NATIONAL ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM INTRODUCTION
Good morning from Athens! My name is Paul and I am going to be your guide for this tour. I’m an expert on Greek history and a licensed tour guide for over than 25 years. Until the end of this “journey”, I will truly have captured the whole history, myths and legends of ancient Greece.So let’s delve into the great history and the impressive mythology of ancient Greece and let me travel you back to ancient Athens!After the establishment of the new Greek state, the need to provide a proper house to the treasures of the past became more than apparent.The foundation stone was set in 1866 for the so-called then Central Archaeological Museum which was later renamed the National Archaeological Museum and eventually opened to public in 1885 housing today more than 11 thousand exhibits in the largest archaeological museum.
NAM HOW TO USE THIS APP
Before we start our tour, it’s useful to understand how to use this app. As you can see from the display window on your audio player, each of the stops on this tour has its own title. You can skip ahead or tailor your itinerary according to your own taste. However, navigating on your own can be confusing, and it’s easier to just follow the tour in the order I’ve laid out as I will give you directions from one stop to the next. You can pause the audio guide, then restart it when you are ready to see the next point of interest. To help you along, there’s a handy companion map available for this tour.Be aware that, even with the very best of directions, sightseeing this large museum can be confusing. So we suggest to be flexible and use the museum’s map with the numbered rooms in order to locate the statues and the exhibits.
Collection of Cycladic Antiquities
Climbing up the steps we reach the entrance of the museum and after passing by the tickets control, we can observe on our right hand exhibits of the Collection of Cycladic Antiquities.The Cyclades, a group of islands in the southwestern Aegean, comprises some thirty small islands and numerous islets. The ancient Greeks called them Cyclades, imagining them as a circle (kyklos) around the sacred island of Delos, the birthplace of god of light, Apollo. Many of the Cycladic Islands are particularly rich in mineral resources—iron ores, copper, lead ores, gold, silver, emery, obsidian, and marble.People there were accomplished sculptors in stone and the Cycladic figurines (sometimes called "Cycladic idols") are among the most enigmatic and most evocative objects from Greek prehistory. Relatively small in dimensions, they are highly stylized depictions of the human form, made of local Cycladic marble, which was carved and then polished. Although the appearance of that beautiful material is now one of their most striking features, it is likely that all or most of them bore additional details, such as facial features, in paint, with mineral-based pigments—azurite for blue and iron ores, or cinnabar for red.Only about 1500 complete Cycladic figurines are known so far. Less than half of them were discovered in systematic archaeological excavations; many others made their way directly from illicit digs into the international art market. That lack of context makes them difficult to interpret. While some figurines were found in settlements, most appear to have been deposited in graves. Although there are a number of different figurine types, probably representing different periods and locations of production, most of the figurines are identifiable as women, indicated typically by the presence of breasts and a pubic triangle. Some also have an accentuated belly, most likely portraying pregnancy. Male figurines do occur as well, but are very rare.The identity of the persons depicted and the purpose they were serving remain controversial. The figurines do not stand by themselves, so they may have been meant to be displayed lying down, or to be held. Their presence in graves suggests some broadly symbolic use, presumably in a ritual or religious context. While the pregnant examples support a connection with concepts of motherhood and fertility, there is no consensus on whether Cycladic figurines depict individuals, one or several deities, or are a more general representation of femininity.The earliest examples were produced in the Neolithic period and were made until around 2500 BCE. Looking like violins they are in fact representations of naked squatting women. A later form, and perhaps influenced by contact with Asia, was the standing figure, most commonly female. Once again, these elegant figures are highly stylized with few details added and they continued to be produced until around 2000 BCE. They are naked, with arms folded across the chest and the oval-shaped head tilted back with the only sculpted feature being the nose. Breasts, pubic area, fingers and toes are the only other features evidenced by simple inscribed lines. Over time the figures evolve slightly with a deeper line incised to demarcate the legs, the top of the head becomes more curved, knees are less bent, shoulders more angular and the arms are less fully crossed. The figures are most often around 30cm in height but miniature examples survive, as do life-size versions. The feet of the figures always point downwards and therefore they cannot stand upright on their own, leading to suggestions that they were either laid down or carried. Despite these general similarities it is, however, important to note that no two figurines are exactly alike, even when evidence suggests they come from the same workshop.Other figures include harp players seated on a throne or, more usually, a simple stool (of which there are fewer than a dozen surviving examples) and a standing pipe or aulos player. In the same style as other Cycladic figures they are the first representations of musicians in sculpture from the Aegean.Most of the figures were sculpted from slim rectangular pieces of marble using an abrasive such as emery which is almost as hard as diamond and was available from the island of Naxos. Without doubt an extremely laborious process was involved but the end result was a piece with a finely polished sheen. There are on occasion surviving traces of colour on some statues which was used to highlight details such as hair in red and black and facial features were also painted onto the sculpture such as eyes.The use of such a hard material and consequently the time needed to produce these pieces would suggest that they were of great significance in Cycladic culture but their exact purpose is unknown. Their most likely function is as some sort of religious idol and the predominance of female figures, sometimes pregnant, suggests a fertility deity. Supporting this view is the fact that figurines have been found outside of a burial context at settlements on Melos, Kea and Thera. Alternatively, precisely because the majority of figures have been found in graves, perhaps they were guardians to or representations of the deceased. Indeed, there have been some finds of painting materials along with figures in graves which would suggest that the painting process may have been a part of the burial ceremony. However, some of the larger figures are simply too large to fit into a grave and also puzzling is their variation in distribution.Appreciated by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore in the 20th century CE, a vogue for anything Cycladic arose which unfortunately resulted in the illegal traffic of looted goods from the Cyclades. The result is that many of the Cycladic art objects now in western museums have no provenance of any description, compounding the difficulties for scholars to ascertain their function in Cycladic culture. These objects are, nevertheless, part of the few tangible remains of a culture which no longer exists and without a form of writing the members of that culture are unable to explain for themselves the true significance of these objects and we are left to imagine the function and faces behind these enigmatic sculptures which continue to fascinate more than three millennia after their original manufacture.
