Despite some earlier worries that it would be called off due to strikes, the planned August full moon late night opening of Archaeological sites in Greece is going ahead this evening (Tuesday 24th August).

This event has happened for a number of years now, with great success.

From:
Athens News Agency

08/24/2010
Archaeological sites open for August full moon

(ANA-MPA) — More than 90 archaeological sites around the country will remain open on Tuesday during the evening hours on the occasion of August’s full moon, the last of the summer.

The New Acropolis Museum, the Acropolis itself, the Cape Sounion site and the National Archaeological Museum in downtown Athens will remain open to the public, a more-or-less summer tradition over the past few years that was, nevertheless, threatened with cancellation this year to a disagreement between the relevant culture ministry and staff at the archaeological sites over extra pay.
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Research by Art Historian Katherine Schwab, looks at whether the hairstyles of the Caryatids from the Erechtheion on the Acropolis in Athens could be recreated today. A DVD is now available that documents this project.

From:
PR Web

Documentary Now Available of Ancient Caryatid Hairstyles Being Brought to Life

A DVD is now available that documents the Caryatid Hairstyling Project, directed by Dr. Katherine Schwab, associate professor of art history at Fairfield University, that investigates whether elaborate female coiffures seen among the Erechtheion marble Caryatids, or maidens, at the Acropolis Museum in Athens could actually be replicated on women today. The 15-minute, fast-paced DVD follows six female students as they are transformed in appearance from modern 21st century women to elegant young women of ancient Greece.

Fairfield, Conn. (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 13, 2010 — A DVD is now available that documents the Caryatid Hairstyling Project, directed by Dr. Katherine Schwab, associate professor of art history at Fairfield University, that investigates whether elaborate female coiffures seen among the Erechtheion marble Caryatids, or maidens, at the Acropolis Museum in Athens could actually be replicated on women today. The 15-minute, fast-paced DVD follows six female students as their long hair is twisted and curled in intricate patterns (which in real time took hours) and records their reactions as they are transformed in appearance from modern 21st century women to elegant young women of ancient Greece. Produced by Christopher McGloin and Daniel Kole of the Media Center, with music arranged by Dr. Laura Nash, Program Director of Music, the DVD was funded by a grant from the University’s Faculty Research Committee and the Classical Studies Program. A webpage about the project includes a clip and online purchase of the DVD at www.fairfield.edu/caryatid.
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An exhibition opens in Athens later this month, of three-dimensional photography of the sculptures from the Acropolis.

Exhibition in Athens 21-30 June 2010

The Cultural Organization of Athens Municipality invite you to inaugurated the exhibition entitled: “The magic of photography in three-dimensional sculptures of the Acropolis” of Kika Pardaki.

A year and a day after The opening of the new Acropolis Museum, which was built to house the statues, you are in London come to us with this report, through unique stereoscopic images of high quality and unique analysis for the use of special 3d glasses.

June 21 – June 30 2010, 20:00 at the Cultural Center, Akadimias 50, Hall “Iakovidis”

Open daily 10.00-20.00 & Sun 10.00-14.00

more information (in Greek) is available here.

Earth Hour circles the world, where many famous monuments turn off their lights for an hour to highlight the need to conserve energy. As in previous years, the Acropolis will be amongst other Athens landmarks taking part in this event.

From:
Christian Science Monitor

Earth Hour 2010 aims to get 1 billion to turn off the lights
By Will Buchanan, Contributor / March 27, 2010

For this year’s Earth Hour, set for 8:30 p.m. Saturday, more businesses and governments are expected to take part in the campaign to turn off the lights. The aim: at least 1 billion participants.

The Earth Hour concept is simple: Turn off the lights for an hour to acknowledge climate change and advocate sustainability.
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The Acropolis in Athens, along with the numerous buildings that occupy & surround the site are all now on Google Earth in 3D.

From:
Google Earth Blog

March 1, 2010
Athens goes 3D

With the Winter Olympics wrapping up, Google thought it’d be fun to revisit the site of the first modern Olympic games. They’ve added detailed 3D coverage to the city, with thousands of buildings now showing off sharp 3D models.

They provide a list of fun places to check out, such as the Parthenon and the Herodeion Theater.

You can also view a short video tour of the 3D city of Athens here.

The restoration of the Propylaia which forms the gateway to the Acropolis has now been completed, ending another chapter in the Acropolis’s extensive restoration programme.

From:
Athens News Agency

12/22/2009
Restoration of Acropolis Propylaea completed

All scaffolding and cranes were fully removed from the Propylaea of the Acropolis, the monumental entrance, or gateway, to the Acropolis, on the weekend following completion of the restoration work on the central building of the structure.

