Athens: Acropolis Museum Highlights

I didn't keep a copy of the final questions and instructions that I gave to my relatives four months ago, but here are the notes from which I created the Acropolis Museum treasure hunt.

It's intended to direct visitors to the exhibits I personally found most interesting, along with some prompts that parents might use to help engage children in noticing cool details or fun facts about them.  (The particular children I had in mind were aged 8 and 10; your results may vary.)  I've provided instructions which follow essentially the officially suggested route seen in the Museum Floor Plan.

Entrance Ramp (aka "the Slopes of the Acropolis")

1. As you go up the glass ramp, there is a two-part stone “thesaurus” on the right towards the end of the ramp.  Look for the slot - what was its purpose?  

Top of the Ramp - details from the pediment of the Hekatompedon Temple

2. In the center, how many lions are attacking the bull? [Answer: 2]

Central portion of the pediment

One blogger who really liked this sculpture wrote a post called "The Lion, the Bull, and Birth of Tragedy"

3. The left portion of the pediment depicts Heracles struggling with what seems to be perhaps a merman - what is the merman’s name? [Answer: Triton]

Right portion of the pediment,
showing a three-headed monster - note
that quite a lot of pigment survived!

First Half of the First-Floor Gallery ("archaic period")

Proceed to the right of the pediment to explore the first half of the gallery (you'll see half of the first floor now, all away around to the escalators).

4. A little ways down, compare the scales of the snakes from the pediment of Hekatompedos.  Which do you prefer?  Note the size of the scales.

5. Someone is sticking her tongue out at you. Who is she?  What may be missing from her haircut?  And what’s wrong with her teeth?

6. A guy wearing a lion skin approaches Zeus on a throne.  Six ringlets of Zeus’s wife Hera survive.  Who is the guy with the lion skin, and what is happening here?  [Answer: Deification of Heracles]

7. After you pass two sphinxes, you see a man bearing bearing a calf for sacrifice.  Note details of his belly button.  How many ringlets of hair are showing?  [Answer: 6]

8.Look for a hunting dog just to the left past a painted model.  It is crouching in a silent growl.

9. What is special about the horses with two legs to the left of the rider?

10. Across the hall, what is Athena holding in her left hand as she attacks the giant Engelados (not shown)?  [Answer: a snake!]  What is special about the hem of her overcoat/shawl? [Answer: more snakes or snake heads!]

11. Before you leave the hall, turn around and look for a waterspout.  What animal is it?  [Answer: Lion]

Escalators / Parthenon Gallery: West Frieze

Go up two escalators to reach the Parthenon Gallery.  

Start with the West Side of the Gallery, and specifically the West Side Frieze (i.e., the inner ring of displays). 

12. Take some time to watch the video that shows recreations of the West Frieze.  The video shows where metal was originally attached to the stone; the riders held whips, reins etc.  The video also shows what the friezes might have looked like (very colorful!) based on fragments of pigment that remain on the stone.  Very cool.

13. Look at the central block, W.VIII, 15 (displayed as part of the internal frieze).  Note the veins popping out on the underside of the horse, and on the rider’s face; they are straining hard!  

14. A nice touch in W.XII, 22-24: The horse is nuzzling its own leg.

Parthenon Gallery: South Side 

Next, go to the South Side display, actually this is the south-west corner, so it is not far if people are getting tired.   

15. Check out Metope S.1 (the outer ring of displays):  look at the wound on the centaur, where the metal is missing.  

(NOTE: The north and east sides of the Parthenon Gallery were substantially less interesting to me, and I think the casual and weary tourist can skip them.)

Caryatids and Second Half of the First-Floor Gallery

16. Take the escalator back down two floors, and check out the central area to see the Caryatids.

17.  Turn right to go down the final hall.  More than halfway down the room, on the right, there is a fragment of a face - which looks like a mask.  Why is she crying?  [Answer: Discoloration from bronze eyelashes.]

Back Down the Ramp 

18.  On the right as you descend the ramp, near the theatrical masks, there is a pillar with an offering of a human face!  Why are people carving parts of their face (such as ears, eyes, etc.) into monuments?  [Answer: thanks to Asclepios for curing various body parts, including wife’s eyes in one case]

So - if you've followed all the way to the end, congratulations!  This concludes my First-Ever Exhibition Guide and Treasure Hunt for Weary and Inattentive Tourists.

Photo Credit: All photos in this post are from postcards and guidebooks which I purchased at the museum gift shop.