Epigraphical Museum: A great museum not worth your time (and money)

The title of the post is not meant as a joke, but as a quick capturing of what you need to know about the Epigraphical Museum. It is a specialized museum, hosting exclusively epigrams, that is inscriptions written on marble and stone from all over ancient Greece. It is the largest museum of its kind in the world, although you wouldn't know it from the size of the building and the exhibition rooms. I guess most of the artifacts are kept in storage rooms. An archaeologist specialized in the study of ancient Greece would probably have a field-day in here, but for the rest 99.99% of the population this is probably not the most exciting place in the world. If you think of checking it out just out of curiosity -it is practically next door to the National Archeological Museum- the 3Euro ticket (reduced tickets: 2€) will probably deter you. Who knows! Maybe, it's even meant to deter you, so as to avoid any unwelcome breaking of inscriptions by careless visitors! Explanatory signs are written in Greek and English, but some larger, informative wall posters are only written in Greek.

 

Entrance of the Epigraphical Museum, 1 Tositsa St., Athens, Greece

Anyway, I did manage to find a handful of things that were of interest: 

• First, an ancient voting machine, of the kind used by Athenians to count votes on specific proposals put forward by their fellow citizens, or to vote on ostracizing those deemed unwelcome. I think this is a major exhibit, at least from a political point of view, and I'm surprised that it's ended up in this no man's land of a museum. Its rightful place should probably be at one of the 2 major museums (the National Archaeological or the Acropolis).
• Then, a couple of inscriptions written in the "boustrophedon" type of writing. The word, meaning "like the turn of the ox tail", describes a peculiar type of ancient writing, where the 1st row begins "normally", from left to right, but the 2nd row starts from the right and goes left, with letters also "looking" to the the left. Then, the 3rd row follows the direction of the the 1st and the 4th one the direction of the 2nd, etc... I did come across this type of writing a few years ago,  by cause of a book of modern Greek palindromes, written by my wife, if I may say so [I think I should add a link to the book for the speakers of Greek among you, now that I think of it!] So, these particular epigrams rang close to home.
• Finally, the museum is interesting from an architectural point of view. Two of the rooms have large -protected- glass windows that look to the front yard, with natural light coming in from all over the place and there's a front yard and a back yard, the latter of which is practically connected to the National Archaeological Museum.

One of the halls of the National Epigraphical Museum in Athens, Greece

But I think, that sums it up pretty well, and most of you will likely find something else to spend your limited time in Athens!

 

The back yard of the National Epigraphical Museum, at 1 Tositsa St., Athens, Greece.

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Walking along Leoforos Alexandras (Alexandras Avenue)-part 2

(Updated 2014-08)

This is the second, upper, part of my walk along Alexandras Avenue [click here for last week's post (part 1)] which probably has to do with sports and politics more than any other street in town. But before that, the first thing you notice is one more hotel, the second of two along this main Athens avenue. It is Zafolia Hotel, a 4-star city hotel located at numbers 87-89, on your left hand side as you ascend.

There's not much to see around here. Mostly some interesting views and perspectives into the back streets of the residential neighborhoods of Neapoli (to your right) and Gyzi (to your left). You may also start your ascent to Lykavittos Hill if you venture to the right from here, if you want to walk up the hill.

Panagiotara St., at the Gyzi neighborhood, seen from Alexandras Ave. Blocks of flats left and right.

If you stay the course and walk up Alexandras you will notice a green-white painted  two-storey house to your left. The building houses a fan club of Panathinaikos Sports Club and was painted in the colours of the team about 2 years ago.

Building hosting a Panathinaikos F.C. fan club

A few blocks on, you will notice some large buildings to the left and right. The one to the right is pretty clear...
It's the old soccer stadium of Panathinaikos F.C., the most successful team in Athens and one of the two top teams in Greece, in terms of both fans and trophies. In fact, the stadium is nick-named after the street as  Leoforos Alexandras or simply Leoforos. It was built in 1922-24 and was the first soccer field in Greece to have stands (wooden ones) -built in 1928, at the side of Alexandras Ave.-, the first one to have concrete stands -in 1931-, the first one to have floodlights - in 1948- and the first one to have grass - in 1958. (Source: The Club's official site , in Greek- click to see some old pictures). There was also an indoor gym -the first one in Greece- constructed under gates 6 and 7 to house the club's other sports (basketball, volleyball) in 1958 to 1961. Due to its narrowness, the gym immediately got the nickname "The Indian Tomb", after Fritz Lang's movie which was playing in Athens cinemas those days and it stuck ever since.

