Acropolis Museum and Noble Athena

The new Acropolis Museum, opened in 2008, is brilliant and innovative. As Nancy and I walked toward the entrance we were startled to have the pavement turn to plexiglass, exposing an archaeological dig below our feet. There are outlines of buildings, vases halfway exposed, and tables and chairs for the workers. Inside the museum, sections of the flooring reveal more excavations.
The Acropolis with its magnificent Parthenon (Athena's temple), towering high above the museum, is visible through the glass walls. The museum's second story sits at an angle to the first floor, purposefully skewed to parallel the Parthenon. Inside steel columns mimic those of the ancient temple in a 1:1 proportion so you get an idea of the size. All around the museum recreation of the Parthenon are beautiful works of art. The inner row displays the friezes, another shows the metropes, and the third contains pediment sculptures, all at a level where we can see details--something the ancients could not do. Most of these pieces are place holders, waiting for the authentic marbles housed in the British Museum, to be repatriated to Greece.

The museum continuously plays a wonderful movie showing the history of the Acropolis and how it was originally decorated (the marble sculptures were painted). It also shows the painful history of how parts of this mighty structure were destroyed, including the desecration by early Christian zealots and the explosion of a Turkish armory.

One of the most interesting facts that I learned was that the Myceneans had erected a temple to Athena over 3,500 years ago--a thousand years before Pericles built the grand temple whose remains we see today.

It is awe-inspiring to see a temple and its statuary devoted to a goddess. The representations of the female denote strength, in such stark contrast to the churches and religions of the "modern" era where women have been disempowered for millenia.
Each depiction of Athena, from the broken marble figure on the pediment to the 1/12th scale model of the 40-foot statue that used to tower over worshippers inside the Parthenon, radiates serene, dignified power. She is no delicate, subservient girl. Her gaze is calm and direct; her breasts are full; her strong neck supports a noble head; powerful thighs show clearly through her robes. She is comfortable with her mature, womanly body.

I am grateful for such a splendid image of female strength, thankful that her people, the Athenians, have preserved her temple as best they could for nearly 25 centuries. May this beautiful new museum continue to honor her memory far into the future.

Becky

Note: Picture of inner museum is from Wikipedia, Tilemahos Efthimiadi photographer.