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The New Acropolis Museum -- my review


cruisemom42

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I just returned from spending several days in Athens after my cruise. While there, I visited the new Acropolis Museum for the first time. Previously I visited the old Acropolis museum atop the Acropolis in 2006, so I had some basis for comparison. The new museum is a stunner. I went in expecting to spend maybe a couple of hours, tops, and was there for 4 hours. All I can say is that the old museum must not have been able to display a fifth of what is in the new one.

 

I visited on a Sunday, and there was about a 20-minute wait in line to purchase a ticket (5 euro) and enter. Interestingly, most sites in Athens were free that day, including the Acropolis, but this museum was not -- and it was plenty crowded, although it is spacious and handles a crowd well. Be forewarned that there is not a lot of available seating in the galleries -- in some places there are groups of seats and in others there are no seats at all.

 

Before entering the museum, take a few minutes to look at the excavations underneath -- when building it, an entire ancient neighborhood of the city was unearthed. The museum was then built on piers, with large plexiglas floor panels, enabling them to proceed with the building while not destroying the ruins beneath -- which are currently still being excavated.

 

Once inside, I would highly recommend going into the gift shop to the left of the entrance and purchasing the "Acropolis Museum Short Guide". It is available in several languages, costs 5 euros, and provides both a good guide to the site and a nice reminder afterwards -- particularly as photography is not allowed. Sadly, there is not any information given by the museum along with your ticket, so if you don't purchase a guide (or an audio tour), you're on your own.

 

By the way, I cannot remember which floor it was on, but there is a brief informational film about the Parthenon -- run continuously (alternating in English and Greek) that is also well worth watching.

 

On the ground floor, there is some information about Pericles, the "Golden Age" of Athens, and the circumstances around the building of the monuments atop the Acropolis after the Persian War. Once you've looked at that, you will head up a large ramp that somewhat simulates the approach up the Acropolis to the Parthenon -- though thankfully it is less steep! There are more excavations to be seen beneath this ramp and also very interesting displays in the cases along both sides. Don't worry about looking at both the left- and right-hand cases on the way up. Pick one side to look at on the way up and the other on the way down, as you will exit down the ramp at the end of your tour. One of the most interesting displays to me was about marriage customs in ancient Athens -- illustrated with vase paintings, objects given to the newlyweds, etc.

 

When you reach the top of the ramp, you are on the first floor (as they call it in Europe), where you will find mostly remains from the structures on the Acropolis before the ones built during the "Golden Age". You may be surprised to learn that there was a temple on the site of the Parthenon (and even called the Parthenon) before the current one. It was built during the Archaic Age (probably around 566 BC) -- and I was amazed at the amount of remains from this temple are in the museum -- the sculptures from the pediment are incredible; some even with traces of paint. There are also remains from other temples atop the Acropolis from this same period.

 

As you walk clockwise from the ramp, you'll see a lot of statues that were given as dedications to the gods: statues of standing men and (more often) women from wealthy aristocrats, statues of riders on horseback from knights (for some reason I love the horses with their stiff, bristly manes), and so on. The collection is well arranged to show how sculpture evolved during this Archaic period, from stiff, still poses to gradually become more lifelike and natural. Look for a few of the pieces that show signs of damage from the Persians, who completely razed the Acropolis in 480 BC.

 

At the end of this gallery, you will see escalators leading up to the next floor. You are meant to take them upstairs to the second floor and then the third floor, where the Parthenon sculptural friezes are found. However, if you look to the center of the first floor, you can see the wonderful Karyatid Columns (the originals) from the porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. You are meant to see these on your way back down, but I cheated and looked at them before going up, as they are my favorites. Each one is slightly different in the details of her hair, clothing, even facial expression. Sadly, the details of their faces show the severe damage from pollution that they suffered in the last half-century before they were removed from the open air. I read that you can see pictures of them from 60 years ago with facial details that were still remarkably sharp.....most of the damage was very recent indeed.

 

Anyway, back to the "official" tour route. Take the escalators up to the second floor. Here you will find another gift shop, bathrooms, and a nice restaurant/cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating. I decided to have lunch at the restaurant, since my "tour" was taking much longer than I originally thought it would. The food was reasonably priced and good; service was leisurely, so if you are in a rush, it's probably best to skip it. You can sit outside under a trellis to enjoy views of the Acropolis and other nearby buildings on a pleasant day -- however, smoking is allowed at the outdoor tables, so take that into consideration.

