National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Today, we visited the National Archaeological Museum, which houses some of the greatest ancient Greek artifacts in the world, minus those which the British, French and German had looted off with. Unfortunately, due to Greece's economic instability, which I have been told is worse than that of the United States, several exhibits of the museum were not accessible because the Museum needed to cut back on guards, who watched over these priceless artifacts. Fortunately, I was able to briefly see these exhibits (Neolithic, Egyptian, Bronze and Pottery) last summer or I would have been extremely disappointed, although I am still slightly. Anyway, the Cycladic, Thira, Mycenaean, and Sculpture were nonetheless extraordinary. As you walk through the museum, you can trace the development of art in front of your own eyes, beginning with the Cycladic Period (ca. 2800 BC) to the end of the Roman Period in Greece (ca. 300 AD). After I went through the museum's main exhibits, I wandered upon a special exhibition in back entitled "Myth and Coinage". It was a special exhibition partnered with the Numismatic Museum to represent mythology and all its stories through vases and sculpture but mostly coins. This was by far my favorite, probably because it wasn't available last summer. After the museum, I made my way back to Pangrati to read about 50 pages for my first quiz. Then, we had a lecture at 6 pm, focusing on Bronze Age civilizations; Minoan, Cycladic and Mycenaean. Afterwards, the group just hung out on my balcony and succumbed to the joys of Athens, most notably its beverages.