The Frying Pan vessels
In the same showcase, we can observe the so-called ‘frying pan’ vessels, which are really peculiar and intriguing artifacts, most of them made of terracotta, they are flat and shallow, usually decorated on the outside part and dated to the Early Bronze Age. They were unearthed mostly in the Cyclades, in Crete and on the Greek mainland. The conventional name is owed to its characteristic shape not its use, which still remains enigmatic. The incised or impressed decoration, concentering circles, spirals, star motifs, even boats adds to the mystery These items were mostly found in graves and it is probable they were ritual vessels. Depictions of the sun and the moon may as well reflect afterlife beliefs.Frying-pan vessels are characteristic finds of the Early Cycladic II graves, mainly from the island Syros. On some vessels the ship representations are extremely interesting as they portray the great development and significance of seafaring in this phase of the Cycladic civilizations, as well as the typical Early Cycladic ship that had a high prow, and sometimes a high stern, and oars but no sails.A special element of the frying-pans is the pubic triangle which is often incised near the handle. It is similar to that on the Cycladic figurines and it leads us think about the connection between elements of nature and human fertility.It is not known yet how the frying-pan vessels were used. They have been interpreted as mirrors used with the help of water in the internal surface, as drums in funerary rituals with a piece of skin stretched over the item, as idols and as vessels for libation or for offerings to the dead or even simply decoration elements
Death mask of Agamemnon
A few steps further, at the entrance of the room there is the famous "Mask of Agamemnon", one of the most famous gold artifacts from the Greek Bronze Age. Found at Mycenae in 1876 by the distinguished businessman-turned-archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, it was one of several gold funeral masks found laid over the faces of the dead buried in the shaft graves of a royal cemetery. The most detailed and stylistically distinct mask came to be known as the Mask of Agamemnon, named after the famous king of ancient Mycenae whose triumphs and tribulations are celebrated in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and in the tragic plays of Euripides.The mask depicts the imposing face of a bearded man with thin, well-defined lips, almond-shaped eyes and stylized eyebrows and ears created in a spiral pattern. It is made of a gold sheet with repousse details, that is where the gold has been hammered into relief from the reverse side. It depicts the face of a bearded man.However, modern archaeologists believe that the mask dates from an era much before the life and reign of Agamemnon. The graves from Grave Circle A date from mid-16th c BC and the Trojan war – if such a war was ever fought- taking place around the 12th BC. Whatever the case is, this mask is crafted out of pure gold and such masks were put on the faces of deceased kings and royal people. When poor Agamemnon returned to his kingdom after the end of the Trojan War, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, in revenge for the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The mask in fact predates Agamemnon by approximately 400 years, but remains solid evidence of Homer's description of Mycenae as 'rich in gold. The name stuck though, and many refer to it still as the Mask of Agamemnon. The mask’s authenticity has been questioned several times, given the fact that many suspect Schliemann was capable of planting elaborate forgeries to generate attention and money for his projects."I have gazed upon the face of Agamemnon," Schliemann exclaimed after discovering a gold leaf mask at the citadel of Mycenae. The mask was found still on its corpse in a shaft grave of Grave Circle A and was in fact one of five masks discovered, but due to its nobility and level of preservation Schliemann claimed it to be that of the famous king. Modern research, however, has actually dated the mask to about 1550-1500 BCE, which is three-hundred years before Agamemnon, if he did exist, would have lived. Much controversy has come up regarding the identity of the mask with many people calling Schliemann a fraud. Nonetheless, not all bodies were buried with such riches and the mask still indicates that it covered somebody of some sort of importance, presumably some other Mycenaean king. Despite Schliemann's romantic labelling of the mask as Agamemnon's, it is highly unlikely that it depicts the legendary king described in Homer as the leader of the Greek army. But that doesn't mean it isn't fascinating in its own right. For the first time, we are looking into the face of a king from the Bronze Age of Greece: an era characterized by gigantic fortresses ringed by Cyclopean walls, forged bronze weapons, stunning art, and wide-ranging trade across the Aegean. Two holes near the ears indicate that the mask was held in place over the deceased’s face with twine.
The Vapheio cups
In the middle of the same room you will notice some cups, known as The Vapheio Cups. Vapheio is an ancient site in Laconia, Greece, south of Sparta. It is famous for its tholos or "beehive" tomb, excavated in 1889 by archaeologist Christos Tsountas. Such tombs are characteristic of ancient Mycenaean burials. The main objects found there were transferred to the National Archaeological. The tomb was almost entirely destroyed by 1911. Vapheio comprised the largest find of such Mycenaean and Minoan seals in the entire Aegean. But this pair of stunning gold cups are considered masterpieces of ancient Greek art.On the first cup, there is a scene depicting the peaceful capture of a bull around the item. A man is shown tying a rope around the bull’s leg as the animal is in the process of mating with a cow. Three other bulls graze in the background. The second cup shows a much less peaceful moment, as a bull is depicted captured in a net as another attacks two hunters. A third man is shown fleeing the area.The intricately-designed cups were previously believed to have been crafted by the same person, who used difficult techniques to emboss the cups with fine details. However, most experts now believe that two different artists made the cups, as the first cup is believed to be more expertly adorned than the second.Much of the pottery found at the site dates back to 1500-1450 BC, but the gold, including the cups, and gems discovered at Vapheio are believed to be much older. The cups appear to be imported from Crete where bulls were considered to be sacred. The naturalistic composition is made by hammering the reverse side of the metal.It is impressive that, although the skeleton had disintegrated before excavation, the positions of the cups indicated that one was held in each hand of the interred. The burial included a number of objects that have proved to be imported from Crete, a circumstance that leaves the question of the provenance of the cups wide open. Artifacts from both the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations were found at Vapheio, where the cups were uncovered.Rather confusingly, "Vapheio cup" is now used as a term for the shape of the gold cups in Aegean archaeology, which is found in pottery as well as metalwork.
