Collections of the Acropolis Museum

The exhibits of the Acropolis Museum are arranged chronologically and according to the areas of the archaeological sites. You should start your tour of the museum on the ground floor, where you can see the finds from the slopes of the Acropolis Hill.

A large staircase leads to the first floor with the imposing statues of the Archaic Gallery. The statues are positioned across the hall and can be admired from all sides. Then the moving staircase takes you to the 3rd floor where you can see the most important exhibits - the Parthenon Gallery.

The frescoes of the Parthenon Temple are arranged exactly the same way as on the real temple, which can be seen through the huge window front on the Acropolis Hill opposite. Using the escalator, you get to the 2nd floor (where the restaurant of the Acropolis Museum is located) to the 1st floor where you can see the finds from the Propylaia, Athena Nike, and the Erechtheion to the right. The finds of the Acropolis from the 5th c. BC to the 5th c. AD conclude the museum tour.

THE GALLERY OF THE SLOPES OF THE ACROPOLIS (Ground Floor)

On the ground-level of the Museum, the glass floor reveals the archaeological excavation and its finds. The gallery the highlights items from the sanctuaries that were built on the slopes of the Acropolis, as well as artifacts that Athenians used in daily life throughout all historical eras. Across the way, a few of the main sanctuaries of the slopes are displayed, in addition to elements from the lesser sanctuaries and settlements also built on the area.

The Sanctuaries
- Consist of slopes, caves and plateaus of the Acropolis Hill for worshipping to gods, heroes and nymphs.
- South slope was home to two of the most important sanctuaries of Athens: Dionysos Eleuthereus and Asklepios.
- Houses a small open-air temple dedicated to the Nymphe.

The Settlement
- Highlights urban living in ancient Athens from the end of the Neolithic period (about 3.000 BC) until late antiquity (6th Century A.D.).
- Houses and workshops, roads and squares, wells and reservoirs, as well as thousands of objects such as tableware and symposium vessels, cooking pots, perfume holders, cosmetics and jewelry container, children’s toys, etc.

THE ARCHAIC GALLERY (1st Floor)

Portrays the era spanning from the 7th Century B.C., through the end of the Persian Wars (480/79 B.C.). See the sculptures in a «new light» as the Museum innovatively presents its exhibits 3-dimentionally.

The Ancient Temple
- Large architectural sculptures of the pediment of the Gigantomachy (battle between Gods and Giants), which decorated the Old Temple, i.e. the second temple of the Goddess Athena on the Acropolis.

The Hekatompedon
- Also known as «Hekatompedos neos», it was the first building on the Acropolis and is a Doric peripteral temple.

The Votives
- Collection of offering sprawled across the Acropolis for the Goddess Athena, both as tokens of piety and as marks of financial and artistic development.
- Mainly statues, the most distinctive being the Korai, marble statues of young women.

THE PARTHENON GALLERY (3rd Floor)

Found on the 3rd floor of the Museum, the Parthenon Gallery provides a video presentation about the Parthenon Temple and the sculptural decoration of the monument, as well as ancient marble inscriptions. It provides a perimetric walk of the Gallery portraying the narrative of the story of the Panathenaic Procession.

The Frieze
- Depiction of the Great Panathenaia, the greatest festival of the city in honor of the Goddess Athena, by Phidias.
- This procession unfolds over the 160 meters of continuous sculptural decoration of the Parthenon frieze.
- Consisted of 115 blocks. It had a total length of 160 meters and was 1.02 meters high. Some 378 human figures and deities and more than 200 animals, mainly horses, are presented in the process.
- From the entire frieze that survives today, 50 meters are in the Acropolis Museum, 80 meters in the British Museum, one block in the Louvre, whilst other fragments are scattered in the museums of Palermo, the Vatican, Würzburg, Vienna, Munich and Copenhagen.

The Metopes
- 92 metopes , each a self-contained scene, spanning the subjects of legendary battles.

The Monuments
- Rebuilt in mid-5th century B.C. by Pericles
- Architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates
- Sculpture carvings by Phidias, in collaboration with pupils: Agorakritos, Alkamenes and other great sculptors and painters.
- Temple is dedicated to the Athena Parthenos
- Parthenon architectural sculptures made of Pentelic marble & embellished with metal attachments and paint.

The Pediments
- Triangular spaces formed by the horizontal and raking cornices of the roof at each end of the temple.
- The last parts of the building to receive sculptural decoration (437-432 B.C.).
- Comprised colossal statues in the round by themes drawn from Attic mythology.

PROPYLAIA, ATHENA NIKE, ERECHTHEIO (1st Floor)

Found on the first floor, the last gallery of the Acropolis Museum, displays one-of-a-kind prototypes for later periods ranging from antiquity through present time. As never before been accomplished, it is possible to lay eyes upon the coffered ceiling of the Propylaia, sculptures from the parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike, as well as the Karyatids – or Korai of the Erechtheio at close proximity on the balcony overlooking the Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis.

The Propylaia
- Housed works of art by great sculptors, like the statue of the Hermes Propylaios by Alkamenes.
- The Pinakotheke hall is found here.

The Temple of Athena Nike
- The cella of the temple kept a wooden cult statue of the Goddess.
- The frieze ran along all four sides of the temple of Athena Nike and made up of 14 sections.

The Erechtheio
- Surrounding area was considered the most sacred of the Acropolis.
- A temple with multiple functions, housing older and newer cults, and the site of the "Sacred Tokens", the marks made by Poseidon’s trident and the olive tree, the gift of Athena to the city of Athens.

FROM THE 5TH CENTURY B.C. TO THE 5TH CENTURY A.D.
Coming to the end of the exhibition back on the first floor, there are reliefs of Athenian decrees, extraordinary portraits, Roman copies of classical masterpieces and representations of philosophers and historical figures that span the period from the 5th Century B.C. to the 5th Century A.D.

The Sanctuary of Artemis Vravrona
- The Goddess Artemis protecting expectant mothers and women in confinement.
- Founded at the time of the tyrant Peisistratos.
- The cella housed the wooden statue (xoanon) of the Goddess.
- The colossal head of that statue is on display in the Museum.

The Votives of the Classical & Hellenistic Periods
- Rare finds of offerings of the Acropolis, depicting gods, heroes and mortals from the legendary and historical past of Athens.

The Votives of the Roman Period
- Includes portraits of emperors, generals and other officials, portraits of philosophers, orators and priests, as well as images of individuals who benefited the city or distinguished themselves in athletic and other contests.