The Mask of Agamemnon
Mycenae's gold that stunned Schliemann.
Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright pr — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ann Wuyts from Olen (London), Belgium (United Kingdom) — CC BY 2.0 · Jean Housen — CC BY-SA 4.0
The National Archaeological is the Greek world's first treasury, uncontested: every summit of Greek antiquity not in its original place is here — the gold Mask of Agamemnon from Mycenae's graves (Schliemann, 1876), the complete bronze Poseidon (or Zeus) with raised arm from the sea floor, the little jockey flying on his horse, and Akrotiri's Santorini frescoes seventeen centuries before Pompeii. And history's strangest piece: the Antikythera Mechanism — the 2nd-century BC mechanical astronomy computer whose thirty gears science only read by CT scan: one hall worth the journey alone. The giant neoclassical building sits north of the centre (off the tourist path — taxi or Victoria metro), and a serious visit is half a day: the antiquities lover's main event, and the perfect opener explaining everything you will later see on the sites.
Mycenae's gold that stunned Schliemann.
Poseidon or Zeus, whole from the seabed.
Santorini seventeen centuries before Pompeii.
The bronze boy and his horse as wind.
Patission 44, 10682 Athens
The Epigraphic MuseumA museum devoted to ancient Greek inscriptions, occupying the south wing of the 1 minute walk4.6
The Hellenic Motor MuseumA classic car museum on three floors of a commercial building in central Athens,4 minutes walk4.6
Strefi HillA small rocky hill above the Exarcheia district, rising to about a hundred and s8 minutes walk4.4
Kotzia SquareA broad square before the Athens City Hall, ringed by nineteenth-century neoclas11 minutes walk3.9
Numismatic Museum (Schliemann's House)The museum people visit **for the building** and are then surprised by the conte16 minutes walk4.7Two specialities: the Acropolis is its site's museum (the rock's treasures in architectural theatre), the National the whole civilisation's vault (Mycenae, the bronzes, Antikythera). One Athens day: the Acropolis, tied to what you climb. Two days or real passion: the National is obligation, not option.