The old Panathinaikos F.C. soccer stadium

Leoforos Alexandras: The old Panathinaikos F.C. soccer stadium

The club's fans have many good memories from this stadium, the main one being the 3-0 victory against  Red Star Belgrade on 28 April 1971 and subsequent advance to the European Cup Final (and some not so good ones...) and some of them are depicted in the boards surrounding the structure. It is set to be demolished and replaced by a park, as part of a land-swap and urban regeneration scheme. Panathinaikos is currently hosted at the "Athens Olympic Stadium" in the northern suburb of Maroussi but when the whole scheme goes through the club will move to a new stadium in the western neighborhood of Votanikos.

Moving to the left side of Alexandras, just before you reach the stadium, lies a big glass and marble structure which is Greece's Supreme Court for Civil and Penal Law, the so-called Areios Pagos. The court was erected in 1981 in the place of the former "Averoff Jailhouse", a jailhouse erected for underage delinquents in 1894 but which was also used as a place of torture against Greek rebels during the WWII occupation of Greece by the Nazis.

The Areios Pagos building on Alexandras Avenue, looking back.

Right after it, at 165-169 Alexandras, is a complex of 8 derelict but architecturally interesting buildings that have their own unique history. I'll make a detour from Alexandras to the left here, at Kouzi St.: these are the so called Prosfygika' (Refugees') buildings. They were erected in 1933-1935 by 2 Greek architects (Laskari & Kyriakou), in a Modernist / Bauhaus architectural rhythm, in the aftermath of the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922, when 1.5million Greeks were forced to leave their homes in Asia Minor and came to mainland Greece as refugees. They were scattered all over Greece, including Attica, and a small state program of housing tried to accommodate a number of them with constructions such as this one.

The Prosfygika' (Refugees') buildings complex at Alexandras Avenue - Athens, Greece

The Prosfygika' (Refugees') buildings complex at Alexandras Avenue & Kouzi St. - Athens, Greece 

There are 228 apartments in 8, strictly rectangular, parallel, blocks with trees lining the quiet streets that join them. Even more, during the Greek civil war (at the aftermath of WWII) there were battles held here between the two fighting camps: the national army (with the support of the British) and the communist-led rebels of the "democratic army" (who did not get the Soviet support they were longing for). You can still see bullet holes and shell marks on some of the buildings if you look at them carefully.

Shell marks from the Greek civil war era, on a building at the Alexandras' Ave. Prosfygika complex

As is often the case, there was a controversy as to what to do with these buildings in the past 20 years, when  most of the old refugees and their children had either moved out of here or passed away. The State wanted to raze them completely (initially) or keep just two out of the eight blocks (later) but the Courts decided that the whole complex should be classified as a historical, architectural monument. So, the State has been pondering (or not...) what to do with them for the last 4 years or so, since they were declared worthy of preservation.

Modern amenities in old buildings

Some of the doctors and visitors to nearby hospitals are using the area as a parking lot

There are two related marble plaques erected nearby: One of them seems to have been installed by the Communist Party of Greece and has a civil-war / divisionist character: 

"Honor and Glory to the Heroic Fighters of the C.P.G. and EAM-ELAS  who fought, in December of 1944, against the  Bourgeois Class and English Imperialism" - C.P.G. (Nice photo op for British tourists to Athens :) ) 

The other is placed one block before that, at the front lawn of the Areios Pagos, by a "united national resistance movement" and the then mayor of Athens (who was a PR expert... :) ) and has an inclusive character,  refering to the events of WWII. Aesthetically, you won't find much difference between the two...

"Memory eternal to the Greek men and women who were held and sacrificed in the  Averoff Jailhouse, in the name of national liberty and democracy"

Getting back to Alexandras Avenue you'll see some more large buildings which are a cancer patients hospital and the Police headquarters (to your left) and a large building belonging to Piraeus Bank (to your right).

