A Modern, Innovative Museum Houses Relics of an Ancient Past: Experiencing the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece

above: Entry to the Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece.
photos: Courtesy of Rod Collman, unless otherwise cited.

The City of Athens, the capital of modern Greece, stands as the birthplace of Western civilization. Many of Classical civilization’s intellectual and artistic ideas originated in Athens, including democracy in 508 BC; the early development of modern medicine, philosophy, literature, and sciences; the Olympic Games; and Neo-Classical architecture.

above: The Parthenon was built between 447 and 432 BCE and dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena Parthenos. 
photo citation: George E. Koronaios
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

​The architectural masterpieces on the Acropolis (Greek high point or edge of the city), feature the Parthenon, originally known as the temple of Athena Parthenos, being the most famous. The Acropolis Museum was opened in 2009 to exhibit artifacts excavated from the Acropolis and the surrounding area, and to educate visitors about the history and people of ancient Athens.​
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​“The Acropolis Museum is a masterpiece in its own right, although in a very modern sense,” said Rod Collman, President of sdg Architecture in Dunedin, Florida, who recently traveled to Athens with his wife Cindy. “Minimalism, industrial materials, large areas of glass, natural lighting, open interior space, and sustainable design elements provide a contemporary contrast to the ancient architecture of the Acropolis.  Yet, it is the perfect neutral environment for the objects within – and under.”

above left: Entry to the Acropolis Museum
above right: Gallery space exhibiting relief sculptures (metopes) from the frieze that once wrapped around the Parthenon below its cornice.  

above left and right: Relief sculptures from the Parthenon frieze.

above left:  Sculpture depicting a Greek nobleman.
above right:  Relief sculpture (metope) from the Parthenon frieze depicting the battle of the Centaurs, known as the Centauromachy. 

The Acropolis Museum was designed by the internationally recognized firm of Bernard Tschumi Architects, in collaboration with Greek architect Michael Photiadis. The museum covers 150,695 square feet exhibiting 4,250 ancient, and often fragmented artifacts. These objects date from the Greek Bronze Age (3,000 to 1,100 BCE) to Roman and Byzantine Greece.

Archeologist and tour guide Maria Mavromatraki documented the earliest archeological evidence of permanent human occupation of the area around and on the Acropolis: “There was already organized life on the site in the Neolithic Age: around 4000 to 3000 BC. The first inhabitants settled on the Acropolis and in the area of the Ilissus River (the Olympeion).” Mavromatrakie (1995) Athens: Between Legend and History, page 4.

According to architecture magazine dezeen.com; "The New Acropolis Museum features galleries for the permanent collection, galleries for special exhibitions, a 200-seat auditorium, a multimedia space, a museum store, a bar and restaurant, and support facilities. It is surrounded by 75,000 square feet of landscaped gardens. The overall project budget for the Museum was €130 million, or approximately $175 million." (dezeen.com) Etherton (2009) New Acropolis Museum by Bernard Tschumi Architects.
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“The Tschumi team’s creative innovation blended postmodern architecture, ancient art and history, prioritizing the visitor experience in the visual and physical aspects of the spaces,” said Collman. “Glass floors in strategic locations allow visitors to see what’s above and below.  A dramatic view of the Acropolis is seen from different areas inside the museum, particularly from the third-floor Parthenon Gallery. Air Conditioning is concealed in the exterior window wall system under numerous ledges for sitting at bench height, allowing visitors to rest and enjoy the exhibits and the views. 

“The modernist simplicity of the museum architecture provides a perfect environment for the 4,000-plus objects on exhibit. Materials complementing the interior include structural concrete, large areas of glass, and marble wall panels and flooring. Ambient daylight from large windows and interior neutral grey finishes of the three-story museum enhance the color and warmth of the fragmented stone artifacts. I was taken by these relics of the Parthenon that are close enough to want to touch – obviously something not permitted. The sculptures, friezes, tablatures, and inscriptions inspire reverence, given their age and the reality of their existence. Looking out of the large windows toward the Acropolis and its temples and massive walls, I felt it was all within my reach."

above left: View of the Acropolis with its cyclopian walls, seen from the rooftop restaurant of the Collman's hotel
above right: The museum's scale model of the Acropolis in its most developed form. White buildings include the Propyleia that served as the entry (lower left), the Erechtheion (upper left), the Parthenon (upper center), the original Greek theater (upper right), and the later Roman theater (lower right). 
​Ancient Greek history speaks of mythical gods, goddesses, and the Acropolis. According to the earliest Greek legends, Poseidon, the god of nature, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, fought over who should have control of the city. Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder, proposed a competition in which they would each offer a gift to the city. Poseidon created a spring of salt water and Athena gifted an olive tree. Zeus, the Olympians, and the city’s people chose Athena. The Parthenon was built as the Temple of Athena between 447 and 432 BC. The City of Athens bears her name, and an olive tree still grows on the Acropolis, adjacent to the Erechtheion, the Shrine of Gods and Kings. ​

above: The museum’s scale model of the original west pediment shows the center figures depicting the struggle between Poseidon and Athena. In their original large scale, the statues were detailed in bright paint colors, as were many features of the architecture of Classical Greek buildings. As the polychromatic paint faded away over the centuries, it was assumed that the statues and architecture in Greece and other Mediterranean cultures were originally left in their natural shades of the stone used in their creation.

above: Well-worn statue of Athena with a view of Athens
right: Ornate sculpture that survived intact, placed against a scenic view of Athens

above: Sculpture of an unknown Greek citizen.
above right: Remains of a chair, perhaps for a citizen of high rank.

above: Sound absorbing gallery walls and glass floors contribute to the comfort, visibility, and ambient daylight of the museum.
left: Exhibits of tools and other implements offer a glimpse of daily life in ancient Athens.

“The entrance to the museum and the excitement it stirs is the most impressive feature of the building's architecture for me - a magic touch that is difficult for most museums to create,” said Collman. “Approaching the entry, visitors can see that the museum stands on columns over the archeological excavation of an ancient neighborhood, part of the ruins of an ancient city still buried nearby. This element draws the visitor to enter. The columns, simple in form, pay tribute to the Doric era of ancient Greek design.” 

top and bottom left: The entrance provides a fascinating view of the neighborhood being excavated below the museum itself.

"The buildings were uncovered during the museum's initial planning," said Collman. "They are visible through large areas of glass flooring and interior balconies, and accessible outdoors by a winding path to the large garden areas below and a walkway through the excavation. 
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"The museum’s exhibits and educational sign copy at the excavation site detail the purposes of the buildings, and how and when people lived, worked, and played there. This outdoor experience is in the shade under the museum, making the area much cooler than the summer heat of the streets surrounding the site," he said.

​The history of Athens, and what would become the nation of Greece, is fraught with centuries of war, occupation, defeat, and victory. Thousands of additional artifacts from the Acropolis and the surrounding city of Athens were scattered worldwide into museums and collections over the last two centuries, particularly in Europe and the Americas. However, many artifacts and architectural discoveries lie ahead, adding to the collection of the Acropolis Museum and the rich history of Greek culture.