Linear B tablets
Having explored the Collection of Mycenaean Antiquities you cannot miss at the end of room 4 the Linear B tablets.Very close to the spot where they found the death masks at the acropolis of Mycenae, scholars found a great amount of clay tablets with mysterious symbols. Similar inscribed tablets were found at other sites, like the Acropolis of Pylos, that of Tiryns, or the Minoan palace of Knossos of Crete. They attracted the interest of archaeologists and linguists alike who tried to read the script and understand the texts. The person who finally succeeded was an architect. Michael Ventris was a brilliant young architect who knew Greek, and knew how complicated the Greek language can be. When he saw some symbols repeated but having a different ending or beginning, he thought maybe it’s one of the languages where the words have different forms. He also drew heavily on linguistic grids painstakingly created by Alice Kober. Within weeks of his discovery he reached out to John Chadwick, a young Cambridge philologist. Chadwick was the first scholar to verify the decipherment, while also making some further suggestions helping to confirm it. Ventris gladly welcomed Chadwick’s contributions and together they formally published the decipherment in 1953. The two worked closely together for the next four years, until Ventris’s tragically early death in 1956, within weeks of the publication of their monumental joint work, Documents in Mycenaean Greek.Linear B was a syllabary with 87 different phonetic signs, each one representing a syllable. As well as signs representing syllables, Linear B has ‘ideograms’, which represent objects or commodities: people, animals, foodstuffs, and so on. Many of these are obviously pictorial in origin. The decipherment proved that these clay tablets are literally bureaucratic records kept meticulously by the scribes serving Mycenaean-era kings.The decipherment of Linear B was of fundamental importance for the disciplines of Aegean archaeology and Indo-European linguistics: it completely altered our understanding of the early civilizations of Greece and Crete. Moreover, it pushed the earliest known examples of written Greek back to more than 3000 years ago, making Greek the oldest known European language that is still spoken today.Krater of the warriorsThis is a krater, a mixing bowl used for the dilution of wine with water, a custom which the ancient Greeks believed to be a sign of civilized behavior. The so-called Warrior Krater was collected in fragments by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 within the Mycenae citadel, in an area which was after that named “House of the Warrior Krater” and was located immediately south of Grave Circle A. The vase was part of the banqueting set of the house or a grave marker for a burial which took place after the abandonment of the building, given the krater’s good state of preservation and its large size. The broad frieze of armed soldiers on the vase, which is incomplete, suggested the name that Schliemann gave it. The warriors are clad in short chitons, breastplates, helmets and greaves; they are armed with spears and carry shields. The bull's head handles for long encouraged scholars to date the piece later, in the early seventh century BCE. Many scholars note that the style of the figures and the bull head handles of this thirteenth century BCE vase are very similar to eighth century BCE pottery. This vase also leads to clues about post-palatial Mycenaean warriors. The knapsacks the warriors carry suggest that they may have to travel long distances to battle. Figures on one side of the vase wear helmets with horns. The other side depicts warriors in "hedgehog" style helmets. The latter is equipped with spears that are shorter than general spears depicted of the time. The warriors on both sides have shields, tunics, and leg protection. The warriors on either side appear to be uniform suggesting the army as a whole and not representing individual warriors. The Warrior Krater constitutes a rare case where the two sides of a Mycenaean vase present two temporally consecutive scenes which narrate a warrior story. On one side the soldiers are seen marching in full battle gear, while on the other they have already reached the battlefield and are attacking by raising their spears in coordination.Standing out there is a woman in the first scene who is wearing a long dress reaching her feet as well as a head cover and she is raising her hands: bidding farewell, praying, blessing. She may be on the margin of the picture, but her position is essentially significant. She defines the beginning of the narrative in time and space, the point from which the soldiers depart, but also where they long to return. This woman personifies family, home and country. She stands at the edge of the scene on one side of the krater, half-hidden from the large double handle. When one views the vase frontally, she may be overlooked, as the hoplites setting off on a military expedition attract the viewer’s attention. This is how she would be standing in real life, at the edge of her village or the doorstep of her house, bidding farewell to the departing warriors. Her face denotes the anxiety of separation hoping to be temporary, the sadness of farewell, the agony for the fate of these young men; among them would perhaps be her children, her husband and her brothers. She may be a priestess blessing the departure or a simple woman, without official rank. She is certainly the Mother, the Wife, the Sister.In Mycenaean art scenes of farewell are rare and images depicting intense human emotions are mostly lacking. The vase-painter of the krater is a pioneer, not only in depicting narrative elements and expertly employing polychromy, but also in introducing a sentimental dimension in his work, surpassing the schematization of the art of his time.The Warrior Krater is a good example of what the Mycenaean’s considered important in their society. The depictions of the warriors demonstrate how they viewed war and their warriors. Not only does the Krater give a glimpse into how they viewed war, it also gives a better understanding of how their warriors were expected to be dressed. The depiction shows the warriors wearing kilts which possibly meant these warriors were of a higher status. It is argued that higher status warriors wear kilts with braid with squares and a fringe around them, which we see on the warrior vase.
The Dipylon Amphora
Turning back where we entered this room, we walk up to the main entrance and we pass the getaway that leads to the Sculpture Collection on our right hand.Dominating the first room of the sculpture collection is this fantastically preserved monumental funerary amphora, one of the true masterpieces of Greek Geometric Art. The amphora is attributed to the Dipylon painter to whom we can link many more works. Nearly fifty pieces have been attributed to the so-called Dipylon Master, who had a workshop that produced the vases between 760 and 735 BCE. These vases are very large in size (nearly two meters tall) and were used as grave markers, with craters marking the graves of males and amphorae marking those of females. In addition to being grave markers, the vases could also be used as libation receptacles. They were made by being spun on a wheel and assembled in pieces and then painted in a Late Geometric style.It has an ovoid body, tall cylindrical neck and small handles on the shoulder of it. The base has a hole for libations poured in honour of the deceased. The amphora is entirely covered with horizontal rows of geometric, animal and bird motifs. The human and animal figures are treated in the stylized, simplified manner of Geometric art where the forms are conceived as geometric shapes.A rectangular panel on the shoulder depicts a funerary scene: the deceased is placed with a shroud on a bier surrounded by mourners with raised arms. Here we have one of the most common scenes in the funerary ritual, the prothesis which is the lying down of a corpse on a bier flanked by mourners. Made using black-figure techniques, each human consists of a triangle for a torso, a circle for a head, lines for the arms, and curved sections for the legs, which all provide a rather basic profile, practically they are silhouettes. In order to make their appearance recognizable, each figure is also given a sort of forward-facing position, as can be seen by the way the figures lying down are propped up on their sides. Indeed, the idea of perspective became an issue when trying to represent a lot of things in the designs on these vases. Shapes are put in to fill any empty spaces in these scenes and the rest of the areas on the vases are also filled with rows of repetitive design, an element typical of the geometric movement.Clearly an aristocratic grave marker, it reflects the grandiose pretensions of 8th BCE Athens nobility. Needless to say, the archaeologists were extremely lucky to discover almost all the fragments and restored this masterpiece of ancient pottery.
