169 Greek archaeological sites & museums have now been upgraded to have better signage & visitor facilities.

From:
Greek Reporter

Services Upgraded in 169 Museums and Archaelogical Sites
Posted on 13 July 2011 by Anastasia Chaini

The upgrading of 20 museums and archaeological sites services, for a total of 169, will be completed by the end of the summer. The remaining 149 will go up to the A1 category in the next three years, based on the time schedule of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Paul Geroulanos. Up until now, no Greek museum or archaeological site, not even the Acropolis, has gone up so high in the rankings.

The upgrading of the services mainly concerns the issue of leaflets in two languages​​, the placement of large informational signs, and the installation of outposts and toilets for the disabled and automatic water / soft drink machines, where necessary.
Read the rest of this entry »

An interesting followup to the previous post about the ongoing problems of artefact looting within Greece.

From:
SAFE

Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Repatriation Effects: Greece’s National Archaeological Museum

In the Galleries:

While we all revile the looting of archaeological sites and the illicit trade of artifacts, we can now begin to review the effects of the repatriation of ancient material back to the countries of origin. Here I am not referring to Native American remains, but the statues and vases created by the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean. Recently, I visited the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece, which has seen financial and public relations troubles partly due to the national economic crisis. Here, I saw the 2007 repatriated kore from the J.P. Getty Museum standing amongst other statues without any bells or whistles describing its sordid history. Also on display was a bronze athlete, repatriated in 2002, propped in its own corner. I believe that the return of these objects reflect legal and ethical principles, which absolutely must be upheld.
Read the rest of this entry »

William St Clair, Author of Lord Elgin and the Marbles, is giving the 21st annual Runciman lecture at Kings College London tomorrow.

From:
Kings College, London

21st Annual Runciman Lecture
Thursday 2 February 2012
Great Hall, Strand Campus, 18.00
Looking at the Athenian Acropolis: from modern times to antiquity
Speaker: William St Clair

William St Clair will discuss the ways in which the Acropolis has historically been interpreted by three main constituencies, the people of Athens, visitors from abroad, and those who only saw Athens in their imaginations with the help of pictures. Beginning in modern times when current viewing conventions were invented, and going back through chronological layers, he suggests how his approach can improve our understanding of how the Acropolis was understood in antiquity.

His starting point is that it was the viewers who made the meanings.
Read the rest of this entry »

Two years on from the opening of the New Acropolis Museum, it is still the most popular attraction in Athens, but ticket prices are rising, as the initial subsidies are gradually removed. The museum has been a resounding success story for Greece – advertising an entirely different image of the country from the typical sun washed beaches of the islands, or the protests associated with the financial crisis.

From:
Kathimerini (English edition)

Tuesday June 21, 2011
The Acropolis Museum: A reintroduction
Despite chaos in the surrounding area, organizers are busy preparing its birthday celebrations
By Iota Sykka

At 11 a.m. on Thursday, as the country was aboil with developing news on the political front, so was the area connecting Amalias Avenue with Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, as the double-parked tour coaches waiting for their passengers to come out of the Acropolis Museum were hiding the traffic lights.

The entire pedestrian area was in a state of absolute Greek pandemonium. The sightseeing train was packed with visitors, as were the nearby cafes next to the souvenir shops selling poor-quality copies of treasured antiquities. Street musicians contributed to the noise as well, while drivers flouted the no-car law up and down the pedestrianized walkway. Two years ago, when the city was feverish with the museum’s inauguration, such a state of affairs would have been unthinkable.
Read the rest of this entry »

Despite their time on the monument (& the fact that for years, people have perceived them in their pure white form), traces of the original colouring from the sculptures on the Parthenon are still visible.

From:
Athens News Agency

06/14/2011
Traces of the Parthenon’s colourful past

(ANA-MPA) — An inset shows traces of mustard-coloured paint on the eponymous Lion’s Head pediment that was removed from the Parthenon’s northeast side on Friday 9 June 2011. The pediment was removed from atop the celebrated Classical Era ancient temple for restoration. The Parthenon was painted in bright colours during antiquity, as were most ancient temples, a far cry from the ubiquitous sun-baked and bare marble columns and friezes usually associated today with the Greco-Roman era. ANA-MPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU

Music concerts are going to be held in the New Acropolis Museum every Thursday evening in February.

