What to do in Athens

Festivals

2006-02-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

Athens is a city with a great variety of festivals, during each season of the year. Concerts, drama festivals, movie festivals, comic design festivals, dance and music festivals attribute to Athens a multi-cultural spirit.
One of the most well known festivals is the “Athens Music Festival”, held in the Odeion of Herodes Atticus (Herodion), till 1955. Concerts by famous artists and orchestras, drama plays and ballet performances are included in each annual festival. Under the Acropolis, in the evocative atmosphere made by the moon, every summer, for about 3 months, visitors and also citizens of Athens are given the chance to participate in such a remarkable experience.
Another interesting music festival is the “European Jazz Music Festival”, which is being organized the last 5 years, in Ghazi, Athens, with the participation of groups from all around Europe.
What about movie festivals? Well, for 11 continuous years, the “Athens International Movie Festival”, gives the chance to all Athens citizens to enter to the secret magic of the cinema. True to its orientation, the Festival remains based on the axes that upheld it as a diverse reflection of contemporary cinema. As every year, the core of the screenings will concentrate on American Independent Cinema. Other sections include the Panorama (a selection of films from all over the world), the Special Screenings (films which will monopolise the interest the season ahead), Documentaries and also Short Films.
Moreover, another outstanding and cultural event is being organized in the last 3 years. It’s the “International Dance Festival of Athens”. For 15 days, well known European groups, Greek and foreign choreographers who are already famous and upcoming ones, present, in Ghazi, their work to the visitors of the Festival, performing a pleasant trip through the developments of modern dance.
Except for those festivals, municipalities that belong to the Municipality of Athens, organise music and drama festivals, during the summer. The most well-known are the music festivals of municipality of Byronas, of Nikaiaand of Petroupoli (suberbs of Athens) with the participation of the most famous artists of Greece.
For more details, visit the following links: www.cultureguide.gr and www.cityofathens.gr

by Alexandra Baka

The Rockwave Festival

2006-02-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

Rockwave Festival is an event for fans of rock and metal music that takes place every summer and is one of the biggest musical shows of the year. It first began in 1996 and has changed many locations since (Saint Kosmas and other) ending up in Terra vibe at the 37th kilometer of the Athens-Lamia motorway at Malakasa. The area is a specially arranged for the Rockwave, providing a space of 45 acres suitable for 15.000 people.
Every year Rockwave is organized in the beginning of July, but there have been times, when there were some concerts in August. Famous bands and artists such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Savatage, Megadeath and many more, have attended the show giving their Greek fans a day to remember. The organizing committee also provides food and water supplies as well as medical support and sanitary articles, for the concerts begin at about 17.00 o’clock (people start arriving at 15.00 when the gates open) and the end at around midnight.
Tickets are sold in Athens on 42 Panepistimiou Street (inside the arcade) and in Thessalonica at the intersection of 20 Ethnikis Aminis Street and Tsimiski Street. Prices in advance are normally 45 to 60 euros. There is also one ticket for all the days of the event with some discount. If one chooses to buy a ticket the last minute at the site he will pay an extra 5 euros. For those who do not wish to use their own transport, bus trips are organized from the center of Athens to Terra vibe and back when the event is over.
Information about the concerts and the names that are to appear in the upcoming Rockwave Festival can be found on the site www.didimusic.gr as well as at the numbers:
210 3608366 for Athens and 2310 253630 for Thessalonica.

