s collections. Pottery and
bronzes are kept in the National Archaeological
Museum, while inscriptions are in the Epigraphic
Museum.
The
Acropolis Museum exhibits sculpted votive objects and pediments
of the Archaic period, sculptures of the Severe style period,
fragments of the Parthenon pediments, metopes and frieze, parts
of the Erechteion frieze and the parapets and frieze of the Temple
of Athena Nike. In addition, there are the original caryatids
(all but one) and the terracotta figurines and pottery from the
Shrine of the Nymph, excavated at the foot of the rock.
Most
of the pediments, metopes and the frieze of the Parthenon as well
as one caryatid were stolen at the beginning of the 19th century
by the Englishman, Lord
Elgin. They now are exhibited at the British Museum in London.
The entrance and room 1
Right
from the museum’s entrance and set on a high pedestal, there
is an owl, the sacred bird of Athena, dated to 500 BC. In the
vestibule opposite the entrance, is a sculpture complex of the
5th century BC attributed to Alkamenes, Pheidias’ pupil.
It depicts Procne, the mythical queen of Trace, planning to murder
her son Itys to avenge her husband’s infidelity. In the
same room there is an idealized bust of Alexander the Great, probably
the work of Leochares who depicted the Macedonian King on the
occasion of his sole visit to Athens after his victory at Chaeronea
in 338 BC.
The
tour of the museum’s main room starts with a display of
corks of the early 6th century BC. Especially impressive is the
monumental poros complex of a lioness tearing up a calf. It comes
from the pediment of a large temple dated to ca. 600 BC, perhaps
from the ancient Temple of Athena Polias. Next to it is another,
smaller, stone pediment belonging to a small temple or a treasury.
It shows Herakles fighting the Lernaian Hydra while his friend
Iolaos waits form him in his chariot. The ancient colors (red
and deep blue) have been very well preserved.
Opposite
is a marble Gorgon. Only the head and a small part of the body
survived. It was an acroterion of a large temple from the beginning
of the 6th century BC. It possibly belongs to the second construction
phase of the ancient Temple of Athena. The fragments of the marble
panthers exhibited on the left of the entrance, as well as the
head of the panther displayed near the second room, probably belong
to the frieze of the same temple. It is also likely that the fragment
with the polychrome inscribed lotus flower belongs to the poros
cornice of the same temple.
Room 2
The
sculptures in the second room are also dated to the first half
of the 6th century BC. On the long wall on the right there is
a poros pediment also possibly from the second construction phase
of the ancient Temple of Athena. At one end, Herakles is shown
fighting the sea-demon Triton, half man,
half fish, while at the other end there is a polychrome winged
tri-bodied demon with a serpent’s tail. Part of the same
pediment is also possibly thought to be the scene of Herakles’
apotheosis where Zeus, seated on a throne, and Hera, standing
beside him, receive the hero on Olympus.
The
big serpents beneath the window possibly decorated the other pediment
of the same temple. However, it should be noted that the poros
and marble sculptures, have recently been associated with the
early archaic predecessor of the Parthenon, from written sources
known as the Hekatompedon.
One
of the freestanding votive sculptures of the sanctuary is the
statue of the calf-bearer (570 BC) in the middle of the room.
According to the inscription on its base, the statue was dedicated
by someone called Rombos. Behind the calf-bearer stands the earliest
kore of the Acropolis.
Room 3
Two
of the kori (plural for kore) from Naxos are shown in the third
room. Beside them, two lions tear up a bull, a piece possibly
belonging to the centre of the pediment together with Herakles,
the Trition and the tri-bodied demon.
Room 4
The
fourth room contains marble sculptures of the second half
of the 6th century BC. Entering the room, visitors face the
Horseman also known as the Rider Rampin. The original head
of the figure, which has been replaced by a plaster copy,
is at the Louvre in Paris. The sculpture belonged to the French
collector G. Rampin and has been named after him. The Horseman
is also called the Persian because his attire is influenced
by the East (for example his short chiton with painted palmettes
and his breeches). Around him, a group of bigger and smaller
horsemen of the Late Archaic period are shown, representing
a votive equestrian group.
The
marble dog in the middle of the room was probably the guardian
of the entrance to the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia. The marble
lion-head on the dividing wall served as a water sprout of the
ancient Temple of Athena (ca. 525 BC). Beside it is a small relief
showing Hermes leading some nymphs.
Amongst
the valuable exhibits in this room are the statues of the kori
(young girls), the most prominent of the votive sculptures from
the period 530 to 500 BC. They are lined up in chronological order
along the long wall and in a semicircle at the far end of the
room. The kore beside the entrance is known as the Lyon kore.
Most of her upper body and the head are plaster copies of the
original which is in the French town of Lyon.
A
little further is the Peplos kore. She wears a chiton and a richly
adorned peplos. The colors of her eyes, lips and wavy hair, held
by a metal wreath, are still preserved; The small-figured kore
with a sweet smile and also richly colored, is the work of a Chian
artist. On both sides of the dividing wall at the far end of the
room, are the heads of kori statues. The showcases on the left
contain terracotta figurines and vessels from the shrine of a
nymph, excavated at the foot of the rock.
