National Archaeological Museum

Renovated and expanded just before the 2004 Olympics, all galleries open this year for the first time since the 1999 earthquake. Considered one of the top 10 museums in the world, its collection of ancient Greek antiquities is unrivaled and stunning even to those who have been there quite a few times. The Akrotiri frescoes are on display again (after being damaged in the 1999 earthquake and removed) as are many "new" items, recently returned to Greece from Los Angeles, Italy, Belgium, Britain, and Germany. In order to appreciate the museum and its many treasures, try to be at the door when it opens, so you can see the exhibits and not the backs of other visitors. Early arrival, except in high summer, should give you at least an hour before most tour groups arrive; alternatively, get here an hour before closing or at lunchtime, when the tour groups may not be as dense. If you can come more than once, your experience here will be a pleasure rather than an endurance contest. Tip: Be sure to get the brochure on the collection when you buy your ticket; it has a handy and largely accurate description of the exhibits.

The Mycenaean Collection includes gold masks, cups, dishes, and jewelry unearthed from the site of Mycenae by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. Many of these objects are small, delicate, and very hard to see when the museum is crowded. Don't miss the stunning burial mask that Schliemann misnamed the "Mask of Agamemnon." Archaeologists are sure that the mask is not Agamemnon's, but belonged to an earlier, unknown monarch. Also not to be missed are the stunning Vaphio cups, showing mighty bulls, unearthed in a tomb at a seemingly insignificant site in the Peloponnese. If little Vaphio could produce these riches, what remains to be found in future excavations?

The museum also has a stunning collection of Cycladic figurines, named after the island chain. Although these figurines are among the earliest known Greek sculptures (about 2000 B.C.), you'll be struck by how modern the idols' faces look compared to those wrought by Modigliani. One figure, a musician with a lyre, seems to be concentrating on his music, cheerfully oblivious to his onlookers. If you are fond of these Cycladic sculptures, be sure to take in the superb collection at the N. P. Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art .

The Stathatos Gallery, reopened in 2008, has stunning jewelry, vases, figurines and objects from the middle Bronze Age to the post-Byzantine era.

The Egyptian Art Collection, also reopened in 2008, is considered one of the world's finest. Spanning more than 3,000 years from the predynastic period to Roman times, this awe-inspiring collection's centerpiece is the bronze statue of princess-priestess Takushit, dating to around 670 B.C. She was found in Alexandria in 1880 and wears a crown covered in hieroglyphs.

The museum's staggeringly large sculpture collection invites you to wander, stopping when something catches your fancy. We stop for the bronzes, from the tiny jockey to the monumental figure variously identified as Zeus or Poseidon. Much ink has been spilled trying to prove that the god was holding either a thunderbolt (Zeus) or a trident (Poseidon). And who can resist the bronze figures of the handsome young men, perhaps athletes, seemingly about to step forward and sprint through the crowds?

The Vases & Frescoes of Santorini -- One of the museum's greatest treasures is its vast collection -- not surprisingly, the finest in the world -- of Greek vases and a wonderful group of frescoes from the Akrotiri site on the island of Santorini (Thira).

Around 1450 B.C., the volcanic island exploded, destroying not only most of the island but also, some say, the Minoan civilization on nearby Crete. Could Santorini's abrupt disappearance have created the myth of Atlantis? Perhaps. Fortunately, these beautiful frescoes survived and were brought to Athens for safekeeping and display.

Just as Athens wants the Elgin Marbles back, the present-day inhabitants of Santorini want their frescoes back, hoping that the crowds who come to see them in Athens will come instead to Santorini. There are as many theories on what these frescoes show as there are tourists in the museum on any given day. Who were the boxing boys? Were there monkeys on Santorini, or does the scene show another land? Are the ships sailing off to war, or returning home? No one knows, but it's impossible to see these lilting frescoes and not envy the people of Akrotiri who looked at such beauty every day.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Back to Top