Kouros of Sounion
Continuing to the next room, among the other statues you will stand out the so-called Kouros of Sounion that dates from around 580 BC and was made of marble from Naxos, the largest of the Aegean Sea islands. It was not found until 1906, in a ditch opposite the magnificent temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, the south-most spot of the Attic peninsula, looking out to sea atop a steep, rocky slope. It was buried by the Greeks along with other sculptures after the Persians desecrated the temple in 480 BC and broke the statues into pieces. Its colossal size is one of its most imposing features – it towers over the visitor at 3 meters approximately and its rigid stance is another. It often makes visitors stop and stand in awe. Kouros is the ancient Greek word for 'male youth' or 'young man'. The kouros type was an extremely uniform style of early Greek sculpture: always naked and always standing with one foot in front of the other and with fists clenched at their sides.A single advanced leg is the basic movement which laid the foundation for Greek artists after the Archaic period to convey movement. Some red coloring remains in the strands of braided hair. Unlike many later Greek statues, the Sounion Kouros has a highly stylized image: for example, the ears, shaped almost like spirals, the large almond eyes, or the perfectly symmetrical torso. What seems to have been more important to the artist of the Sounion Kouros is the attempt to convey an ideal of the human form rather than its real-life, physical or natural appearance. That interest in pattern and symmetry is characteristic of Archaic sculpture, although it gives way to the apparent attempt to imitate the natural form of the human body during the course of the sixth century BCE. If you look closely at the statue, you’ll see that, however natural he looks, he is still very rigid: the head is practically cube-shaped, and the eyes, nose, mouth, chest, back and legs are very schematic. Nonetheless, the kouros is representative of an ear that paved the way and lead eventually to the heights of classical art.Ancient Greeks were influenced by their Egyptian neighbors when creating kouroi. That is especially evident in the pose of the figure. Archaic sculptors intended to idealize the human form which is made evident by the modeling of the Sounion Kouros. Sculptors of kouroi attempted to convey slight movement and more naturalism over the course of the 6th century BCE. Ancient Greeks were heavily influenced by Egyptian ka statues which were figures intended to provide a resting place for the spirit, or ka, of the deceased. This influence is most evident in large-scale wooden statues, or xoana, from Ancient Greece. Kouroi share similarities with Egyptian ka statues, including the frontal stance, arms by the sides and advanced left leg. Although Egyptian influence is evident, the kouros-type show differences from Egyptian works. The Sounion kouros, for example, is nude as he does not wear a skirt, and is free-standing without a supporting structure.
Phrasikleia kore
Going to the next room, the room 11, you cannot miss almost in the middle, a statue of Phrasikleia kore, the earliest and best-preserved Kore of the Collection.In 1972 a high quality and superb condition statue of fully covered female, a kore, was excavated beneath a thick grove of olive trees in Merenda (ancient Myrrhinous), east Attica. Found alongside an equally well-preserved kouros (naked male statue), the two of them nearly touched one another in a carefully placed and loving arrangement. Scholars suggest that they were grave markers, likely removed from atop their tombs and buried together in a pit as protection from vandalism by political rivals.The exceptional artistic and physical state of both statues confirms the monumental importance of the discovery, but the kore was a special find. The excavator immediately recognized the statue’s relation to an inscribed base housed at the Epigraphic Museum in Athens. The base was well-known, having been found nearly 250 years earlier set into a wall at the Church of Panaghia in Myrrhinous, just 200 meters from the site of the 1972 excavation. Thus, the kore reunited eventually with its base. The signed inscription identified the name of the sculptor, Aristion of Paros, who scholars subsequently attributed to the kouros as well. In addition to the artist’s name, the inscription also revealed the kore’s name, Phrasikleia. Reunited with the sculpture, the words of the epigram could be read in their intended context to express a full story.The statue dates from 550 BC and depicts a young woman wearing a decorated peplos and shoes, a floral headpiece, a necklace and bracelet. In her left hand, she holds a lotus bud while her right hand is hanging by the side of her body holding her peplos. The statue was originally painted with the peplos being red.The Phrasikleia Kore is an example, like many other kouros and kore that function as grave markers for the wealthy elite. The name Phrasikleia derives from the archaic Greek word kléos, meaning 'fame'. The word was important to archaic Greek culture, and had significant meaning to the Alcmaeonid family. Evidently, part of an Alcmaeonid family tradition was to bestow given names derived from kléos. This is repeated from generation to generation, including the names Megaklês meaning 'great fame', Kleisthénēs meaning 'fame-strong', and Periklês meaning 'wide fame'. Speculations suggest that the Alcmaeonid family buried the statue to protect it from the Peisistraros family during a feud between the two elite families. Furthering this theory, the Alcmaeonid are known to have an interest in art and have erected other statues of this type. Details of this kind bring life to the kore and a narrative that distinguishes it from others. Her prominent family commissioned the sculpture, and for the later safe funeral of the Phrasikleia Kore so that it would not be found and vandalized in the political rivalry of the time. It is thought that the circumstances of the burial of the Phrasikleia Kore was due to the return of the tyrant Peisistratus. As he was consolidating political power over Athens, upon his return to the city he and his followers sought to expel any family from Athens who disagreed with his authority. The marble Phrasikleia kore is in particularly good condition as it was found buried underground in a custom-made pit.The condition of the kore gives the viewer a complete Archaic style statue to examine and understand. This kore is like many other draped maidens however it employs details that directly correlate to the deceased girl. She stands in a frontal and rigid pose as she gazes out towards the viewer. The right arm stiffly raises to present a closed lotus blossom in her closed hand, while the left pulls at her drapery. Her robe falls like a fluted column; one long piece of cloth that synchs at the waist. The drapery is decorated in geometric shapes and design, giving it ornate detail. The lotus she is holding in her left hand is repeated on the crown of the Phrasikleia Kore and is an Egyptian funerary symbol used by the Greeks. It would have been customary to adorn the dead with a floral crown, like the one seen here. On her head she wears a flower crown made of lotus blossoms as hair falls down in rope like curls. With interest in creating a realistic and full face, she is shown with a slight smile that adds like to her cheeks.The polychromy on the Phrasikleia Kore displays the use of eleven different reds, yellows, black, and white pigments.