Piraeus Bank (formerly 'Bank of Cyprus' building: 170 Alexandras Avenue, Athens, Greece - Ymittos Mountain  in the background

You will also see the Ambelokipi Metro Station here, part of Line 3 that takes you from the airport to downtown Athens and then to the western suburb of Egaleo. The next 3 blocks, after the intersection with  Soutsou / Parnormou St., are mostly lined with cafes and eateries of various types, mainly serving the local office population that works here during the weekdays. The one that strikes you the most from the outside is the  blue-colored building on the left hand-side, formerly of Craft Microbrewery; the first Greek microbrewery to open in Athens, 15 years ago. This location shut down in the summer 2012, during the first peak of the financial crisis. The brewery has now (2015) gone out of business.

Former Craft microbrewery building (first Athens microbrewery) at 205 Alexandras Avenue, Athens, Greece

National School of Public Health and street signs, at 196 Alexandras Ave., Athens, Greece

Reaching the end of the road, at the corner of Alexandas & Kifissias Ave., lies the so-called "Thon Building", an office building with a Starbucks and TGI's at the ground floor, the Australian Embassy at the 6th floor and an interesting little chapel right next to it, that seems to be waiting for some kind of restoration work to take place.

St. Nicholas chapel, by the Thon Building at Alexandas & Kifissias Ave., Athens, Greece

Alexandras & Kifissias junction, Athens, Greece - Thon Building 

If you are tired from all the walking I'll give you some food suggestions in the surrounding area of Ambelokipi and a few more tips in the coming posts.

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National Archaeological Museum vs. new Acropolis Museum (pt.2: Detailed Impressions) (Last update: 2013-03-24)

Following my short crash-test of Athens’ two major museums, here are my fairly detailed impressions from them: Athens' National Archaeological Museum and the new Acropolis Museum.

National Archaeological Museum

The neoclassical building of the museum, at 44 Patission St. (aka 28 Oktovriou St.), is a listed building itself, dating back to the late 19th century – gradually expanded in the 20th century with additional wings. If you come across old photos of late 19th or early 20th century Athens you will see it standing out, almost alone, at what was then the outer edges of the city!

Problematic surroundings: Up until a year ago, scores of drug addicts had made a permanent joint out of the pedestrian Tositsa St. at the sidewalk of the National Technical University of Athens, ocassionaly extending till the sidewalk of Patission St. So, visitors to the Museum had to walk close to scores of junkies, with their erratic behavior, to access Greece’s most important museum! This has partly changed now as they had been pushed further away, (but not too far...) and Tositsa St. is guarded most of the time. I even occasionaly see tourist buses parked outside! What a shock...! (Last update: 2013-03-24). Furthermore, front banners hanging from the flag poles are covered with pigeon sh*t for years now, serving as a warning sign of neglect. Patission (aka 28 Oktovriou) St. itself has been on a long downward spiral but there are some minor signs of recovery. Just to be clear, this is a location in the center of Athens with lots of people walking and driving nearby.

The day I first wrote this post (in early 2011) some drug addicts were sitting at the shade of the garden as I entered, but as I exited there were kids playing soccer right outside. Let's hope this will be a permanent change one day.

Accessibility & Access: You may approach the museum from either Omonia or Victoria Metro Stations.

From Omonia Metro Station, get out of the Station following the Panepistimiou St. Exit, walk up Panepistimiou (aka Eleftheriou Venizelou St.) for just 1 block and turn left on Patission (aka 28 Oktovriou) St. You will see the Museum’s big lawn after 7-8 blocks (7-10min walk).

From Victoria Metro Station, which may be the safer choice, walk upwards at Heyden St. and turn right on 28 Oktovriou / Patission St. Walk for about 6 blocks until you see the Museum’s big lawn, across the street (7-10min walk).

There’s a bunch of bus-stops right at the front (Patission St.) and on the side (Vassileos Irakleiou St.) of the Museum. Buses and Trolleys No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, E6.

People on wheel-chairs need to enter from the north side street (Vassileos Irakleiou) which has a corridor taking you to a side door. Otherwise, from the main entrance / big lawn go left and then right to reach a ramp that takes you to the same side-door. The museum shop and toilets are also accessible.