 

Suitably rested and refreshed, I took the elevator to the third floor, the jewel of the museum. The space was designed to allow a full-size recreation of the Parthenon's dimensions inside it, and the decorative elements are displayed exactly where they would have been placed on the original building. The feeling is enhanced by the fact that you can look across to the Acropolis and see the real thing, oriented at the same angle. You really have to walk around the entire space twice: the first time to see the outer sculptural panels (metopes), and the second time to see the decorative sculpture of the inside frieze that is actually showing one long procession: the Panathenaic Festival. The remaining sculptures from the pediments are also shown in their places. There is good signage that describes what you are seeing.

 

As most people know, Lord Elgin "looted" (or "rescued" depending on your point of view) many of the decorative panels, portions of the frieze, and other sculptural elements, which are still in the British Museum. The Acropolis museum has chosen to display casts of these elements, to give you a better idea of the total effect of the art decorating the Parthenon. It is simply stunning beyond words. I thought the casts might be distracting from the originals, but I didn't find that to be true at all. It just made me wish that the whole could be together in one place...

 

After you look your fill at the Parthenon, you head back down to the first floor via escalators, where you will have a chance to do the other side of that gallery (and the Karyatids, if you didn't already see them), including sculpture from the Propylaia (entrance gate), the small but beautiful temple of Athena Nike (high up on the right as you enter the Acropolis through the Propylaia), and other remains from the Erechtheion. Farther down the gallery are some sculptures from later periods, including from the time of Alexander the Great, the Roman period, and even beyond. Do NOT miss the wonderful head of Alexander the Great, created just shortly after he died and presumably fairly true to life.

 

You will now be at the ramp, which you will walk down (looking at the exhibits on the side you didn't see on the way up), and then you can exit out the front of the building.

 

All in all, I thought the building was well designed and as I said at the beginning, it handled a crowd well. It really was designed to showcase the art inside. Just be aware that there is a lot more to see than you may think, and if you only have an hour or so to dash in and out, you may leave unsatisfied.

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A very interesting review...thank you Cynthia!

 

When we were there 2 years ago, the museum had just opened with only a temporary exhibit, and none of the permanent exhibits in place yet. We did get to see the ruins under the plexiglass (which are really well done), and go up as far as the first floor. After reading your review, I realize that we have to go back to Athens ... I really enjoy the city, so will look forward to a 3rd visit.:)

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Excellent review. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

Unfortunately, this spring when we were in Athens the museum was closed. However, I've now decided that it would well be worth the return visit.

 

As an aside, if you have an opportunity to download the outstanding podcasts from

BBC 4, "A History of the World in a 100 Objects", (available on iTunes with a related web site) you can listen to the Director of the British Museum describing objects that have been "rescued" or "looted" from their cutures and displayed at the Museum.

You can see why the Elgin Marbles are a part of a much greater issue.

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A very interesting review...thank you Cynthia!

 

When we were there 2 years ago, the museum had just opened with only a temporary exhibit, and none of the permanent exhibits in place yet. We did get to see the ruins under the plexiglass (which are really well done), and go up as far as the first floor. After reading your review, I realize that we have to go back to Athens ... I really enjoy the city, so will look forward to a 3rd visit.:)

 

Thanks; I appreciate the compliment from you! Sorry to be the motivator for a third trip to Athens. ;) I have to say I really enjoyed the city. I think perhaps it's more enjoyable to spend several days there (and thus get to enjoy the lovely evenings), than just to rush around seeing the sights in a day. Only explanation I can think of to explain why many seem to have a lukewarm reaction to this city.

 

Excellent review. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

Unfortunately, this spring when we were in Athens the museum was closed. However, I've now decided that it would well be worth the return visit.

 

As an aside, if you have an opportunity to download the outstanding podcasts from

BBC 4, "A History of the World in a 100 Objects", (available on iTunes with a related web site) you can listen to the Director of the British Museum describing objects that have been "rescued" or "looted" from their cutures and displayed at the Museum.

You can see why the Elgin Marbles are a part of a much greater issue.

 

Again, thanks. Since my previous visit to Athens, I've read much on both the circumstances surrounding Lord Elgin's actions and those of many other "adventurers" in that era. I almost wish I knew less! The first time I saw the Parthenon, I simply marveled that this beautiful building still existed and appreciated what was there. This time, I couldn't help thinking of what wasn't there, and could not appreciate the building on its own merits. :o

 

I will try to track down the program you mention, though, as it sounds right up my alley.

