Athens, Day 2

I continued to tour Athens on Saturday, and I visited two museums:   National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the new (opened in 2009) Acropolis Museum.

Our tour group was available on the hour to see the changing of the guard today at Parliament and Tomb of the Unknown.




The unit, the Evzone, is famous around the world for its unique traditional uniform.  This uniform evolved from the clothes worn by the klephts who fought the Ottoman occupation of Greece.




I visited the National Archaeological Museum of Athens today.

I took lots of pictures and I purchased a museum guide to learn more about Greek relics.




This museum houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity.



The artwork was amazing. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world of Greek antiquity.



The Acropolis Museum is focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens.  The top level of the Museum sits askew on the lower levels to achieve the same cardinal orientation as that of the Parthenon.



Greece is in a dispute with the British Museum over the artifacts that were removed from the Parthenon.  Greece wants them back, and part of the argument by the British Museum was that they did not have a proper space to display them.  They do now!

The collections of the museum are exhibited on three levels, and these are two of the statues.

This is a recreation of what would have adorned the front of the Parthenon below the roof.

The museum recreates the dimensions of the Parthenon.  These are copies of the originals that are in the British Museum. 

The Acropolis Museum sits below the Acropolis, and there's a wonderful view of the Parthenon on each level.

This is a recreation of what would have been displayed on the other side of the Parthenon below the roof.

Here I am standing on the outdoor patio of the café in the Acropolis Museum with the Parthenon in the background.

The museum even had a model of the Acropolis created in Legos.

This is Hadrian's Gate which was in the center of Ancient Rome. There were two inscriptions on the arch on different sides, naming both Theseus and Hadrian as founders of Athens

Here are the remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus that are near Hadrian's Arch.

Here's the view as we pulled away to leave the port of Piraeus.



I really enjoyed my visit to Piraeus and Athens.  Next stop will be Katakolon, Greece.  It will be Easter tomorrow in Greece (Greek Orthodox Church), and my tour was cancelled. I will check out the port and have a more relaxed day on Sunday.