NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ATHENS

Allow 3 hours to tour this impressive national museum. Completed in 1888 and renovated in 2004, it houses an extraordinary collection tracing the richness of Greek civilization since Neolithic times.

Prehistoric collection: ground floor, rooms 3, 4, 5, 6.

Start with these rooms, which trace the three major cultures of Greece between the 7th millennium and 1100 BC: Neolithic, Cycladic and Mycenaean.

Room 5: collection of objects or figurines made of clay, stone or bone from the Neolithic Age (from 6600 to 3300 BC) to the Bronze Age (from 3300 to 2000 BC). The Neolithic Age is dated to the appearance of agriculture, domestication of animals and the first fixed settlements.

Among the objects from the sites of Sesklo (Thessaly) and Dimini, we can admire the large terracotta idol of the seated man, from Thessaly. It is probably a deity symbolizing fertility (no. 5894). Among the female idols that represent the great goddess, the Kourotrophos, the nurturing mother (n° 5937), is of great beauty.

Room 6: a superb collection of statuettes, figurines and vases from the Cyclades dating from the Bronze Age. The marble figurines and bronze tools and weapons from cemeteries and settlements bear witness to the development of metallurgy around 3000 BC, especially on the islands, which were of particular significance. In the background, on the right, one should not miss the flute and harp players whose three-dimensional statuettes express a perfect control of space. The marble statue of a woman crossing her arms is also very characteristic of Cycladic sculpture. In the background, on the left, are exhibited the finds from Phylakopi, one of the leading centres of the Cyclades.

Rooms 3 and 4: These rooms contain an impressive collection of objects representative of the Mycenaean civilization (16th century BC - 11th century BC), most of which were found in tombs in Mycenae. They demonstrate the progress of this civilization in terms of art (gold, stone or ivory work): jewelry, painting, metallurgy but also language. It is at the same time a refinement, a grandeur and a taste for war which are given to us to see. The objects are grouped by localities.

The first locality is Mycenae, whose treasures are displayed in front of the gallery entrance. First, there are the excavations in circles A and B, among which are the famous funerary masks made of fine gold leaf used to cover the faces of dead chiefs (showcase 27, opposite the entrance). Among them, the mask of Agamemnon (no. 624, showcase 3 on the left) was wrongly attributed by Schliemann to the Homeric hero: in reality, this mask covered the face of a king who predated Agamemnon by at least three centuries; the silver rhyton (a vessel used for libations) in the shape of a bull's head (no. 384, showcase 18 on the right of the entrance) bearing horns and a gold rosette. As with all the animals depicted, it suggests an impression of mobility, with a repetition of motifs such as the spiral (symbol of the eternal flow of life), the rosette, the lily; a rock crystal vase (no. 8638, display case 5) in the pure form of a duck. This is a work of rare finesse at a time when massive warrior art had replaced Cretan euphoria. Then come the excavations of the chamber and tholos tombs of Mycenae, mainly metal, stone or clay vases, gold jewelry, semi-precious stones. Objects from the citadel of Mycenae occupy the center of the room. Not to be missed is the warrior vase (no. 1426, right wall a little further on), which depicts six armed warriors going to war. A woman, on the left, waves goodbye to them, probably leaving for a long time; the ivory group (no. 7711, showcase 30 in the center) consisting of two goddesses and a young god in their midst; the wall paintings (including no. 11670, left wall), including the superb fresco depicting a goddess standing out on a blue background. The woman, in profile, seems to ignore the viewer who is alone in front of the disconcerting delicacy of her features. These paintings were particularly important because they came from a cult home in Mycenae.

In the rest of the room, we will discover objects from other places like Tirynthe or Pilos. From the latter come the tablets in linear B (showcase 9, right wall) made of clay, burned by the fire of Nestor's palace. The gold cups (no. 1758 and no. 1759), which are breathtaking in their richness and precision of the engraved relief, should also be admired. They show a scene of bulls being captured.

Sculpture collection: ground floor, rooms 7 to 35. These rooms house one of the largest collections of ancient bronzes, mostly small statues or votive figurines given as offerings in sanctuaries. They allow us to follow the evolution of art from the geometric period to the Roman period.

Room 7 : It contains works in the Daedalus style, probably made by the famous architect Daedalus, such as the metopes of the temple of Athena in Mycenae or the three statues of seated women. The statue of woman n° 1 could represent Artemis. In any case, it is the first stone statue made in life size.