Museum exhibits: Now that new guards have finally been hired (and all exhibit halls are open), “the Museum” (to Mousseio), as Athenians often refer to it, is again a must go destination for foreigners and Greeks alike. It is a virtual treasure trove of ancient Greek art, the most important museum of ancient Greek art in the world and the country’s top museum. Your visit to Athens won’t be complete without it.

To prepare myself for the visit I used the museum’s website but mainly Rick Steves’ “Athens & The Peloponnese” Guide and I’m glad I did. The Guide’s chapter on the Museum is just excellent (right length, right amount of detail and very well-written) and helps put things into perspective in a concise way, bypassing archaeological jargon that dominates most museum signs. If only our school books were of such high quality! I guess it’s no accident it’s such a popular guide [You may buy it from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk]. Two other guide-books that I own (these two generally on Greece) had very limited info on the Museum.

Almost anything and everything you’ve ever heard of regarding Ancient Greek art can be found in this Museum at some form, although emphasis was initially placed in artifacts found around Athens, and exhibits from southern Greece still dominate the collection. From prehistoric times around 6,000BC to 5th century AD, artifacts covering the whole ancient Greek world are here on display (bronze statues, marble statues, ornaments and sculpture of all sizes, vases, coins, jewels and various instruments, frescoes from the island of Thira (Santorini) and even a couple of perfectly preserved skeletons found in the Keramikos cemetery in Athens. The Museum’s interior was redesigned 2-3 years ago and is much more appealing nowadays from what I remembered. Aside from the permanent collections there are at least a couple of temporary exhibitions each year. The upper floor houses the vase collection, Cyprus collection, ornamental figurines collection, Egyptian collection and jewel collection. As it’s impossible to concentrate on everything I suggest just picking a few random artifacts in each room (aside from the major ones) and concentrating on appreciating their details. Trying to “see everything” will simply give you a headache.

Visitor experience: I must admit I came with a negative predisposition. David (mentioned in the previous short post) had visited the museum twice (in spring 2011) and was still not able to see everything he had wanted as the museum was understaffed at that time and many halls were closed. And if that was not enough, visitors were shooed out of the building half an hour before the official closing time! So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that things have more or less normalized now. All rooms were open, the museum shop seemed to be (more or less…) stocked with its very interesting gifts (like replicas of ancient coins and artifacts), the museum was not annoyingly crowded (on a Monday afternoon) and the antiquated but shaded café in the basement garden downstairs was operating [However, famous food blogger Peter Minakis, a.k.a. Kalofagas, informs me that Greek coffee here is prepared using an espresso machine, which sounds hideous for this type of coffee!]. Some among the personnel could have been a bit politer and more professional but for the most part things are cranking along. Visitors were asked to leave 20 (not 30) minutes before closing time which is according to rules posted on the website but still not very user-friendly when people are coming from the other end of the world to see this! It shouldn't take a genius to figure out a solution to this problem. 

The best thing is that people are allowed to take no-flash, portable camera photos (except for in the section housing the jewel collection).

Overall, the museum has a slight “civil-service”, sterile atmosphere but you don’t have any major distractions on your visit either.

Length of visit: 2-6 hours, or a lifetime, depending on your level of interest. I stayed for 4 hours and I was already tired at the end. If you concentrate strictly on the artifacts highlighted by the Rick Steves’ Guide (read above) you could possibly do this in a frantic 1.5 hour.

Museum Hours: Mon: 13:00-20:00, Tue-Sun: 08:00-15:00 [Updated 2013-03-24, hours may change in the summer].

Admission: 7€. Reduced 3€ ticket for EU seniors (> 65) and non-EU students with ID. Free entrance for <19, EU students with ID. Free on select dates for everybody (see here)

New Acropolis Museum

The new Acropolis Museum, located at 15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Promenade, is the result of a long-term planning process, which started in the mid-1980s and culminated in its inauguration, in June 2009. The modernist building was designed to provide direct view to the Parthenon itself on the Acropolis hill across the street and to remind people of the need to bring back the Parthenon marbles gruesomely carved out by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Natural light smoothly entering the building from all sides gives it an almost ethereal feel, besides its huge volume, and you probably won’t get the usual “museum fatigue” feel that you may associate with other large museums.

Ideal surroundings: Situated right next to the Dionysiou Areopagitou Promenade, which is a real carnival, especially if it’s sunny and a day off, the museum benefits from the overall festive atmosphere of the area. Furthermore, it has direct visual contact to the Acropolis hill and is in the middle of the archeological and tourist area of the city, thereby facilitating visitors and being easy to combine with other nearby monuments and sights.

