The long running Acropolis programme of works on the Acropolis site enters a new phase

The current restoration of the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis has been ongoing for many years now. This week, the go-ahead has been given by the Central Archaeological Council for works to proceed on the West Pediment.

You can read more about the proposals (in Greek) here.

The West end of the Parthenon

From:
Greek Reporter

Restoration Work on Parthenon’s Western Pediment to Begin
By Kerry Kolasa-Sikiaridi –
Aug 4, 2016

The Central Archaeological Council (KAS) approved on Wednesday two projects for the restoration of the upright marble slabs and background wall of the drum which form part of Parthenon’s western pediment.

According to the researchers who presented the two studies, the work involves rescue interventions aimed at dealing with the problems found by restorers in that section of the pediment – mainly cracks formed by various causes. In the future, the studies could be used to evaluate whether it would be useful to add material in place of the two missing slabs, they said.
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People who are visiting the Acropolis in Athens in an accademic capacity, will now be able to access a Wifi network up there.

It remains to be seen how good the coverage is, and in these days of 3G and reduced intra-EU roaming charges, its less vital than it once was, but still a welcome development nonetheless.

Entrance path to the Acropolis

From:
Greek Reporter

Acropolis Visitors Get Wi-Fi Access
By Anastassios Adamopoulos –
Aug 6, 2015

The ancient Athenian site just got an important contemporary update to its environment.

Professors, researchers and students of educational institutions around the world will now have access to the internet upon their visits to the Acropolis. The new option is available thanks to a global roaming access service for members of educational institutions called Eduroam.
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Greek Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis has announced that the country is considering raising the admission fees for Archaeological sites.

In many ways, it is a shame that more of the archaeological sites and museums in Greece aren’t given more autonomy to set their own charges. As far as I am aware, the Acropolis Museum is the only state run institution with any real control over its own budget. As this worked fairly well (the museum has never closed due to strikes), I would have thought that other locations in the country ought to have also transferred to a similar model.

A new ticketing system sounds great (in theory), although Greece has never had the massive waits in queues that every site in Rome seems to. The focus here seems to be more ass using it as an excuse to increase charges than anything else.

Greek culture minister Nikos Xydakis

From:
ANSA Med

Greece: Athens mulling hikes to ticket prices at museums
18 May, 16:11

Greece’s Culture Ministry has appointed a team of experts that are amining a change in the price structure of tickets to enter Greek museums and archaeological sites, Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis revealed on Monday as Kathimerini online reports. In a response to a question in Parliament, Xydakis said the panel would be examining schemes implemented in other countries and would not be proposing an across-the-board increase in ticket prices.

Xydakis added that the government will also introduce tickets giving access to multiple sites and museums. He said that a new ticketing system would be introduced at the Acropolis from June and would then be extended to the next 59 most popular sites and museums. The minister also indicated that the ministry would like to make greater commercial use of Greece’s heritage via the Internet, including offering more merchandise

Soon, you will be able to purchase e-tickets to access the Acropolis in Athens.

A good way to beat the queues, although they were never such a problem as in cities like Rome.

Entrance path to the Acropolis

From:
Greek Reporter

E-Ticket to Acropolis Archaeolgical Site from June
A. Makris
Apr 30, 2015

The electronic ticket will be applied from June starting from the archaeological site of the Acropolis with aim to be applied to all Greek archaeological sites by the end of the year, Greek Alternate Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis stated on Thursday.

Moreover, he clarified that the funding of Amphipolis excavation continues but not only for the excavation itself but for other important works of maintenance and restoration of the finds and the monument as well as for anthropological analysis of the materials.

Xydakis answered to questions raised by SYRIZA deputy Maria Kanellopoulou and New Democracy (ND) deputy Fotini Arabatzi.

An architectural competition is soon to be announced, to redesign the entrance route to the Athenian Acropolis.

Entrance path to the Acropolis

From:
ANSAmed

Greece: architecture contest to redesign Acropolis access
26 January, 14:34

Greek culture ministry is set to announce an international architecture contest inviting contestants to present proposals that will make access to the Acropolis more functional and friendlier for disabled visitors and improve the aesthetics of the surrounding area, Greek Travel Pages (Gtp) website reports. Renowned Greek architect Dimitris Pikionis, responsible for the landscaping work of the pedestrian walkways around the Acropolis in the 1950s, envisioned the entrance to the archaeological site as a sort of pilgrimage where visitors, on their way up to the Parthenon, would gain the overall view of the area from all its angles. In efforts to save time, however, tour guides created several side roads leading to the site, which contributed to overcrowding at its main entrance. According to Kathimerini daily, the competition aims to restore Pikionis’ initial vision and plan with the winning architect successfully redesigning the site’s entrance facilities. (ANSAmed).

There were a lot of reports yesterday about instability in the Acropolis – the rock in Athens on which the Parthenon sits.

If you look at the Acropolis, you will see that around the edges, a lot of it is supported by ancient retaining walls – the top of the original hill was too rounded & not large enough for the quantity of buildings constructed there. As a result, the site has been heavily analysed, to check for any chance of deterioration of these walls & the rubble piled behind them.

Greece has now issued their own press release, refuting the alarmist tone taken by many of the original articles.

The Parthenon

From:
IB Times

Greece: ‘Crumbling’ Ancient Acropolis in Athens Puts Parthenon at Risk of Collapse
By Lydia Smith
02 October 2014

The Acropolis is falling down and will need significant work to shore it up, archaeologists have warned.

