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: first floor, rooms 3, 4, 5, 6.

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

Room 5: collection of clay, stone and bone objects and figurines from the Neolithic Age (6,600 to 3,300 BC) to the Bronze Age (3,300 to 2,000 BC). The Neolithic Age saw the emergence of agriculture, animal domestication and the first fixed settlements.

Among the objects from the Sesklo (Thessaly) and Dimini sites is a large terracotta idol of a seated man from Thessaly. It is probably a deity symbolizing fertility (no. 5894). Among the female idols representing the great goddess, the Kourotrophos, Mother Nurturer (no. 5937), is particularly beautiful.

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

Rooms 3 and 4: these house an impressive collection of objects representative of the Mycenaean civilization (^16th century BC - ^11th century BC), mostly found in tombs in Mycenae. They demonstrate the advance of this civilization in terms of art (working with gold, stone or ivory): jewelry, painting, metallurgy, but also language. We are shown refinement, grandeur and a taste for war. The objects are grouped by locality.

The first is Mycenae, whose treasures are on display opposite the gallery entrance. These include the famous funerary masks in fine gold leaf, used to cover the faces of dead chieftains (vitrine 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 (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 represented, it suggests an impression of mobility, with a repetition of motifs such as the spiral (symbolizing the eternal flow of life), the rosette and the lily; a rock crystal vase (no. 8638, vitrine 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. Next come excavations from the chamber and tholos tombs of Mycenae, mainly metal, stone and clay vases, gold jewelry and 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), depicting six armed warriors setting off to war. A woman on the left waves good-bye to them, presumably leaving for a long time to come; the ivory group (no. 7711, vitrine 30 in the center) with two goddesses and a young god in the middle; the wall paintings (including no. 11670, left wall), including the superb fresco of a goddess standing out against a blue background. The woman, in profile, seems to ignore the viewer, who is alone in front of the disconcerting finesse of her features. These paintings were particularly important, coming as they did from a cult home in Mycenae.

The rest of the room features objects from other localities, such as Tirynthe and Pilos. The latter is the source of the clay tablets in linear B (vitrine 9, right wall), charred by the fire in Nestor's palace. The gold bowls (no. 1758 and no. 1759), with their rich and precise engraved relief, are equally impressive. They feature a bull-capture scene.

Sculpture collection: first 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 era.

Room 7: this room contains works in the dedalic style, probably created by the famous architect Daedalus, such as the metopes from the temple of Athena in Mycenae, or the three statues of seated women. Female statue no. 1 may represent Artemis. In any case, it is the first life-size stone statue.

Rooms 8 to 13: a group of archaic sculptures from the ^7th century to 480 B.C. depicting young ephebes(kouros) and young girls(korê). In room 8, the korê Phrasikleia (no. 4889, on the left) superbly expresses grief and lost beauty, two themes linked to death since this statue was erected on a tomb. Room 10 bears witness to the evolution of the cult of the dead from the ^7th century onwards. The fragment of a stele depicting a young man in profile (no. 38) illustrates the mastery of facial projection on a round surface, itself in relief. In room 11, we can clearly see the progress made, particularly in the expressiveness of 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 nude young man wearing a helmet, probably a dancer in the act of moving, since his body seems to be drawn to the right, preceding the movement of his head. In the same room, the most recent kouros is Aristodikos (no. 3938), dating from 500 BC. The short hair, flowing arms and 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, from around 480 to 450 BC. Room 14 clearly illustrates this, notably with the votive relief from Sounion (no. 3344), depicting a young athlete wearing a crown. In the center of room 15, it's hard to miss the Zeus or Poseidon of Artemission (no. 15161), a superb 2 m-high statue recovered from the sea near Artemission. According to 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 (430-420 BC). During this war, steles reappeared, first with one or two figures in slight relief, then with substantial proportions. The reliefs are very realistic, notably 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 on display, the one depicting 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: is an interesting example of the evolution of the cult of the dead in the early ^4th century BC. The Hegeso stele (no. 3624) expresses this separation between the young deceased seated on a chair and her servant, who hands her the jewelry box from which the deceased takes a trinket.

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

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

Room 22: a large architectural ensemble featuring sculptures from the temple of Asklepios in Epidaurus. The east pediment depicts the fall of Troy and the west pediment an amazonomachy scene. Note the movement and acrobatics of the young women on their horses' backs (sailors?).