Accessibility & Access: Ramps and elevators are incorporated into the design, so as to facilitate access by all visitors, from both entrances. I especially like the meandering ramp, left of the main entrance at Dionysiou Areopagitiou, as it is surrounded by plants typical of the Greek and Mediterranean flora which look and smell wonderfully nice, esp. during the spring and summer time. Last, the museum is right next to the Acropolis Metro Station, itself also accessible to people w/ disabilities.

Museum exhibits: Having direct visual contact from the 3rd floor of the museum, which houses the Parthenon marbles (friezes, metopes and pediments), to the actual monument itself is priceless. Make sure you spend ten minutes to watch the short film, continuously projected on the 3rd floor, before seeing the actual Parthenon marbles. This film (in Greek w/ English subtitles and vice-versa) is so good that it alone is reason enough to first visit the Acropolis Museum and then the Acropolis itself (if their hours fit with your schedule and if it’s not too hot to climb up the Acropolis at noon-time).

The ground and first floor also provide the unique experience of walking around the beautiful statues and marbles, not just in front of them as in most archeological museums, and thus creates a sense of intimacy between the visitor and the exhibits. However, I would have liked to have seen a few more explanatory texts, giving a better overall description of the historical and artistic context of the time these artifacts were created, especially at the start of the 1st floor where statues and marbles seem to almost come out of nowhere. [And yes, I visited after the recent addition of the explanatory signs in May 2011]. To complete my… critique, let me say that I occasionally felt a bit uneasy about the way some exhibits are positioned, with people passing hurriedly and heedlessly by, at a dangerously short distance. On the other hand, unlike the Archeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum hires archeologists as guards so they are in a position to give you more explanations if you wish so – and seem to enjoy their job more. There are special mini-presentations ("gallery talks") in Greek and English on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Check website or info desk for schedule.

It’s also worth saying that even visitors who don’t have time to enter the museum may take a peek at the excavations still taking place at the museum’s foundations, as there’s a glass flooring and a hole that allows you to check out the ongoing works.

Visitor experience: Besides the care taken to make the museum accessible to all and to bring the visitor as close to the statues and marbles as possible, there is a very good restaurant (presentation here), cafeteria and bookstore on the 2nd floor, free Wi-Fi internet access on the 2nd floor balcony, a small café and shop on the ground floor and toilets everywhere (the toilets could be better equipped but in good overall condition anyway).

There are books –mostly on the 2nd floor bookstore– on the museum, the Acropolis and Athens in various languages (although most are understandably in Greek). I did a quick browsing of several ones and particularly liked the one called “The New Acropolis Museum – A guide for young people” (or something like that). I may not fall into its target group but it contained several interesting bytes of information; enough to excite your curiosity without causing a headache to non-archeologists! There also was a coffee-table book titled “Athens” (Militos Editions) with very nice photographs of the city and a small, spiral-bound booklet, in many languages, with pictures of the ancient monuments as they were in their prime and as they are now.

Length of visit: 2 - 4 hours

Museum Hours: Summer hours (1 April - 31 October): Tue-Sun: 08:00-20:00, last Entrance: 19:30. Fri: 08:00-22:00 w/ restaurant open till midnight. Winter hours (1 November - 31 March):   Tue-Thu: 09:00-17:00, Fri: 09:00-22:00, Sat-Sun: 09:00-20:00. Visitors are reminded to start leaving 15 minutes before closing time but this is done through a P.A. system and not by “throwing people out”…

Admission: 5€. 3€ reduced ticket (see website for eligibility). People w/ disabilities and their companions enter for free. The ticket for the museum is separate from the one you’ll need for the Hill of the Acropolis itself and / or the Ancient Agora.