A
seated Athena in the center of the kori semicircle is probably
the work of the sculptor Endios and one of the very few to have
survived the Persian destruction of 480 BC. Beside her is the
kore with the almond-shaped eyes. She wears a chiton and a short
himation fastened on the left shoulder. Her wreath and her dress
were adorned with a painted meander band (500 BC).
Room 5 & 6
The
fifth room of the Acropolis museum is dominated by the bigger
than life-size marble figures from the eastern pediment of the
ancient Temple of Athena. This pediment relates to the gigantomachy
(battle with the giants). The exhibits show Athena fighting a
giant. The entire work is dated to ca. 520 BC, the period when
the Peisistratids (people under the rule of Peisistratos) gave
the temple a face-lift.
The
largest of the kori, a work by the sculptor Antenor dedicated
by the potter Nearchos, is on the right side of the room. In a
small side-room, known as the alcove, the frieze of the Temple
of Athena Nike is exhibited. Exact cement copies have replaced
the original stones on the monument.
Sculptures
in the Severe style (first half of the 5th century BC) have been
assembled in the sixth room. Attention of the visitors is drawn
to the Kritias Boy, the statue of a youth with long wavy hair
twined around his head. It is the work of Kritios, teacher of
Myron and it is dated 480 BC. Beside it is the head of the Blond
Youth. Traces of golden-yellow color are preserved in his hair.
The
relief of the Mourning Athena is dated to 460 BC. The goddess
wears an Attic belted peplos and bends her head slightly towards
the stele in front of her. Of particular interest is the Sulky
Kore, so named because it does not have the characteristic Archaic
smile, dedicated by Euthydikos.
Room 7, 8 & 9
Fragments
from the west (Cecrops and his daughter and Poseidon) and
the east (Selene with her chariot and the horses with the
neighing heads) pediment of the Parthenon are exhibited in
the seventh room. There also is a metoop showing a centaur
grabbing a Lapith woman by the waist and a head of Iris that
belongs to the eastern frieze of the temple.
Fragments
from the friezes of the Parthenon, the Erechteion and the parapet
of the Temple of Athena Nike are shown in room eight. Pieces from
the northern frieze of the Parthenon (440 BC) were placed along
the long wall of the room: young horsemen, chariots and water-bearers,
olive-branch bearers and youths leading lambs or bulls for sacrifice.
The
exhibit with the Olympian gods (Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis and
Aphrodite) receiving the procession, belongs to the eastern frieze.
Fragments from the Erechteion frieze (409-406 BC) are on display
on the small dividing wall in the middle of the room. In the corner
of the room there are pieces of the parapet from the tower of
the Temple of Athena Nike (410 BC) with scenes of Nike leading
bulls to sacrifice and a young Nike bending to tie or untie her
sandal.
In
a specially air-controlled chamber in the last room, the original
caryatids (all but one) of the Erechteion are on display.
Visitors
are allowed to make photos in the Acropolis Museum but without
the use of a flash. Out of respect for the historical value, it
is not allowed to pose in front of the exhibits and have your
photo taken.
The
first floor of this brand new museum will be open to the public
at the end of October and the rest of the building in 2008.
The
old museum on top of the Acropolis closed
its doors in July 2007 to prepare the works of art
to be moved to the new museum. The brand new Acropolis
Museum opens its doors to the public on 20 June 2009.. It will house more than 3.000 ancient
Greek works of art. There is no possibility of visiting the museum before this date.
The
tour of the museum’s main room starts with a display of
corks of the early 6th century BC. Especially impressive is the
monumental poros complex of a lioness tearing up a calf. It comes
from the pediment of a large temple dated to ca. 600 BC, perhaps
from the ancient Temple of Athena Polias. Next to it is another,
smaller, stone pediment belonging to a small temple or a treasury.
It shows Herakles fighting the Lernaian Hydra while his friend
Iolaos waits form him in his chariot. The ancient colors (red
and deep blue) have been very well preserved.
man,
half fish, while at the other end there is a polychrome winged
tri-bodied demon with a serpent’s tail. Part of the same
pediment is also possibly thought to be the scene of Herakles’
apotheosis where Zeus, seated on a throne, and Hera, standing
beside him, receive the hero on Olympus.
The
fourth room contains marble sculptures of the second half
of the 6th century BC. Entering the room, visitors face the
Horseman also known as the Rider Rampin. The original head
of the figure, which has been replaced by a plaster copy,
is at the Louvre in Paris. The sculpture belonged to the French
collector G. Rampin and has been named after him. The Horseman
is also called the Persian because his attire is influenced
by the East (for example his short chiton with painted palmettes
and his breeches). Around him, a group of bigger and smaller
horsemen of the Late Archaic period are shown, representing
a votive equestrian group. 
The
largest of the kori, a work by the sculptor Antenor dedicated
by the potter Nearchos, is on the right side of the room. In a
small side-room, known as the alcove, the frieze of the Temple
of Athena Nike is exhibited. Exact cement copies have replaced
the original stones on the monument. 
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Acropoli
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