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I think perhaps it's more enjoyable to spend several days there (and thus get to enjoy the lovely evenings), than just to rush around seeing the sights in a day. Only explanation I can think of to explain why many seem to have a lukewarm reaction to this city.

 

We were hooked on the first visit (a jam-packed port day), but did enjoy it even more on the next visit of 3 days ... so nice to be able to spend lengthy amounts of time at sites, as you did at the new Acropolis Museum, and to see the city at night (especially the Acropolis).

 

Will look forward to more of your reports ... always a pleasure to read.:)

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As most people know, Lord Elgin "looted" (or "rescued" depending on your point of view) many of the decorative panels, portions of the frieze, and other sculptural elements, which are still in the British Museum. The Acropolis museum has chosen to display casts of these elements, to give you a better idea of the total effect of the art decorating the Parthenon. It is simply stunning beyond words. I thought the casts might be distracting from the originals, but I didn't find that to be true at all. It just made me wish that the whole could be together in one place...

 

The museum is indeed a stunning place. Greece has become expert at creating wonderful museum displays. The Acropolis Museum is matched by others around the country, from the great museum at Delphi to the seldom visited little jewel at Cheironeia.

 

When we were at the Acropolis museum, the two triangular pediments at each end of the recreation, where the most important of the "Elgin" marbles belong, were stunningly empty, with only a small card stating that the marbles had been taken out of the country. This made a huge statement, and it is clear to anybody who has seen it where the marbles truly belong. For one museum or one country to claim that it "owns" part of the cultural heritage of the Western world is arrogance beyond belief.

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Very interesting review - greatly looking forward to our visit in two weeks time. You may be interested in the following from the British Museum Website

 

 

"Between 1800 and 1803 G.B. Lusieri, acting on behalf of Lord Elgin, removed this caryatid, which stood second from the left on the front of the south porch. During the Greek War of Independence (1821-33) the Erectheion was reduced to ruins, although the caryatids survived. It has since been reconstructed. The British Museum's caryatid is better preserved than her sisters, which have now severely weathered. They have recently been removed to the Acropolis Museum and replaced by casts."

 

If you get a chance to come to London you could see the better preserved caryatid and the rest of the frieze splendidly displayed.

 

Thank you again for the review - hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip.

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We visited there two years ago just after it was fully opened (I think it was still either free or 1 euro) and we found it the highlight of our brief stay in Athens. We did not have the benefit if appreciating the improvements over the old museum but spent over two hours there and felt we had only brushed the surface. In fact you pointed out several items we missed entirely. O'well guess we will have to visit again also :D. Thanks for the great review,

 

 

Kirk

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Thanks for the great review. We were in it in Nov 08 while it was being prepared for opening. It was free but only the first floor was open. Are those coloured plastic stools they had in the entrance still there? We are returning to Athens this Oct and are making it a point to return to the museum, along with the Acropolis to see the restorations progress. Thanks for the info, it will be a great help. Regards, roland

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Thanks for the great review. We were in it in Nov 08 while it was being prepared for opening. It was free but only the first floor was open. Are those coloured plastic stools they had in the entrance still there? We are returning to Athens this Oct and are making it a point to return to the museum, along with the Acropolis to see the restorations progress. Thanks for the info, it will be a great help. Regards, roland

 

I don't recall seeing any colored plastic stools, but the entrance area was thronged on the day I was there and I could very well have missed them...!

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Thanks for the great review, & all the helpful tips. This adds even more anticipation for next year's trip, but I'm sad to say Athens will only be a port day for us, so we won't get the full experience of the museum. We'll probably have only an hour and half to spend there, hopefully, since we are later in the season, it won't be crowded.

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I just returned from spending several days in Athens after my cruise. While there, I visited the new Acropolis Museum for the first time. Previously I visited the old Acropolis museum atop the Acropolis in 2006, so I had some basis for comparison. The new museum is a stunner. I went in expecting to spend maybe a couple of hours, tops, and was there for 4 hours. All I can say is that the old museum must not have been able to display a fifth of what is in the new one.