Panathenaic amphorae
Just a few steps after the statue of Phrasikleia kore you will find yourself in front of an impressive collection of Panathenaic amphorae.The Great Panathenaia, a state religious festival, honored Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. Held every four years, to celebrate the goddesses’ birthday, the festival included athletic and musical competitions, and amphorae filled with oil from Athena’s sacred olive trees were given as prizes in the Panathenaic Games.The award to the winners was the panathenaic oil, produced from the moriae, the sacred olive trees of goddess Athena. It was given to the athletes in large vessels, the panathenaic amphorae. Athena promachos (Athena the protector) was depicted on the main side flanked by small pillars, each one with a rooster on the top. Next to one of them there was always the inscription «των αθηνηθεν άθλων» from the games in Athens. On the back side there was a depiction of the sport in which the winner competed. According to tradition the decoration had to be always in the black-figured technique. The winner of the dromos race (race of appr. 200 m) would receive 70 amphorae such as this, containing 35-40 kg of oil, meaning totally 2,5 tons of oil. The winner of the chariot races would receive 140 jars, that means 5 tons of oil! The oil that an amphora like that could take was worth 12 drachmas in the 4th c BC and 70 amphorae would be worth 840 drachmas at a time when the daily wage of a stone mason of the late 5th c BC was 1 drachma. Generally, it was considered a precious prize and an investment.Leading vase-painters decorated these prize amphorae, which were commissioned in large quantities by the state, and their work can often be differentiated by the motif they used to decorate the shield of Athena.Tradition and religious reasons made Attic vase-painters to decorate Panathenaic amphorae in the black-figure technique throughout the games' long history. Sometimes the empty panathenaic amphorae were serving as grave markers or offerings, others, miniatures, were intended as souvenirs.
Bronze Zeus or Poseidon
Walking through the next room and after entering the room 15, we come across with the Bronze Zeus or Poseidon statue.Taller than life size, one of the most impressive pieces in the museum and certainly one of the most important for the ancient Greek art, the bronze statue that dominates the room, stands out in an effortless manner. One of the very rare classical bronze statues, it was discovered in two pieces in a roman shipwreck near cape Artemision in the 1920’s and depicts a god in full stride.Both movement and anatomy are wonderfully rendered, his eyebrows were initially made of silver, his lips of copper and the missing eyes must have been semi-precious stones or glass. The sculptor managed to freeze time depicting a god in action, the figure looks calm, judging from the face and the fact that no muscle seems visibly tense. Obviously gods do not need to put too much effort. This is a fine example of the so-called Severe style dating from the era just after the Greco-Persian wars (480-460BC) this masterpiece is fully curved, three dimensional and shows complete mastery over anatomy. This sculpture was made in the lost-wax method of bronze casting, with each section cast separately and then welded together.There is some controversy regarding the identity of the god. Is this Zeus or Poseidon? If we knew for sure what the figure was holding, it would be easier. Zeus holds the thunderbolt and Poseidon a trident. There is a small bronze figurine in a showcase by the wall. It’s a tiny bronze Zeus figurine holding a thunderbolt. Obviously a thunderbolt looks rather short, a trident, on the contrary, would be a longer item, forcing Poseidon to pull his arm way back in order to throw it, exactly the way the bigger statue looks like. Even the beard that looks a bit turbulent suggests this is Poseidon, since Zeus is usually depicted with a well-combed beard. The Greek word for ‘statue ’is agalma which means ‘item to make the gods rejoice’. The gods would certainly be pleased with this one.
Τhe Great Eleusinian Relief
A few steps further, there is the Great Eleusinian Relief, the best-known representation of the Eleusinian deities.Eleusis is a short distance west of Athens and was the home of the sanctuary of Demeter and her daughter Persephone, where people were performing rituals known as the Eleusinian Mysteries. This large relief is the best-known representation of the Eleusinian deities, here depicted in a scene of mystic ritual. The goddess Demeter, holding a scepter in her hand, gives the hero prince Triptolemos the sacred ears of wheat to bestow on mankind and teach men how to cultivate grain in a winged chariot. The young hero stands naked, while receiving Demeter΄s gift, which was made of a different material, lost today. Demeter΄s daughter, Persephone, stands behind him, blessing him with her right hand and holding a torch in her left. The torch is symbolic of the Mysteries as the climax would happened in the darkness. This scene intends to convey the solemnity of the specific rituals. Persephone with her torch, who having returned from the underworld symbolizes the turning of the seasons that enables agriculture to flourish.The relief΄s rather austere, conservative style points to an Attic workshop. The magnificent representation and, particularly, the large scale of the work suggest that it was not a votive, but rather a cult relief. Carved from the characteristic yellowish marble of Mount Penteli and dating to 440-430 BCE, the Big Eleusinian Relief was famous even in antiquity and was copied already in Roman times. At least one Roman copy survives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, dating from the early Imperial period.Unfortunately, what we know about the Mysteries isn’t too much; The Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated every year, in September, and thousands of people traveled from Athens to Eleusis along the sacred road that ran from the city to the sanctuary. The initiates–which included mostly Athenians–were not allowed to record or reveal the rituals under pain of death. The Athenians took the Mysteries very seriously. So seriously that the mere rumour of a blasphemous ritual mocking the Mysteries having been performed by unidentified young men in 415 BC caused so much public outrage that a reward was offered to anyone who came forward with information. Even slaves were offered this reward, which was indeed a strange occurrence, since their word was otherwise inadmissible in court without the use of torture to obtain a confession (even when acting as witnesses). Alcibiades, the general leading Athens’ forces on the (soon to be) disastrous Sicilian Expedition, was implicated in the blasphemy by his political rivals, sentenced to death in absentia, and ordered to return to Athens to face his punishment.It may have been a sacred representation that offered the faithful a chance to relive the myth of Demeter and Kore, i.e. the passage from darkness to light, experiencing the fear of death and freeing themselves from it.Hippolytus of Rome, a 3rd century AD theologian, wrote that the initiates are shown nothing more than a “green ear of grain reaped,” which is supposed to represent the eternal life promised by the Mysteries cult. This is the big secret (according to Hippolytus); corroborating the myth told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the Mysteries provide an escape from the depressing gloom of the Greek underworld through the ascent of Kore from Hades to Olympus. The ear of grain, the symbol of Demeter, represents the growth of springtime vegetation associated with Kore’s return from the land of the dead. This sacred grain and this secret myth (or rather, the understanding of the myth as a promise of protection in the afterlife), were all hidden from outsiders, and, despite the cult’s popularity (remember, the Romans bothered to copy the Big Eleusinian Relief), were never recorded by any true believers.According to legend, Kore was abducted by Hades, the god of the Underworld. Her mother Demeter wandered desperately in search of her, while the Earth was struck by a tremendous famine and drought, until Zeus took mercy on her and allowed Kore to return to the surface. Upon her return, nature once again began to flourish, but six months later, Kore was tricked into returning to the Underworld. The myth is linked with the agricultural seasons: her abduction represents the planting of the seeds underground, while the yearly return of Kore to the surface represents the growth and ripening of the crops.
