Athens is the capital of Greece. Today a modern European city, but in ancient times it was the capital of one of the leading Greek states with a powerful creative civilization and a vast ocean empire.
As in ancient times, the city is still dominated by the Acropolis, a hilltop citadel topped with Parthenon.
With a history that made significant contributions to Western culture, it is rich with museums that highlight the masterpieces and glories of ancient Athens and Greece.
Athens has some of the most famous museums and historical monuments in the world.
Virtual Tour of the Museums in Athens
- Acropolis Museum
- National Archaeological Museum
- Benaki Museum
- Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
- Byzantine and Christian Museum
- Hellenic Motor Museum
- National Historical Museum, Athens
- Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection
- Numismatic Museum of Athens
- Athens War Museum
- Jewish Museum of Greece
- Athens University Museum
Museums in Athens Maps
Virtual Tour Historical Sites in Athens
- Acropolis of Athens
- Athens Temples, Monuments and Historical Archaeological Sites
- Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
- Corinthian Columns of Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Ancient Agora of Athens
- Map of the Ancient Agora of Athens
- Stoa of Attalos
- Aristotle’s Lyceum
- Temple of Hephaestus
- Roman Agora, Athens
- Roman Baths in Athens
- Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Athens
Greek Proverbs and Quotes
- Greek Proverbs and Quotes
Highlights Tour of the Museums in Athens
Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens.
The museum was built to house every artifact found on the Acropolis and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.
The museum holds over 4,250 objects which are exhibited over an area of 14,000 square meters.
The museum is located by the southeastern slope of the Acropolis hill, on the ancient road that led up to the “sacred rock” in classical times.
Set within walking distance to the Parthenon and built over an extensive archaeological site.
The museum lies over the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. Visitors can see the excavations below.
The museum also provides an amphitheater, a virtual theatre, and a hall for temporary exhibitions.
National Archaeological Museum
The National Archaeological Museum in Athens maintains some of the most famous Greek masterpieces from a variety of archaeological locations in Greece.
Considered one of the greatest museums in the world, it has a splendid collection of artifacts from prehistory to late antiquity.
Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum, established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis, is housed in a mansion in downtown Athens, Greece.
The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to modern times. The museum’s collection of Islamic and Chinese art is located at satellite museums.
Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
The Benaki Museum, established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis, is housed in a mansion in downtown Athens, Greece.
The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to modern times. The museum’s collection of Islamic and Chinese art is located at satellite museums.
Byzantine and Christian Museum
The Benaki Museum, established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis, is housed in a mansion in downtown Athens, Greece.
The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to modern times. The museum’s collection of Islamic and Chinese art is located at satellite museums.
Hellenic Motor Museum
The Benaki Museum, established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis, is housed in a mansion in downtown Athens, Greece.
The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to modern times. The museum’s collection of Islamic and Chinese art is located at satellite museums.
National Historical Museum, Athens
The National Historical Museum is a historical museum in Athens. Founded in 1882, it is located in the Old Parliament House, which housed the Hellenic Parliament from 1875 until 1932.
The Museum’s collection has historical items about the period from the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453 to the Second World War.
The period of the Greek Revolution and the subsequent establishment of the modern Greek state is explained with historical exhibits.
The exhibits include weapons, memorabilia from historical figures, historical paintings, manuscripts, as well as a collection of traditional Greek costumes.
Museum of the Ancient Agora
The Museum of the Ancient Agora is housed in the Stoa of Attalos located in the ancient Greek Agora.
The Stoa of Attalos was a stoa built by King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 BC and 138 BC. The current building was reconstructed in 1952–1956.
The museum’s collection includes clay, bronze and glass objects, sculptures, coins, and inscriptions from the 7th to the 5th century BC, as well as pottery of the Byzantine period and the Turkish occupation.
The museum also hosts exhibits are connected with the Athenian democracy.
Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection
The Syntagma Metro Station Archeological Collection is a museum in Athens, Greece. It is free and is located at the Syntagma station of the Athens Metro.
The collection features a variety of historical items unearthed during the process of building the underground metro train system.