From:
Athens News

Manos Hatzidakis musical soirees at Acropolis Museum
23 Jan 2012

Musical soirees featuring the work of Greek composers Manos Hatzidakis are to be held at the Acropolis Museum on Thursday evenings throughout February, as part of the museum’s “One Day at the Acropolis Museum” programme.

The performances, organised in collaboration with the Athens municipality’s Technopolis organisation, will take place at 5p.m. on February 2, 9, 16 and 23, on the second-floor terrace of the museum, with a view of the Archaic Sculpture gallery. (AMNA/Athens News)

The Acropolis in Athens is now going to be open for longer. It is already better than it used to be though, as I remember visiting it in the 1990s, when it seemed that it was barely open in the afternoons during the winter months.

From:
The Independent

Longer opening hours for Athens Acropolis
AFP
Saturday, 21 May 2011

Greece is to extend the opening hours of the Acropolis in Athens due to public demand, Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanosin announced Thursday.

The site will open from 8:00 am (0500 GMT) to 19:00 pm (1600 GMT) year-round after staffing changes prompted by a restructure of the country’s public bodies.
Read the rest of this entry »

The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles have published a tribute to the journalist & author Christopher Hitchens, who was a long standing supporter of the campaign to return the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

From:
Sourcewire

Tribute to the late Christopher Hitchens from the BCRPM
Friday, 16 December 2011

The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) today paid tribute to the late Christopher Hitchens who died earlier this week, for his keen support for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

Eleni Cubitt, Honorary Secretary for the Committee said: “We are all deeply saddened by the news of Christopher’s death and we send our sincere condolences to his family at this time. Christopher’s contribution and belief in our cause was a great strength to me personally and he will be sorely missed as one of our key supporters.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Following Christopher Hitchens death, Stephen Fry talks about why he now thinks that the time is now right for the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum to return to Athens.

From:
StephenFry.com

A Modest Proposal
By Stephen Fry
December 19th, 2011

Greece is the Word

I have a modest proposal that might simultaneously celebrate the life of Christopher Hitchens, strengthen Britain’s low stock in Europe and allow us to help a dear friend in terrible trouble.

Perhaps the most beautiful and famous monument in the world is the Doric masterpiece atop the citadel, or Acropolis, of Athens. It is called the Parthenon, the Virgin Temple dedicated to Pallas Athene, the goddess of wisdom who gave the Greek capital its name.
Read the rest of this entry »

The winners have been announced for a Greek literary contest to produce essays about the Parthenon Marbles.

From:
Athens News Agency

06/13/2011
History of a looting, or looting of history?

(ANA-MPA)-The Hellenic Cultural Association ‘Nostos’ in Argentina has announced the winners of its 3rd international literary contest, with the theme this year being “The Parthenon Marbles: The history of a looting, or the looting of history?”.

More than 350 essays, tales and poems in the Greek, Spanish and English languages from five continents were entered in this year’s contest, organised by Nostos under the aegis of the Greek Embassy in Buenos Aires and the Argentinean national senate.(ANA-MPA)
Read the rest of this entry »

On certain days, the New Acropolis Museum is aiming to put on special events, to encourage families to spend their entire days there.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Wednesday April 13, 2011 (20:54)
Acropolis Museum invites visitors for an all-day experience

The Acropolis Museum is launching a new initiative starting on the weekend of April 16 and 17, inviting visitors, and families especially, to spend the day there indulging in a series of activities.

These include archaeology-themed games for the entire family, a screening on the history of the Acropolis, the opportunity to watch restorers work on sculptural artifacts and presentations based on the exhibits. Other perks in the “Day at the Acropolis Museum” pack include a special menu at the restaurant and a discount on items purchased at the gift shops.
Read the rest of this entry »

The official figures for 2010 show that the New Acropolis Museum was the most popular site for tourists visiting Greece. The British Museum might claim that more people see the Elgin Marbles in London (a fact that is open to some debate), however in the case of the New Acropolis Museum, the figures are for those people purely wanting to see the marbles – not general figures for a museum, which may include the Duveen Gallery, amongst numerous other elements.

From:
Agence France Presse

Acropolis Museum is Greece’s top site: official data
(AFP) – Apr 11, 2011

ATHENS — The Acropolis Museum was Greece’s top tourist draw in 2010, eclipsing for the first time the ancient Athens citadel whose sculptures it showcases, official data showed on Monday.

Over 1.3 million people queued to visit the country’s newest museum between January and December last year, the Greek statistics authority (Esa) said.
Read the rest of this entry »