Arrowheads from Thermopylae
Continuing to the next room, on our left hand there is a door that leads to room 39, where you will find the Arrowheads from Thermopylae.In 490 BC the first Greco-Persian war ended up a failure for the Persian empire with the defeat at the Battle of Marathon. Ten years later, the newly-crowned Persian ruler, Xerxes I, decided to pick up where his father, Darius I, had left off and conquer the Greek city-states. Since much of Greece is mountainous, the invading Persians were forced to take a fairly non-linear approach to move further, along the coast. At a certain point, this route necessarily goes through a narrow pass, named Thermopylae. The epic battle that followed remains today one of the most legendary defeats in all history.The Battle of Thermopylae was a three-day face-off between a small group of Greek soldiers and the massive Persian Army. The history of the Battle of Thermopylae comes to us today from a few ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, the “Father of History.” Their accounts largely line up with each other, though they do disagree on a few minor points. Some recent archaeological work, such as the discovery of Persian arrow points, also helps to bolster the historical record of the battle. There are few more captivating tropes in storytelling than the doomed band of heroes facing off against a far superior force. And there is perhaps no better precedent for this archetype than one of the first such examples in recorded history: The Battle of Thermopylae.It’s also a potent example of an outnumbered force using military and tactical advantages to their utmost and exacting a heavy toll on their enemy. Add in hubris, betrayals and eminently quotable speeches, and you’ve got the recipe for one great story.With preparations complete, the Persians began their long march from modern-day Turkey, across the Hellespont and around the northern shore of the Aegean Sea. A similarly massive Persian navy also set sail for Greece around this time. The Greeks, who’d been keeping a wary eye on the Persian warmongering, knew they had few chances to defeat the far larger enemy forces. The normally antagonistic Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta chief among them, had already brokered a fairly unprecedented alliance in the face of what they realized was a shared existential threat. Together, they settled on a plan: If they could force the Persians to meet them in battle at points where the Greeks had a territorial advantage, they might be able to eke out a victory. The pass at Thermopylae was a natural choice.As Herodotus tells us, the Persians waited for four days after arriving at the pass to begin their attack. During this time Xerxes, sure of an easy victory, sent an ambassador who asked the Greeks to lay down their arms and retreat peacefully. Leonidas’ response, as recorded by historians, has become legendary: “Come and take them.”On the fifth day, the Persians attacked. A wave of soldiers bore down on the Greeks, who had installed themselves in the pass in typical formation: A phalanx of spearmen with heavy shields overlapping. Wedged into the narrow pass, the Greek tactics proved devastatingly effective. They repulsed the first wave of attackers, and then a second group composed of the Persians’ finest warriors, called the Immortals. Xerxes, Herodotus writes, stood up three times throughout the course of the battle, fearful for his safety as he watched his best soldiers die in droves. he next day of fighting went a little better, though Xerxes reportedly levied a death penalty at any soldier who retreated from their position. The Greeks sustained few losses while resisting the Persians' best attempts to break through their line. Their superior armor and long spears, combined with military tactics suited for the terrain they defended, likely helped give them the advantage. But on that second night, a betrayal sealed the Greeks’ downfall. A local shepherd, hoping for a reward from the Persian king, offered to show the Persians a mountain path that could be used to bypass the Greeks and attack from the rear. Xerxes immediately dispatched a force of men under the commander Hydarnes. The soldiers marched through the night and, by dawn, were ready to fall upon the Greek positions.Leonidas, alerted to the Persians' movements, made a quick decision. Faced with near-certain defeat, he sent most of his men away. A small contingent, Leonidas included, would stay to guard the pass and hold off the Persians for as long as possible. The remaining men included the famed 300 Spartans, as well as Thessalian and Theban soldiers. In all, they probably numbered around 1500 men.Around mid-morning, Herodotus writes in The Histories, Xerxes made his final assault. Persians closed in from both ends of the pass in a classic pincer movement. The Greeks, outnumbered and fighting to a certain death, “displayed the greatest strength they had against the barbarians, fighting recklessly and desperately,” Herodotus says. The Persians, driven on by whips from behind, attacked and fell in multitudes. But ultimately, the sheer force of numbers prevailed. Leonidas was slain, and the few Greeks remaining retreated to the narrowest point of the pass to make their last stand.
The Antikethrya mechanism
At the next room there is the world famous Antikethrya mechanism.Discovered in 1901 in a shipwreck that was taking artifacts from the Greek world to Italy for the roman elite, among statues, ceramic vases, coins, and earnings, there were some metal findings that astonished the experts of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. They belonged to a device that was in the sea for approximately 2000 years and the corrosion had rally left its mark of destruction, but after they observed triangular teeth and Greek inscriptions on the artifact, they called it The Antikythera Mechanism. Modern experts are still trying to understand the nature of the device. It was a calculator that read the stars, as well as being a calendar that connected the Panhellenic games like the Olympics to the phenomena in the natural world and the Cosmos.The device was built probably one century prior to the shipwreck (ca. 100 BC) and had the first ever known set of scientific dials or scales, and its importance was recognized when radiographic images showed that the remaining fragments contained 30 gear wheels. Such sophistication did not appear until medieval cathedral clocks were built one millennium later. The Antikythera mechanism was fabricated out of bronze, and originally it would have been in a case in the size of a shoebox. The doors of the case and the faces of the mechanism are covered with Greek inscriptions, enough of which survive to indicate clearly much of the device’s astronomical, or calendrical, purpose. It is believed that a hand-turned shaft (now lost) was connected by a crown gear to the main gear wheel, which drove the further gear trains, with each revolution of the main gear wheel corresponding to one solar year. On the front of the mechanism is a large dial with pointers for showing the position of the Sun and the Moon in the zodiac and a half-silvered ball for displaying lunar phases. A subsidiary four-year dial showed when the various Panhellenic games should take place, including the ancient Olympic Games. The inscriptions imply that there may originally have been a display of planetary positions, most likely on the front face, but nearly all the relevant parts are missing.Obviously this was the climax of the technology of the era and the only known physical survivor of a long tradition of mechanical astronomical displays. The exact purpose of the Antikythera mechanism remains speculative, however.The reasons for the numerous and extensive studies and great international interest in ancient Greek technology are complex, though clear. Here was a 2200-year-old astronomical computer that simply had no evident precedent in history and was clearly a work of incredible genius.