Numismatic Museum of Athens
The Numismatic Museum in Athens houses one of the essential collections of coins, ancient and modern, in the world.
The museum itself is housed in the mansion of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann.
The museum’s collection has 600,000 objects, mainly coins but also medals, standard masses, dies, stamps, and others, from the 14th century BC until modern times.
Athens War Museum
The Athens War Museum is the museum of the Greek Armed Forces. Its purpose is the exhibition of weapons in the history of war from all ages.
The museums’ collections include artifacts from other civilizations such as Ancient China and Ancient Japan.
The Museum’s exhibition areas are distributed over four levels with exhibits of Greek military history from antiquity to the present.
The War Museum has established Museum Branches at the cities of Nauplion, Chania, Tripoli, and Thessaloniki.
Jewish Museum of Greece
The Jewish Museum of Greece is a museum in Athens, Greece. It was established in 1977 to keep the material culture of the Greek Jews.
Jews have been present in Greece since at least the fourth century BC. The oldest Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as “Greek Jews”.
Athens University Museum
The Athens University Museum is a museum in Athens, Greece is also known as the “Old University” since it housed from 1837 to 1841 the first University of the independent Greek state.
The building was a structure of the Ottoman period and is one of the oldest residential buildings still standing in Athens today.
The museum’s collection consists of old and rare book editions, manuscripts, diplomas, scientific instruments, portraits, photographs, medals, seals, and other University memorabilia.
Athens
- City: Athens
- Greek: Αθήνα
- Demonym: Athenian
- Country: Greece
- Population: 2.7 million Metro
Ancient Greece
GREECE: Stunning National Archaeological Museum in Athens
Virtual Tour Historical Sites in Athens
- Acropolis of Athens
- Athens Temples, Monuments and Historical Archaeological Sites
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Athens
Highlights Tour Historical Sites in Athens
Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens is located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and has been an ancient citadel since time immemorial. The Acropolis has several ancient buildings of architectural and historical significance.
The word Acropolis is from the Greek phrase Akron, which means “highest point, extremity” and polis, meaning “city.”
Although the term acropolis is generic, the Acropolis of Athens is of such significance that it is commonly known as “The Acropolis” without further description.
The Acropolis was inhabited as far back as the 4th millennium B.C.
Athens Temples, Monuments and Historical Archaeological Sites
A Tour of the Top Athens Temples, Monuments and Historical Archaeological Sites
- Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
- Corinthian Columns of Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Ancient Agora of Athens
- Map of the Ancient Agora of Athens
- Stoa of Attalos
- Aristotle’s Lyceum
- Temple of Hephaestus
- Roman Agora, Athens
- Roman Baths in Athens
- Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Athens
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial located in Syntagma Square in Athens. It is a cenotaph dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war.
It was sculpted between 1930-32, and the tomb is guarded by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard.
The Tomb is in the 1930’s spirit of Art Deco and with symbolic references to Ancient Greece.
The Tomb is a large-scale retaining wall of limestone with the sculpture is at the center of the wall.
To the left and to the right there are two side staircases while in the center there is a rectangular raised grave.
The sculpture represents the naked male figure of a dead warrior lying on the ground.
He holds a circular shield in his left hand, his right-hand rest on the ground next to his spear, and wears an Ancient Greek-style helmet.
A Tour of Greek Museums and Historic Sites
- Athens Museums
- Ancient Corinth Museums
- Delos Museums
- Delphi Museums
- Ancient Mycenae Museums
- Epidaurus Museums
- Heraklion, Crete Museums
- Meteora Museums
- Milos Museums
- Mykonos Museums
- Mystras Museums
- Nafplion Museums
- Olympia Museums
- Pella Museums
- Samos Museums
- Santorini Museums
- Thessaloniki Museums
- Vergina Museums
ACROPOLIS MUSEUM + NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ATHENS
Acropolis Museum
Secrets of the Acropolis
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“Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence… ”
– John Milton
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Photo Credit:By Mstyslav Chernov (Self-photographed, http://mstyslav-chernov.com/) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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