Last update: 2013-03-24 

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Pikionis retrospective at Benaki Museum: my impressions + a tour of Pikionis' works in Athens

I made a mention of this exhibition in a previous post, so I feel obliged to come back. We went to visit the exhibition at Benaki Museum (138, Pireos St., till 13 March 2011) on Greek civil engineer, landscape architect and painter Dimitris Pikionis (1887-1968). He is mostly credited with constructing the landscaping work (paths and corridors) around the Acropolis and for finding inspiration in the traditional, Greek building norms and materials and nature and incorporating them into his own work, even though he lived in an era that the modernist architectural movement was at its peak. He even constructed a couple of modernist-inspired works himself. We both thought that the exhibit was of interest mainly to architects and other specialists in the field. A documentary film was only in Greek (no subtitles). If you are not an architect / landscape architect I think we can safely say that you won't be impressed with what you'll see, although there are several paintings / mostly sketches or water-colour paintings that some might find of interest. Painting was Pikionis' true love as he himself had confided to people, but he couldn't make a living out of painting so he chose architecture instead. It seems to me he almost intentionally downplayed his painting, by sketching only in small pieces of paper (max. 60x70cm) and keeping his painting works hidden for most of his life.

Anyway, you’ll be better off walking around Athens and trying to discover Pikionis’ works themselves, instead of spending time in the exhibit. Here is a list of his works in Metro Athens, with info on how to get there (few other works of him are to be found anyway as he made a living as a university professor):

1)   Paths leading up to the Acropolis Hill and the adjacent Filopappou Hill. His most famous work for which he received, post mortem, in 2003, the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens. This was created in 1954-57.

Path up to Filopappou Hill (aka Muses Hill)

Path up to Filopappou Hill - Detail

2)   Aghios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris church, on Filopappou Hill, and the "Filopappou kiosk" (1954-58) next to it, facing the Acropolis. The kiosk -which operated as a cafe / snack restaurant has been closed since 2005. 

3)   Block of flats at 27 Ηeyden St. (central Athens), created in 1938. Unimpressive at first glance, from the outside, but the documentary at the Benaki museum made us appreciate it more. A rather seedy area nowadays but very close to the Victoria Metro Station.

Polykatoikia (block of flats) by Pikionis, at 27, Heyden St., Athens

4)  Stamatopoulos house, at the corner of Laskaratou St. & Aghias Lavras St., Ano Patissia neighborhood, Athens (near Metro Aghios Eleftherios and Metro Ano Patissia). Constructed in 1961.

Stamatopoulos house, by Dimitris Pikionis, Athens, Greece

5)  Efthymiadi-Menegaki house - workshop at 10, Grypari St., Ano Patissia neighborhood, Athens (near Metro Ano Patissia). Frosso Efthymiadi-Menegaki was a sculptor and her house (created in 1949),  has now passed to her heirs and is undergoing restoration. It's supposed to be used as a museum-exhibition space, under the auspices of the National Gallery.

 















6)  Children's playground at the suburb of Filothei, 17, El. Venizelou St. (1961-64). It is here that you will see most evident his inspiration not only from Greek but also from Japanese art and garden art. Still operational and much loved by locals and their kids.

Filothei playground

Filothei playground

Filothei playground, by Dimitris Pikionis

                    
7) Potamianos Residence at Filothei (1, Niovis St. & 14, Diadochou Pavlou St., Filothei) (1953-55). There's a big, ugly power tower in front of it right now but if you walk by you'll see what an amazing house this is. I was of course discreet enough to take pictures from afar in all cases (without a zoom), as most of these houses are occupied and I'm sure nobody wants a stranger peeking inside their house. The end stop of Bus 610 (from Ampelokipi) is 100m from the house.

Potamianos Residence, by Pikionis 

Potamianos Residence, Filothei

8) Grammar school at "Pefkakia"-Lykavittos Hill, Athens (1933). This was a building difficult to study and construct (on the slopes of a hill) but Pikionis was quick to renounce it as soon as he had it finished. The modernist-inspired work was not what he was striving for and he soon turned to Greek (and Japanese) tradition for inspiration. Here's a few pictures of the building in its current form, from the outside. It now houses 2 grammar schools and 1 junior-high school.


Lower entrance of schools, Leontos Sgourou St.




School entrance-you can see how the building is constructed at several levels to adjust to the hills steep slope. Each classroom has its own small yard (can't see from this angle)



View from the upper side, Doxapatri St.

Here is a map with all the above mentioned works of Pikionis:


View OMIG-Pikionis in a larger map

Click here for books refering to Pikionis' work, in Amazon.com.