The Varvakeios Athena
Making a short walking through room 16 and 17 you will find at the right side the entrance that leads us to Varvakeios Athena statue, it’s the room number 20.The best preserved copy of the gold and ivory statue of Athena that used to be inside the Parthenon of the Acropolis is just a bit more than 1m tall. Made of pentelic marble in the 3rd c. BC, it was found in the area of Varvakeios central market of the Athens. Thanks to this, we have a very good idea of the original would have looked like.The original statue, of Pheidias himself, the greatest sculptor of the 5th c. BC and mastermind behind the Parthenon was destroyed in the 5th AD in Constantinople. We know however it was 13 m tall, there was core of wood and on that they have fixed plates of gold and parts of ivory. It was also rich in decoration. Her helmet had a sphinx and griffins, all of them combined creatures.The copy tries to echo the original masterpiece, except for some differences. The copy has Pegasus horses flanking the sphinx in the middle at the top of the helmet. The purpose of these creatures was to decorate and also to depict a goddess in full power over nature. If we add to that, the presence of the medusa head on the breast-plate of her armor, she was impressive for the mythical monster alone. The shoes were decorated with the battles against the centaurs and the Lapiths, popular subjects, depicted even on the metopes of the Parthenon.She is holding a spear and she has put the shield and under that there was Ericthonius as a snake. The shield now a huge medusa head is on the center. Pausanias says that the shield also had a relief decoration depicting the fight against the amazons, not present on the copy. Plutarch says Pheidias was criticized heavily because he had depicted Pericles and himself on the shield fighting the Amazons. The base of the statue would depict Pandora’s birth, which is not shown on the copy here.Traces of color still remain on the hair, the eyes and the eyebrows, reminding us of the polychromies of the ancient statues.
Relief grave marker of Hegeso
Return back to room 17 and continue ahead to room 18 where you will meet the Relief grave marker of Hegeso.The grave marker of Hegeso, most likely sculpted by Callimachus, one of the best and famous sculptors of the 5th c. BC, is considered one of the finest Attic grave markers surviving today because of its condition and quality. Dated from the end of the 5th c BC, it was made entirely of Pentelic marble, and found in 1870 in the Kerameikos in Athens, which now houses a replica of it.The relief depicts a mature Athenian woman seated on a chair with her feet resting on an elaborate footstool. In her left hand, she holds an open jewelry box, and in her right she holds a piece of jewelry that was originally painted and is missing now, at which she is directing her gaze. Opposite her, on the left, stands a maidservant. The maidservant is presenting the box, on the knees of Hegeso. On the epistyle there is an inscription, ΗΓΗΣΩ ΠΡΟΞΕΝΟ, stating that the deceased was Hegeso, daughter of Proxenios.Grave stelae can be wonderful pieces of art but is also revealing elements of the society. Displayed outdoors for public viewing, they are constructed by a family for a specific person, making them far more expensive and exclusive than pottery. While Hegeso's relief may show a purely domestic scene, the virtues it honors may not have been solely for private consumption. Rather than simply celebrating the individual lives of certain women, the presence of grave stones similar to that of Hegeso serve to define the female within an established social framework. From 450 BC on, the era of Pericles, male Athenian citizens had a much greater vested interest in displaying his mother's status, in part due to the law by Pericles stating that any Athenian citizen needed to have a mother who was the daughter of another citizen. This law gave more importance to the child-bearing role of women (since their children would later select the gravestones) as well as the importance of marriage and family relationships, since marrying non-Athenian women was so discouraged. While Pericles' citizenship law did not exactly change anything in terms of women's roles or freedoms, it codified their place in the hierarchy of the entire polis, which could be the underlying motive for Athenians during this time to represent such private, family virtues on publicly viewed stelae.While the seated position of Hegeso was most likely intended to be a naturalistic depiction of a domestic setting, it actually refers to the widespread custom of ancestor worship, where a mortal who has died transforms into a lower-world god to his descendants. Thus, Hegeso could be seen as a goddess and her maidservant as an approaching worshipper with an offering of the pyxis. Hegeso's maidservant stands as a symbol of Hegeso's status and freedom, and the two are contrasted by how much more elaborate in style Hegeso's hair and clothing (with more folds) are. Long-sleeved chiton garments were not uncommon for servants in Greek sculpture or vase paintings.Footstools, especially ones shown as artistically as this, could be seen as a sign of rank in Ancient Greece. The presence of chairs does not necessarily indicate a domestic setting, but definitely an interior one. However, coupled with the footstool, which further accentuates Hegeso's wealth, the furniture in the scene points to a domestic scene and seems to honor private virtues in the oikos.Probably the most striking object in the relief is the item of jewelry that Hegeso appears to be pulling from the pyxis, since both she and her maidservant seem focused to that. The fact that it is missing now only makes one focus more on the empty space and wonder what it actually looked like or may have represented. However, the artist was most likely not attempting to draw attention to the piece of jewelry, but rather the act of adornment itself.Traces of blue color are visible on the background. The sadness on the women’s faces has a remarkable impact.