Engineers have found that a section of the huge flat-topped rock on which the ancient Parthenon sits in Athens is beginning to give way, the Greek news agency ANA has said.
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In recent years, there has been much debate about the decision by Greece’s government to make it easier for commersial filming to take place on the Acropolis.

These decision to free up the access to the site appear to be gradually producing visible benefits, with new films using the backdrop of the Parthenon as a key part of their story.

Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst in ‘The Two Faces of January’

From:
Independent (Ireland)

Cinema Reviews: ‘The Two Faces of January’
Cert 12A

Padraic McKiernan, Hilary A White, Aine O’Connor – Published 11 May 2014 02:30 AM
Reviewed this week are ‘The Two Faces of January’, ‘In Bloom’, ‘A Thousand Times Goodnight’, ‘A Winter Chill’ and ‘In Secret’.

With a title that bears reference to a two-faced Roman god and a stunning backdrop that takes in some of Ancient Greece’s most famous ruins, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to read there’s a certain mythic quality to the story that unfolds in director Hossein Amini’s engaging thriller.
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As in other years, the Acropolis in Athens has been a part of the worldwide Earth Hour, dimming its lights on the evening of 29th March.

The Acropolis, before & during Earth Hour

From:
Inquirer

Lights out for iconic landmarks on Earth Hour
Agence France-Presse
10:36 am | Sunday, March 30th, 2014

NEW YORK – Iconic landmarks around the world were plunged into darkness Saturday as lights went out in thousands of places as part of a global fundraising drive for local environmental projects.

New York’s Empire State Building, the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue and Sydney’s Opera House were among those blacked out for 60 minutes at 8:30 pm local time for the annual Earth Hour.
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More coverage of the human chain around the Parthenon for Anti-Racism day.

As I mentioned before, it would be great if something like this could happen on a regular basis to help draw attention to the issue of the Parthenon Marbles.

Children form human chain around the Parthenon

From:
Greek Reporter

2,500 Kids Form Human Chain Around Parthenon
Ioanna Zikakou – Mar 21, 2014

Today, 2,500 children gathered at the Acropolis, forming a human chain around the Parthenon upon the initiative of the General Secretariat of Transparency and Human Rights to mark the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Under the banner “We embrace the Acropolis, embrace democracy, embrace humanity”, children of many nationalities as well as some with disabilities sang about the meaning of the day and released 2000 colored balloons into the Attica sky, sending the message of peaceful and creative coexistence without discrimination amongst people.
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Stories such as this, go some way towards illustrating that the Parthenon is more than just another ancient monument – it holds a larger symbolism for many within Greece & internationally.

Perhaps a similar event should be organised on a regular basis to highlight the plight of the Marbles? People have previously suggested that the anniversary of the opening of the Acropolis Museum becomes Parthenon Day. Perhaps we could organise people to encircle both the British Museum & Acropolis Museum simultaneously on that day to show the unity of the two sites? Who’s interested?

The Parthenon

From:
Greek Reporter

Kids to Hug Acropolis for Anti-Racism Day
by Abed Alloush – Mar 19, 2014

2,500 children will form a human chain round the Parthenon on Friday March 21 to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Their motto will be “We hug the Acropolis, We hug democracy, We hug humanity.”

Organized by the Greek Ministry of Justice, children of different nationalities and people with special needs will sing and release colorful balloons into the sky to sending a message “of a peaceful and creative co-existence of all human beings, without any racial discrimination.”

The Acropolis museum will later host an event featuring work by celebrated artists including Antonis Remos, Dimitris Mpasis, Melina Kana, Melina Aslanidou, Sonia Theodoridou and the director, Giannis Smaragdis, as well as from children of the Paladion primary school. The event will be attended by President of the Greek Republic Karolos Papoulias and by Charalambos Athanasiou and Konstandinos Arvanitopoulos, ministers of justice and education, respectively.

The opening hours of the major archaeological sites in Greece have got better in recent years – in the past, if you were visiting in the early spring or late autumn, you might well find even important sites in Athens shut at 2pm. This new move to open all the sites from 8am until 8pm from Spring through to Autumn will definitely make it easier for more people to see sites such as the Acropolis, as well as hopefully reducing the scale of the crowds at the busiest times.

Tourism promotion outside the Greek parliament

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Friday February 28, 2014 (18:49)
Ministry extends opening hours of sites, museums in spring and autumn

With more than 18.5 million tourists expected to visit Greece this year, topping record arrivals in 2013, the Culture Ministry has moved ahead with the long-awaited extension of opening hours at museums and archaeological sites.

Starting on April 1, 33 of the country’s 117 gated sites and museums are to remain open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week – hours usually reserved for the summer season and on fewer days, as well as limited to a smaller number of attractions.
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The Manolis Korres, the architect in charge of the Acropolis Restoration has become the first Greek to receive the prestigious Feltrinelli award for his contributions to the field of Archaeology & restorations.

Manolis Korres

From:
Greek Reporter

Feltrinelli Int’l Prize Awarded to Greek Professor Manolis Korres
By Sotiria Nikolouli on November 24, 2013

The Feltrinelli International Prize was awarded to Professor of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens Manolis Korres, for his contribution in the field of archeology and restorations.

This international award is the highest distinction awarded by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei of Rome — one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific academies worldwide founded in 1603 — and in the past has included members of prominent figures such as Galileo. The Feltrinelli International Prize is awarded to personalities who have distinguished themselves for their high contribution in art, literature, history, philosophy, medicine and mathematics. It is awarded once every five years and is accompanied by a significant amount of money. A second award is given alongside an international organization for humanitarian action.
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