Athens Attractions

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens is home to some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the great museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from Greece worldwide. The museum's collections are grouped in sections: Prehistoric collection (Neolithic, Cycladic, Mycenaean) Sculptures collection Vase and Minor Objects Collection Santorini findings Metallurgy Collection Stathatos Collection Vlastos Collection Egyptian Art collection Near Eastern Antiquities Collection

The Epidaurus Theatre is the most famous of all the ancient theatres in Greece and comes alive every summer with theatrical performances. The theatre was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC and seats up to 15,000 people.There is also a small excavation museum near Epidaurus, which was built between 1902 and 1909, and contains many remains from the sanctuary. The theatre is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the proscenium or skênê to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands and show them how they can easily hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage. The rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and amplify/reflect high-frequency sou...

The Acropolis of Athens (or Citadel of Athens) is a flat-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares. It is the best known acropolis in the world and is the site of 3 different temples dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens. The most famous of the temples is the internationally-renowned Parthenon which was completed in 438 BC. Built entirely of marble, the Parthenon once housed a statue of Athena. Visitors can also see the Propylaea (built 437-432 BC), the Temple of Athena Nike (the Goddess of Victory), the Erechtheion Temple, and the Acropolis Museum, which houses many treasures from the Acropolis.

Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the SW spur of Mount Parnassus. In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world. Legend tells of two eagles that were released to the E and W by the god Zeus to which the eagles met at this location, symbolising it as the centre of the world. Nowadays, the ancient site lies in ruins, although the site is a very popular tourist attraction who come to see the remains. The Delphi Museum, built in 1903, exhibits various statues and artifacts from the archaeological site.

Olympia, a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in ancient times. The site contains a number of ancient buildings, including the Heraeum, the Stadium and the Hippodrome where ancient horse races were held. The Olympic Games and the Pythian Games held in Delphi, were of comparible importance. Both games were held every Olympiad (every four years), with the Olympic Games believed to go back to around 776 BC. In 394 AD, the emperor Theodosius I abolished them as they were then considered reminiscent of paganism. The first olympic games were staged in honor of Zeus. Nowadays, visitors come to Olympia to see the Temple of Zeus, which once contained a gold and ivory statue of Zeus (listed as one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world), and the nearby Archaelogical Museum, which contains many artefacts from Olympia, including bronze...