P.S. In case you're wondering there are 2 other works of Pikionis still in existence, outside Athens. The Xenia Hotel at Delphi and the Peiramatiko School at Thessaloniki.

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Walking along Patission Street (part 2)

Continuing from my previous post, here are some pictures from the buildings one sees along Patission St. (and most of Athens for that matter). Many people who come here for the first time, having some vague, preconceived notion about "Athens" and "Greece" (notice the quotation marks?) are in for a big shock when they see these images.

Planning- and architecture-wise, things can be summarized as follows: Most buildings are about 6-storeys high, due to the zoning / planning regulations and are blocks of flats. This type of multi-storey residence, which to many US visitors may bring back memories of the "projects", is called "polykatiki'a" (meaning 'multi-residence') and has prevailed since after WWII. In central avenues, main streets, etc., like Patission, the ground floor is usually occupied by retail shops or other similar services (accounting offices, banks, gyms, betting shops, dry-cleaners, bakeries, pharmacies, etc.). This pattern of mixed-uses makes Athens and most other Greek cities, built along the same general criteria and perceptions, very lively! I still remember the sound of kids voices, merchant yells and all kinds of conversations when I came back from the States a few years ago. Even though I had only been away for 2 years this whole soundscape was totally fascinating to me! I think it's even more pronounced in (central) Athens than in other towns.

Unfortunately, here's where the good news stop. From your hotel room, mixed with the traffic noise, this can easily be perceived as noise even though outside things can be very interesting. However, there is no one prevalent architectural style, since this whole building frenzy and growth of Athens has taken place only recently, after 1950. Planning regulations have changed a few times (although not dramatically differing from one another), remnants of the old one- or two-storey houses can still be found here and there (some of them as 'preserved', historical buildings) and design guidelines practically don't exist. So, you get a mishmash of images and styles, usually not blending nicely with each other (see below...). On-street parking is free, and therefore a huge problem, as some populist politicians repealed the requirement for parking spots in each building years ago, and when they changed their minds it was too little, too late. Even today, parking spot requirements for buildings are occasionally violated and the current government just recently passed a law that will allow these violations to be settled with a small fine!

An attempt for a modernist office building at Odos Patission, with polykatikies right next to it.

Plateia Amerikis (Amerikis Square) at around Patission 170. A small urban square, recently renovated and fairly good looking, always busy with people, mainly African immigrants who inhabit this area in large numbers.


One of the streets crossing Patission, heading up towards the Ano Kypseli neighborhood and the Tourkovounia hills.

Shops and familiar logos. In some parts of Patission, the polykatikies form an "arcade" above the pavement, which is very welcome when it's raining.

A typical bus stop near Plateia Koliatsou (Koliatsou Square), another small urban square at Patission 241. The yellow sign mentions which trolley-bus lines make a stop here while the blue sign is for the "regular" buses. You have to signal the bus to stop, extending (or half-extending) your hand out, otherwise the driver may just move along. You can see the signs of urban decay throughout Athens these days, exemplified by the graffitti and the ever-present stickers, advertising or otherwise, stuck on every structure imaginable...

An abandoned(?) neoclassical building at a corner, a shack-like furniture shop and a 1980's(?) glass-covered monstrosity of an office-building, with a polykatikia at the edge of the picture.

The University of Athens student dorm, recently re-painted it seems, at Patission 277.

The entrance of an open-air, summer cinema which has closed and is now being offered for rent. The sandwich shop next door may have to change it name!... Oh, and the poster is from the 1953 film "Roman Holiday" with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

A pharmacy at the corner of Patission 300 & Grigoroviou.

More polykatikies at the corner of Patission and Galatsiou. Another Starbucks lies on the opposite corner (not pictured).

The "Fix Park", at the same intersection as above. Its name derives from an old factory that used to stand here.

Chess players. I seemed to have caught a... decisive moment!

An old, worn down but surprisingly still occupied 2-storey, neoclassical residence at the corner of Patission and Laskaratou.

The last part of Odos Patission with the Ano Patissia Metro Station (Metro Line 1) seen far in the background.

A small park / yard of an old mansion called Villa Drakopoulou at Patission 358, currently under renovation.

End of journey. The Aghia Varvara (St. Barbara) church at the end of Patission St., right next to the Ano Patissia Metro Station (Metro Line 1).



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