Rooms 8 to 13: a group of archaic sculptures from the 7th century to 480 B.C. representing young ephebes(kouros) and young girls(korê). In Room 8, the korê Phrasikleia (no. 4889, on the left) superbly expresses pain and lost beauty, two themes linked to death since this statue was erected on a tomb. Room 10 shows the evolution of the cult of the dead from the 7th century onwards. The fragment of a stele representing a young man in profile (no. 38) illustrates the mastery of the projection of the face on the round surface, itself in relief. In Room 11, we can clearly see the progress made, particularly in the expressiveness of the facial features, which are now incorporated into an overall dynamic. This is clearly visible in room 13 with the relief of Hoplitodromos (no. 1959), a naked young man wearing a helmet, probably a dancer in the process of moving, since his body seems to be drawn to the right and preceding the movement of his head. In the same room, the most recent kouros is Aristodikos (no. 3938), which dates from 500 BC. The short hair, the floating arms and the voluminous musculature already foreshadow a completely different style, that of the classical period.

Rooms 14 and 15: this is the so-called "Severe Style" period, which runs from about 480 to 450 BC. Room 14 clearly illustrates this period, especially with the votive relief from Sounion (no. 3344), representing a young athlete wearing a crown. In the centre of room 15, it is difficult to miss the Zeus or Poseidon of Artemission (no. 15161), a superb 2 m high statue that was recovered from the sea near Artemission. According to the legend, the Romans had stolen it from the temple dedicated to the god of the sea who, in revenge, sank their ship.

Room 16 : Marble stelae and funerary vases from the Peloponnesian War (430 to 420 BC). During this war, the steles reappeared, first with one or two figures in slight relief, then with substantial proportions. The reliefs are very realistic, especially on the Lekythos vase (no. 4485) showing the dead woman led by Hermes to Hades.

Room 17 : fragments of marble metopes representing an amazonomachy and a marble statue of Hera from the Heraion in Argos. Among the many reliefs presented, the one disfiguring Dionysus slumped on a sofa (no. 1500), surrounded by three actors wearing masks, is not to be missed. It could be a sculpture dedicated to the aftermath of a performance of Euripides' famous play, The Bacchae.

Room 18 : interesting, it testifies to the evolution of the cult of the dead at the beginning of the 4th century BC. The stele of Hegeso (no. 3624) expresses this separation between the young deceased sitting on a chair and her servant who hands her the jewellery box from which the deceased takes a trinket.

Rooms 19 and 20: copies of the^5th century BC statues, lost when they were transferred to Rome, when Greece became a province of the Roman Empire, are displayed here. The originals were in bronze, the copies in marble. Do not miss the statuette of Athena Varvakeion, a miniature replica of the chryselephantine statue of the Parthenon.

Rooms 21, 34 and 35: these rooms, which serve as a kind of passageway, have the disadvantage of presenting the objects in a non-chronological order. Artemission's Jockey, the museum's flagship work, surprises with its realistic expression and the tension between the young rider and his mount.

Room 22 : there is a large architectural ensemble composed of sculptures from the temple of Asklepios at Epidaurus. The eastern pediment represents the fall of Troy and the western pediment an amazonomachy scene. Note the movement and acrobatics that the young women perform on the back of horses (sailors?).

Rooms 23 and 24 : another interesting testimony of the evolution of stelae towards the end of the 4th century BC. The steles are more and more opulent and monumental, life-size, with a great precision in the rendering of feelings such as sorrow or sadness.

Rooms 25 to 27 : these are long narrow galleries strewn with ex-voto intended for secondary deities such as Pan or the Nymphs. Room 26 allows us to see Asklepios and his family (n° 1402) and the famous snake (n° 2565), the current emblem of the caduceus.

Room 28 : the last great funerary monuments of the end of the 4th century are exhibited here, such as that of Aristonautus found in the Ceramics cemetery (no. 738, on the left as you enter). Indeed, in view of the extravagance and increasing cost of these ever larger monuments, a law was passed in 317 B.C. to prohibit the construction of funerary monuments in the cemeteries of Athens! Do not miss the bronze ephebe of Marathon attributed to Praxiteles, nor the one of Antikythera.