The Jockey of Artemision
Walking forward in the next room, you cannot miss The Jockey of Artemision that dominates at the center.The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenistic bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to around 150–140 BC. It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece and a rare example in Greek sculpture of a racehorse. Most ancient bronzes were melted down for their raw materials sometime after creation, but this one was saved from destruction when it was lost in a shipwreck in antiquity, before being discovered in the 20th century.The first parts of the equestrian statue were recovered in 1928, with more pieces found in 1936 and/or 1937. The statue was reassembled, after restoration of the horse's tail and body. The original artist and the circumstances under which the work was created are unknown.The equestrian statue is approximately life-size, it was cast in pieces using an indirect lost wax process and then assembled with flow welding. Some parts are missing, such as the rider's whip and reins, and the horse's bridle. The horse and its rider are rendered realistically. The bronze of the rear legs is thicker, indicating that they were the statue's primary means of support. An image of the goddess Nike is engraved on the horse's right thigh, holding a wreath in raised hands -- a brand for racehorses in Ancient Greece. The horse dwarfs its jockey, a boy possibly from Africa based on his physiognomy and original black patinated surface colouring. His hairstyle, however, is Greek, suggesting a mixed heritage. He rides bareback without a saddle. He wears sandals and a short chiton, and looks back over his left shoulder.Hellenistic-era sculpture is a combination of Classical ideals with added expression, drama, and energy. The pair is captured in a moment of high drama. The horse has two legs lifted far off the ground, giving the impression that he gallops at full speed. His wide eyes, flattened ears, and exaggerated veins vividly show his strain. His wide nostrils, parted mouth, and lolling tongue almost enable the viewer to see him panting and frothing as he pushes through to the end of the race. The boy sits astride his horse, his body leaning close to the animal’s neck to counterbalance the horse’s bounding gait. In one hand he grips a fragment of the preexisting reins while the other hand is poised to hold a whip or crop. The drapery of his simple clothing and the locks of his hair flutter freely in the wind. His mouth hangs slack and open, showing his exhaustion to match that of the horse. Here, the bronze acts as a very expressive medium. It is very different from the images of the equestrians you may have seen on the Parthenon frieze, and is an excellent representation of the expressive freedom of the last great period of Greek art, known as Hellenism, which developed in the opulent courts of the great monarchs that followed the empire of Alexander the Great.
The Spring fresco, Akrotiri, Thera
Going deeper to room 34 with the statues, following the steps up to the 1st floor, you will enter the Thera room which draws the attention of a lot of visitors mainly through the celebrated wall paintings and of course through the famous Spring Fresco.Considered to be the oldest painting of a nature scene in European art history, this is one of the most outstanding exhibits of the museum. This is the only fresco of Akrotiri, Thera, which was found intact, in place, extending onto three walls of the same room. Akrotiri was one of the most important centers in prehistoric Aegean Sea. In the 16th century BC it took on urban form, as indicated by the advanced urban planning and the exemplary architecture of the multistoried buildings. The most important spaces were decorated with high-quality wall paintings that usually depict religious scenes and rituals or representations of the natural world. The inhabitants of the flourishing town of Akrotiri in Santorini, anticipating the eruption of the volcano, had fled to safety. The eruption in the 2nd half of the 17th BC was one of the most catastrophic but the town was subsequently preserved under the debris and the pumice.People lived in beautifully decorated houses. This panoramic fresco would have decorated the interior walls of a room in a house. It looks now simple and abstractive, but certainly it would have been overwhelmingly impressive. Lilies are growing on volcanic rocks of multiple colours and swallows are flying, some in pairs and others separately. For colours they used minerals crashed into powder and then apply onto wet plaster of the wall. There the pigment is fixed to the plaster as they dry off together. There are many interpretations that have been proposed regarding this specific scene. Romantics believe they are birds kissing. On the other hand, there are ornithologists suggesting they are two males fighting and other scientists speaking of the cycle of life. There is no way of telling really but it impossible not to appreciate the quality of art. The artist with a keen eye, precise lines and vivid colours created a scene and managed to freeze time and depict a world destined to change for ever.
Aphrodite, Pan and Eros
We leave the first floor stepping down and we go back to continue our narration with the other side of the museum. Find again the The Jockey of Artemision statue, turn left, and enterroom 22. Passing by the rooms of Sculpture Collection we can admire many exhibits but we definitely stop in room 30 where stands the Aphrodite, Pan and Eros statue, unearthed on Delos.Delos is a small Aegean Sea Island very close to Mykonos. In the roman era it became one of the most frequented stops in the commercial sea routes, full of luxurious houses and decorated with beautiful mosaics and statues. This sculpture was found there and is one of the best known and most characteristic representations of the goddess Aphrodite of the era, being assaulted by the goat-legged Pan. The group stands on its original square base, which bears a votive inscription. Created around 100 BC it depicts the naked goddess attempting to hide her private parts, while threatening to strike Pan with her sandal. Little Eros, her son, hovers over her shoulder, playfully seizing Pan΄s horn in an attempt to help his mother get rid of the annoying creature.This lighthearted scene places the composition in the so-called Hellenistic «Rococo style›. Aphrodite΄s hairstyle and the anatomy of the three figures are meticulously crafted, while the final polishing of the marble makes the surface wonderfully smooth. There are still traces of pigment. The artist’s intention was to playfully highlight the superior beauty of the youthful female body and the primitive sexual desire of the wild creature in most playful way. The art of this period is less divine and much more human, showing emotions and playfulness.On the low base of the group an inscription is carved: ‘Dionysus, son of Zenon who was son Theodoros, from Beirut dedicated [this offering] to the ancestral gods for his own benefit and that of his children’.
Hadrian
The last stop is room 31a that is located next to room 31. There we will find the Hadrian statue.Publius Aelius Hadrianus was a very active and educated roman emperor from 117 to 138 AD and stoic and epicurean philosopher. Born in Spain to an Italian family, he became a great benefactor of Athens where he finished the temple of Olympian Zeus, the largest temple in the ancient Greek world also offered a library, an aqueduct, a small pantheon. He was a child when he started developing a love for ancient Greece and eventually he was given the nickname Graeculus, meaning ‘small Greek’. He succeeded Trajan, visited Athens three times and was very popular. He had a favorite, Antinous, who accidentally was drowned in the Nile in Egypt, leaving Hadrian in mourning. After that death, Hadrian declared Antinous was a god, founded cities named after him as Antinoopolis, and built temples to honour him.A fun trivia; after emperors who were clean shaven, his portraits show him having a beard, because he wanted to always look like an Athenian philosopher, exactly like the bust we have in this museum!
The End
So, dear traveler, dear friend, at this point, our exploration reaches its end. Thanks for joining me on this tour of the National Archeological Museum and for allowing me to take you on this journey back to history. I hope you enjoyed it. If you are doing more sightseeing in Athens, please navigate on this app to find more audio tours or even better, visit our website at keytours.gr for joining a live guided tour.Enjoy the rest of your trip!