by Alice Darzentas

The Acropolis Archeological Museum

2006-02-08T17:22:00.001-08:00

The Old…
After finishing our walk through the Acropolis’s buildings and after taking a glimpse over the city (from Acropolis one can even see the sea), the time has come to visit the old Acropolis Museum. This Museum will be open until the constructions of the new one, which is located on the Acropolis’s foothill, will be finished.
Of the most characteristic sculptures one can see in the old Museum are the Kores or Maidens, with the distinctive smile of the archaic period. Important sculptures are also some parts of the Parthenon frieze and other. This museum lacks of space, but has gathered many of the masterpieces found on the hill.
One of the sculptures we will be seeing in April is the Moschophoros (= the calf-bearer), an archaic statue of a bearded man carrying a calf on his shoulders, dated to 570 B.B.
The Peplos Kore (530 B.C.), is a statue of a young woman (=kore) clad in a tunic, which was originally ornamented with painted decoration. Traces of paint are still visible on her eyes, lips and curly hair.
There are also some parts of the pediment of the Ancient Temple. For instance, the photo on the left is a representation of the Gigantomachy (=the battle of the giants). Athena, the goddess is depicted fighting against a Giant. Dated to ca. 520 B.C.
This is a picture of a section of the Parthenon frieze coming from the east part of the building. Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Eros are depicted.
…and the New
The president of the Organization for the Construction of the new Acropolis Museum, Dimitrios Pantermalis speaks enthusiastically of the final image of a museum that has generated so much media interest. He says that their primary goal is to create a museum that creates an environment for active visitors and not one that lectures you. There will also be original ways of presenting exhibits, using technology, which will encourage the process of the discovery on the part of the visitor. But, as it is usual in Greece the opening date was supposed to be in August 2004, but one year later there has be no ministerial announcement for the opening date of the New Museum has pass.
You can also visit the website of the Greek Ministry of Culture; there is a well-informed English version, although it is not often updated. http://www.culture.gr/home/welcome.html

by Nikolia Apostolou

The National Gallery and Museum of Alexander Soutsos

2006-02-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

The National Gallery and Museum of Alexander Soutsos began running officially in 1976, but its institution resides from 1834. It is named after Alexander Soutsos because he made over the whole of his property and his art collection to the Museum of Art in 1954.
The display contains paintings from rich Greeks living abroad, Alexander Soutsos’s collection, with works of many famous Greek and foreign artists. Today the museum’s selection sums up to 9.500 pieces of paintings, sculptures, furniture and miniatures.
There is also a library specialized in History of Art and a fully organized photographic lab.
For different periods at a time, the museum organizes exhibitions for a certain amount of days with works from the world of art.
For more information visit the site of the museum at www.nationalgallery.gr or call 210 7235857, 210 7235937-8, whereas the address is 50 Vasileos Konstantinou Street.

by Alice Darzentas

The War Museum

2006-02-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

The war museum was consecrated in 1975 and t contains a display of war trophy, relics and heirlooms as well as a documentation and study of the war history in Greece and facts about the Greek revolution, the Balkan wars and the two World Wars.
The museum has 10 rooms dedicated to different periods of the Greek history, beginning from the Stone and Bronze Age in room A, up to room J with the events of the years 1940-41, the periods of the fights between Greeks and Italians and the German invasion. In the atrium there is a selection of war planes where the visitor can see up close and there is also a well organized library.
The war museum can be visited on 2 Rizari Street in Kolonaki, near the “Evagelismos” Station of the Metro. To contact the museum to find out about exhibitions, the phone number is 210-7244464.

by Alice Darzentas

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens

2006-02-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens not only is the most important archaeological museum of Greece but also on the richest museums worldwide, concerning ancient Greek art.
The construction of the museum begun in 1866 and was completed 33 years later, in 1899. The building was erected in a large plot donated by Helen Tositsa, with the financial support brothers Vernardaki, the Archaeological Society and the Greek state.
The Museum contains collections divided into 5 major categories: Items by the Prehistoric period, Sculpture, Bronzes, Pottery and Minor Art and Egyptian Art. The collections include exhibits from every civilization that passed through what is today Greece, from the prehistoric age to the Roman era. The most important exhibits include the golden masks, jewellery, and other items from Mycenae, the murals from prehistoric Santorini, and an incredible collection of 7 "couroi" (statues of standing boys).
The Museum underwent the most radical renovation and upgrading in its almost 150-year history just before the 2004 Olympics, only in the ground floor. A few weeks ago, the Museum opened its 2nd floor to the public, as the second phase of its modernization was completed.
Extra tip: in the shop of the museum visitors can find guide-books, post-cards, slides, archaeological publications, posters, maps, videotapes and toys that are sold.
The building of the Museum is in Patission Street, in the centre of Athens. Visitors can reach it using all means of transport. For more details, you can visit the website: http://www.culture.gr/2/21/214/21405m/e21405m1.html

by Alexandra Baka