Rooms 29 and 30 : this is the period of Alexander the Great, marked by the fact that artists no longer want to work in large sites. Many works from this period have been found in Asia Minor, in places where artists went to practice their skills. Numerous workshops were set up on the islands, focusing on realism, size and movement. Three centuries of gigantism can therefore be admired in these two rooms. In room 30, the admirable representation of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros escapes; it is of great beauty.

Rooms 31 to 33: These rooms document the expansion of the Roman Empire into Greece between the 2nd century and 31 BC. Art adapted or was adapted accordingly. Room 31 gives an overview of the reign of Augustus to that of Domitian. In Room 32, dedicated to the 2nd century AD, how can one fail to fall under the spell of the gentle portrait of Antinoos (no. 417), the favourite of the Emperor Hadrian?

Bronze collection: ground floor, rooms 36 to 39.

Room 36 : at the entrance, first of all, the small horse and its rider from the sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona as well as the statuette of a woman carrying a dove from Mount Pindos. In showcase 1, on the right as you enter, numerous tablets of the decrees of the proxenia, which guaranteed certain citizens and their descendants privileges such as tax exemption and protection in times of war and peace. In showcase 4, numerous bronze figurines, statuettes of animals, men and women like Aphrodite, Athena, Heracles or a boxer, as well as medical instruments. Outside (no. 25), the bronze flute player is a small masterpiece. In showcase 6, weights in the shape of a boar offered to Zeus by an athlete. In showcase 8, a statuette of a tired maenad can be seen. In front of showcase 9, Zeus is holding a lightning bolt in a threatening manner.

Room 37: In showcase 10, you will notice the details of the process of making statues using the wax method. Do not miss also the statue of a flautist from Samos (n° 16513), where the strings holding the flute are still visible, and the astrolabe (n° 15087), an ingenious and complex system of wheels and pulleys allowing to calculate the calendar and the signs of the zodiac.

Rooms 38 and 39: a^5th century Athena, found at the Acropolis, or the astonishing machine of Antikythera, with gears, which could be a navigation tool... This collection of statues and stelae is presented in chronological order from the 7th century BC to the^5th century AD. It allows us to follow, in a moving summary, the evolution of the birth of artistic expression.

Egyptian collection: ground floor, rooms 40 and 41. Interesting and unique Egyptian collection in Greece. Objects dating from 5000 BC to the Roman conquest, including papyri, sarcophagi, mummies, etc., collected by two Greeks from Egypt and donated to the museum.

Stathatos Collection: ground floor, room 42. A superb private collection not to be missed if you have time. Nearly 1,000 minor objects from the Bronze Age to the post-Byzantine period are displayed here. In showcase 1, don't miss the Minoan stone vase characteristic of geometric and archaic vases. In showcase 26, in the centre of the room, the impressive Karpenissi treasure.

Vase collection: first floor, rooms 49 to 56. A collection of great wealth, especially for the quantity and quality of geometric vases found in cemeteries or sanctuaries. They are presented in chronological order, tracing the history of Greek pottery between the 11th and 4th centuries BC.

Rooms 49 to 51: these rooms show many vases from the Geometric period (1100 to 700 BC). The first century of this period is characterized by vases with simple motifs, decorated with concentric circles, zigzags, rhombuses or triangles. In the 9th century, meanders and cruciforms were added, while in the 8th century human beings made their appearance. They are represented in naval battles, duels or chariot races, as superbly expressed in vase no. 990 in room 50. From around 700 to 630 BC, art became more orientalized and decorations abandoned all symmetry in favour of wild beasts or flower ornaments. This was also the birth of the technique of polychromy, which consisted of depicting scenes in black but emphasizing the contours by incision or painting them in white or purple. To get an idea of this, do not miss, in room 51, the showcases 21 to 27 as well as a masterpiece of the period: the vase representing on its upper part Heracles, victorious over the centaur Nessos, and on its lower part the three Gorgons (n° 1002).

Rooms 52 to 55 : there are many vases from the early 6th century BC, mainly from Attica, where potters and vase painters were numerous. In showcase 56 of room 53, the found parts of vases given as offerings in the sanctuary of Athena at the Acropolis should not be missed. As early as 530 BC, a new technique appeared: the perimeter of the vase is painted black and the figures keep the colour of the red clay, while the remaining details are finely painted in black. Far from being mutually exclusive, the two techniques coexisted.

Room 56: contains numerous "red silhouette" vases from the late^5th and early 4th centuries BC. At the entrance to the room, admire the grace and refinement of the vases of the classical period through the works of the so-called Eretria painter.