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

Rooms 25 to 27: these are long, narrow galleries littered with ex-votos dedicated to secondary deities such as Pan or the Nymphs. Room 26 features Asklepios and his family (no. 1402) and the famous snake (no. 2565), today's emblem of the caduceus.

Room 28: the last great funerary monuments of the late ^4th century are displayed here, such as that of Aristonautus found in the Ceramics cemetery (no. 738, on the left as you enter). Indeed, faced with the extravagance and increasing cost of these ever-larger monuments, a law was passed in 317 BC to prohibit the construction of funerary monuments in the cemeteries of Athens! Don't miss the bronze ephebe from Marathon attributed to Praxiteles, or the one from Antikythera.

Rooms 29 and 30: this is the period of Alexander the Great, marked by the fact that artists no longer wanted to work in large sites. Numerous works from this period have been found in Asia Minor, in places where artists went to exercise their talents. Numerous workshops were set up on the islands, focusing on realism, size and movement. Three centuries of gigantism can be admired in these two rooms. In room 30, the admirable representation of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros is one of the most beautiful of all.

Rooms 31 to 33: these rooms bear witness to 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 reigns of Augustus and Domitian. In room 32, dedicated to the ^2nd century AD, how can we fail to fall under the spell of the gentle portrait of Antinoos (no. 417), Emperor Hadrian's favorite?

Bronze collection: first floor, rooms 36 to 39.

Room 36: at the entrance, a small horse and rider from the sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona, and a statuette of a woman carrying a dove from Mount Pindos. In showcase 1, on the right as you enter, numerous tablets of the proxenia decrees, 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 such as 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, an athlete offers Zeus dumbbells in the shape of a boar. Showcase 8 features a statuette of a tired maenad. In showcase 9, Zeus holds a lightning bolt menacingly.

Room 37: Showcase 10 details the wax process used to make statues. Don't miss the statue of a Samos flautist (no. 16513), where the strings holding the flute are still visible, and the astrolabe (no. 15087), an ingenious and complex system of wheels and pulleys used to calculate calendars and zodiac signs.

Rooms 38 and 39: a^5th-century Athena, found at the Acropolis, and the astonishing geared machine of Antikythera, perhaps a navigation tool... This collection of statues and steles is presented in chronological order, from the ^7th century BC to the^5th century AD. It provides a vivid summary of the evolution of the birth of artistic expression.

Egyptian collection: first floor, rooms 40 and 41.

An interesting and unique Egyptian collection in Greece. Objects dating from 5000 BC to the Roman conquest, including papyri, sarcophagi, mummies, etc., collected by two Egyptian Greeks and donated to the museum.

Stathatos Collection: first 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 on display. In showcase 1, don't miss the Minoan stone vase typical of geometric and archaic vases. In showcase 26, in the center of the room, the impressive Karpenissi treasure.

Vase collection: second floor, rooms 49 to 56.

An extremely rich collection, notably for the quantity and quality of the geometric vases found in cemeteries and sanctuaries. They are presented in chronological order, tracing the history of Greek pottery from the ^11th to the ^4th century BC.

Rooms 49 to 51: these rooms feature numerous 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, lozenges or triangles. In the ^9th century, meanders and cruciforms were added, while in the ^8th century, human beings made their appearance. They are depicted in naval battles, duels or chariot races, as superbly expressed by vase no. 990 in room 50. From around 700 to 630 B.C., art became more orientalized, and decorations abandoned all symmetry in favor of wild beasts or floral ornaments. This was also the birth of the polychrome technique, which consisted in depicting scenes in black, but highlighting the outlines by incision or painting them white or purple. To get an idea, don't miss showcases 21 to 27 in room 51, as well as a masterpiece of the period: the vase depicting Heracles, conqueror of the centaur Nessos, on the upper part, and the three Gorgons on the lower part (no. 1002).

Rooms 52 to 55: feature numerous vases from the early ^6th century BC, mainly from Attica, where potters and vase painters were numerous. Not to be missed, in showcase 56 of room 53, are parts of vases found as offerings in the sanctuary of Athena on the Acropolis. As early as 530 B.C., a new technique appeared: the vase's perimeter is painted black and the figures retain the color of the red clay, while the remaining details are finely painted black. Far from being mutually exclusive, the two techniques coexisted.

Room 56: features 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 vases from the classical period through the works of the painter known as Eretria.