The Propylaea was built under the direction of Athenian leader Pericles, but the building itself was designed by the architect Mnesicles, while construction began in 437 BCE and was terminated in 432 BCE, while the building was still unfinished.
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In addition to this site, for some time now it has been possible to follow Elginism on its associated Twitter feed & Facebook page. In an attempt to increase the multimedia aspects of the site, you can now also join Elginism’s Flickr photostream. At present the photostream consists of archive images – some of which I’ve already made available through other sources. In the coming months though I hope to further integrate these various aspects of the site so that they tie in more closely to the main site.

A youtube channel for Elginism will also be available soon.

View Elginism’s photostream on Flickr here.

Current photosets include:

• New Acropolis Museum opening.
• The Acropolis (including many areas not normally accessible to the public).
• Protest outside the British Museum (see original post for more details).

Greece is continuing the tradition of previous years, with a late night opening of the Acropolis site in Athens (along with numerous other sites) to coincide with the full moon.

From:
Athens News Agency

08/06/2009
August Full Moon events

The August full moon has always been a special event in Greece, as it is the time when the moon is so close as to give the impression that one only has to reach out to touch it.

In recent years, the Culture Ministry has established a tradition of opening up a large number of the countries archaeological sites, monuments and museums throughout the country on the night of the August Full Moon.
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More coverage of the reversal of the original decision to censor depictions of the iconoclasm from a short fim about the history of the Athenian Acropolis which is on display in the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
Agence France-Presse

Agence France-Presse – 8/4/2009 4:02 PM GMT
Acropolis Museum backs down in Parthenon video row

Greece’s new Acropolis Museum on Tuesday said it will undo controversial editing of a video showing the Parthenon temple vandalised by early Christians in a row that has sparked complaints of Church-backed censorship.

The video will be restored after its maker, renowned French-Greek filmaker Costa-Gavras, said he meant to attach no blame to Christian priests for the destruction, museum director Dimitris Pantermalis said.
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Christopher Hitchens writes about the reasons why the New Acropolis Museum will be the most suitable location for the display of all surviving fragments of the Parthenon Sculptures.

From:
New York Times

Op-Ed Contributor
A Home for the Marbles
By CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
Published: June 18, 2009

LONDON — This weekend, the new museum of the Acropolis will open its doors in Athens, in a striking modern building situated at the foot of the rock itself.

For a long time, it has not really been possible for a visitor to Greece to visit the buildings on that most famous of all hills, and also the sculpture that used to adorn them in the days of the cult of Pallas Athena.
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When the New Acropolis Museum is mentioned, people’s first thought is of the Elgin Marbles. It does however contain many other artefacts – some previously displayed in the old museum on the Acropolis, others never publicly on show before. Their are artefacts from well before & well after the construction of the Periclean Acropolis – as well as the finds from the site of the museum itself which are retained beneath the building.

From:
Athens News Agency

06/25/2009
Tour of the permanent collections of the New Acropolis Museum

The New Acropolis Museum, which will be officially inaugurated on Saturday, contains five Permanent Collections: The Acropolis Slopes, divided into sub-categories on The Settlement, and The Sanctuary; The Acropolis during the Archaic Period, with sub-categories on The Hekatompedon, The Ancient Temple, abd The Votives; The Parthenon, with sub-categories on The Monument, The Metopes, The Pediments, and The Frieze; Other Monuments of the Classical Acropolis, with sub-categories on The Propylaia, The Temple of Athena Nike, and The Erectheion; and Other Collections, with sub-categories on The Sanctuary of Artemis Vravronia, The Votives of the Classical and Hellenist Periods, and The Votives of the Roman Period. ANA-MPA takes its readers on a tour of the collections, in three parts, leading up to the official opening. The Museum opened its electronic gates (www.theacropolismuseum.gr) on Monday.
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British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has visited Athens & whilst there visited the Acropolis. It is unclear whether any of the meetings he attended in Greece talked about the Elgin Marbles, but now that he has seen the Acropolis for himself, it will be interesting to see if this affects his opinion on the way that the government handles the issue of the reunification of the Elgin Marbles.

From:
Athens News Agency

05/27/2009
Miliband in Athens for talks

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, currently on an official visit to Greece, held talks with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and then Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis on Tuesday. These covered a range of issues, including the Cyprus problem, Turkey’s European accession course, developments in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, climate change, and a missile launch test by North Korea.

In statements after meeting Bakoyannis, Miliband stressed the need for a solution to the Cyprus issue “by Cypriots and for Cypriots” and said that Britain was determined to play only a supportive role in the vitally important negotiations underway, which had to make progress within the next few months.
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