 

I visited on a Sunday, and there was about a 20-minute wait in line to purchase a ticket (5 euro) and enter. Interestingly, most sites in Athens were free that day, including the Acropolis, but this museum was not -- and it was plenty crowded, although it is spacious and handles a crowd well. Be forewarned that there is not a lot of available seating in the galleries -- in some places there are groups of seats and in others there are no seats at all.

 

Before entering the museum, take a few minutes to look at the excavations underneath -- when building it, an entire ancient neighborhood of the city was unearthed. The museum was then built on piers, with large plexiglas floor panels, enabling them to proceed with the building while not destroying the ruins beneath -- which are currently still being excavated.

 

Once inside, I would highly recommend going into the gift shop to the left of the entrance and purchasing the "Acropolis Museum Short Guide". It is available in several languages, costs 5 euros, and provides both a good guide to the site and a nice reminder afterwards -- particularly as photography is not allowed. Sadly, there is not any information given by the museum along with your ticket, so if you don't purchase a guide (or an audio tour), you're on your own.

 

By the way, I cannot remember which floor it was on, but there is a brief informational film about the Parthenon -- run continuously (alternating in English and Greek) that is also well worth watching.

 

On the ground floor, there is some information about Pericles, the "Golden Age" of Athens, and the circumstances around the building of the monuments atop the Acropolis after the Persian War. Once you've looked at that, you will head up a large ramp that somewhat simulates the approach up the Acropolis to the Parthenon -- though thankfully it is less steep! There are more excavations to be seen beneath this ramp and also very interesting displays in the cases along both sides. Don't worry about looking at both the left- and right-hand cases on the way up. Pick one side to look at on the way up and the other on the way down, as you will exit down the ramp at the end of your tour. One of the most interesting displays to me was about marriage customs in ancient Athens -- illustrated with vase paintings, objects given to the newlyweds, etc.

 

When you reach the top of the ramp, you are on the first floor (as they call it in Europe), where you will find mostly remains from the structures on the Acropolis before the ones built during the "Golden Age". You may be surprised to learn that there was a temple on the site of the Parthenon (and even called the Parthenon) before the current one. It was built during the Archaic Age (probably around 566 BC) -- and I was amazed at the amount of remains from this temple are in the museum -- the sculptures from the pediment are incredible; some even with traces of paint. There are also remains from other temples atop the Acropolis from this same period.

 

As you walk clockwise from the ramp, you'll see a lot of statues that were given as dedications to the gods: statues of standing men and (more often) women from wealthy aristocrats, statues of riders on horseback from knights (for some reason I love the horses with their stiff, bristly manes), and so on. The collection is well arranged to show how sculpture evolved during this Archaic period, from stiff, still poses to gradually become more lifelike and natural. Look for a few of the pieces that show signs of damage from the Persians, who completely razed the Acropolis in 480 BC.

 

At the end of this gallery, you will see escalators leading up to the next floor. You are meant to take them upstairs to the second floor and then the third floor, where the Parthenon sculptural friezes are found. However, if you look to the center of the first floor, you can see the wonderful Karyatid Columns (the originals) from the porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. You are meant to see these on your way back down, but I cheated and looked at them before going up, as they are my favorites. Each one is slightly different in the details of her hair, clothing, even facial expression. Sadly, the details of their faces show the severe damage from pollution that they suffered in the last half-century before they were removed from the open air. I read that you can see pictures of them from 60 years ago with facial details that were still remarkably sharp.....most of the damage was very recent indeed.

 

Anyway, back to the "official" tour route. Take the escalators up to the second floor. Here you will find another gift shop, bathrooms, and a nice restaurant/cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating. I decided to have lunch at the restaurant, since my "tour" was taking much longer than I originally thought it would. The food was reasonably priced and good; service was leisurely, so if you are in a rush, it's probably best to skip it. You can sit outside under a trellis to enjoy views of the Acropolis and other nearby buildings on a pleasant day -- however, smoking is allowed at the outdoor tables, so take that into consideration.

 

Suitably rested and refreshed, I took the elevator to the third floor, the jewel of the museum. The space was designed to allow a full-size recreation of the Parthenon's dimensions inside it, and the decorative elements are displayed exactly where they would have been placed on the original building. The feeling is enhanced by the fact that you can look across to the Acropolis and see the real thing, oriented at the same angle. You really have to walk around the entire space twice: the first time to see the outer sculptural panels (metopes), and the second time to see the decorative sculpture of the inside frieze that is actually showing one long procession: the Panathenaic Festival. The remaining sculptures from the pediments are also shown in their places. There is good signage that describes what you are seeing.

 

As most people know, Lord Elgin "looted" (or "rescued" depending on your point of view) many of the decorative panels, portions of the frieze, and other sculptural elements, which are still in the British Museum. The Acropolis museum has chosen to display casts of these elements, to give you a better idea of the total effect of the art decorating the Parthenon. It is simply stunning beyond words. I thought the casts might be distracting from the originals, but I didn't find that to be true at all. It just made me wish that the whole could be together in one place...

 

After you look your fill at the Parthenon, you head back down to the first floor via escalators, where you will have a chance to do the other side of that gallery (and the Karyatids, if you didn't already see them), including sculpture from the Propylaia (entrance gate), the small but beautiful temple of Athena Nike (high up on the right as you enter the Acropolis through the Propylaia), and other remains from the Erechtheion. Farther down the gallery are some sculptures from later periods, including from the time of Alexander the Great, the Roman period, and even beyond. Do NOT miss the wonderful head of Alexander the Great, created just shortly after he died and presumably fairly true to life.

 

You will now be at the ramp, which you will walk down (looking at the exhibits on the side you didn't see on the way up), and then you can exit out the front of the building.

 

All in all, I thought the building was well designed and as I said at the beginning, it handled a crowd well. It really was designed to showcase the art inside. Just be aware that there is a lot more to see than you may think, and if you only have an hour or so to dash in and out, you may leave unsatisfied.

 

Nice review.

 

I am glad you liked it. I was not impressed and would probably not go back again, though I will say that the views of the Acropolis and Parthenon from the 3rd floor are marvelous.

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Thank you very much for your review. For a first-time visitor to Athens, would you suggest touring the Acropolis before or after visiting the Acropolis Museum?

 

Hmm, that's a tough one, because I saw the Acropolis first. So, to me, that's what seems more logical. However, if you don't know a lot about the history of the Acropolis or the buildings on it, perhaps it might be better to see the museum first.

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Thanks so much for the great review!

 

I'm so glad that Athens finally got a museum of this caliber. Next hope is that they can get the rest of the Parthenon back (Elgin marbles in London and the other friezes/sculptures in the Louvre).

We went last December, soon after it was opened. There were long queues and security checks and the exhibits were often 6 people deep and thus difficult to see. Perhaps it is because we went on a Sunday.

However, they were magnificent and I'd love to see them again under more favourable circumstances.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another vote of thanks to Cynthia for the extremely comprehensive review, which I found particularly useful as there is no photography allowed so my only memory otherwise would be what I could absorb in my 90 minutes there. This brings much of it back.

 

For those interested in a crash-course in Acropolisology I made this

 

It doesn't look like the NAM will be getting the Elgin marbles back any time soon, but if it ever does they will look different to those that Greece kept because of damaged caused by the British Museum in the 1930s in cleaning them with wire wool. The ones in Athens were treated much better and were cleaned using the somewhat more sophisticated method of lasers. :(

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Another vote of thanks to Cynthia for the extremely comprehensive review, which I found particularly useful as there is no photography allowed so my only memory otherwise would be what I could absorb in my 90 minutes there. This brings much of it back.

 

For those interested in a crash-course in Acropolisology I made this

 

It doesn't look like the NAM will be getting the Elgin marbles back any time soon, but if it ever does they will look different to those that Greece kept because of damaged caused by the British Museum in the 1930s in cleaning them with wire wool. The ones in Athens were treated much better and were cleaned using the somewhat more sophisticated method of lasers. :(

 

Great video!

 

Thank goodness Lord Elgin didn't feel it was worth taking the sculptures from the Temple of Hephaestus, eh? I have to say that was one of my favorite spots.

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Questions re: no photography.....do you have to check your camera or can you still carry it with you?

 

My camera fits into my bag, so it wasn't an issue for me. I didn't see them making anyone check a camera.

 

The guards were yelling at a few people who persisted in trying to "sneak" photos on cameras or cell phones. I suppose if that keeps up they may become stricter.

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My camera fits into my bag, so it wasn't an issue for me. I didn't see them making anyone check a camera.

 

The guards were yelling at a few people who persisted in trying to "sneak" photos on cameras or cell phones. I suppose if that keeps up they may become stricter.

 

Thanks. My husband uses a high end SLR and would not be happy at having to check it.

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