Is it worth it?
Yes, and it is often skipped by visitors who spend all their time on the Acropolis. The Acropolis shows you one sanctuary at its peak; this museum shows how Greek art got there and where it went next. The fifteen works below are chosen to follow that story in a single walk.
The 15 works, in walking order
1. The gold masks of Mycenae (Room 4)
Straight ahead from the entrance, the Mycenaean room glows with gold from the royal shaft graves of Mycenae, of the sixteenth century BCE. The death masks are mounted in the centre; one of them is the mask Heinrich Schliemann called the “Mask of Agamemnon“, although it is older than any Trojan War. The guide to who the Mycenaeans were explains the warrior kings behind it.
2. The harpist of Keros (Room 6)
At the entrance of the Cycladic room, a marble musician seated with his harp, next to an aulos player and the largest Cycladic female statue known so far. Over four thousand years old, they show why Cycladic figures look so modern.
3. The Dipylon amphora (Room 7)
The first room of sculpture opens with a huge vase made as a grave marker at the Kerameikos cemetery around 760-750 BCE. In the middle band, the dead lie on a bier among mourners with their arms raised. It is the masterpiece of Geometric art.
4. The Sounion Kouros (Room 8)
An over-life-size youth dedicated in the sanctuary of Poseidon at Sounion, one foot forward, arms at his sides. It is the clearest introduction to the kouros, the statue type that the next rooms follow for over a century.
5. The Anavysos Kouros (Room 13)
The grave statue of Kroisos, who died in battle, according to the inscription on its base. Compare him with the Sounion youth: the body is now rounded and heavy with muscle. The guide to the Anavysos Kouros reads the epitaph.
6. Aristodikos (Room 13)
In the same room, the latest kouros in the collection. Compare his face and pose with the Sounion youth to see how far the type travelled in a few generations.
7. Zeus or Poseidon from Artemision (Room 15)
Found on the seabed off Cape Artemision, a bronze god about to throw: the thunderbolt of Zeus or the trident of Poseidon, the weapon is lost. It is one of the rare Greek bronze statues to survive, because the sea hid it from the melting pot. Walk round it: the outstretched arms are best seen from the side.
8. The Great Eleusinian Relief (Room 15)
Behind the bronze, the goddesses Demeter and Persephone with the young Triptolemos, the three central figures of the mysteries of Eleusis. The carving is so shallow that it seems drawn on the marble.
9. The stele of Hegeso (Room 18)
A grave relief from the Kerameikos: Hegeso, seated, lifts something from a box held out by her servant, whose sad face is the only sign of mourning. Athenian tombstones of this kind are some of the most moving works in the museum.
10. The Athena Varvakeion (Room 20)
A small Roman marble version of the gold-and-ivory statue that stood twelve metres tall inside the Parthenon. It is the best idea you can get of the lost Athena Parthenos.
11. The Antikythera Ephebe (Room 28)
A bronze youth recovered from the sea off the island of Antikythera, of the fourth century BCE, with his right arm raised. In the same room stands the bronze Marathon Boy, also found in the sea.
12. Aphrodite, Pan and Eros (Room 30)
From Delos, a Hellenistic joke in marble: the smiling goddess raises her sandal at the goat-footed Pan, while Eros flies in to help. It shows how Hellenistic sculpture brought humour and everyday drama to the gods.
13. The Artemision Jockey (Room 34)
A bronze racehorse in full gallop with a small boy riding it, lifted from the same waters as the god in Room 15. The boy’s tense face and the horse’s stretched body make it one of the most alive sculptures in Athens.
14. The Antikythera shipwreck (Room 38)
In the metalwork galleries, the finds from a cargo ship that sank off Antikythera, including the corroded bronze fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient device of gears. Small and easy to pass by, it is one of the most discussed objects in the building.
15. The wall paintings of Thera (Room 48, first floor)
Upstairs, the frescoes from Akrotiri, the town on Santorini buried by a volcanic eruption in the sixteenth century BCE: birds among red lilies in the “Spring Fresco”, two boys boxing, a pair of antelopes. They are the brightest colours in the museum, and the best introduction to Aegean painting outside Crete.
What can you skip?
The museum is large, and its Roman rooms (31-33), the terracotta figurines and the Egyptian collection can wait for a second visit. Skip the vase rooms upstairs only if you are tired: they are rich, but they ask for an extra hour. And skip Tuesday mornings, when the museum opens at 13:00.
How long do you need?
Three hours for the fifteen works with time to look. With two hours, keep 1, 2, 5, 7, 13 and 15. For how the museum fits into a stay, see what to see in Athens; for the sculptures of the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum.
The National Archaeological Museum in brief
- Ticket
- €20
- Hours
- Summer season (to 15 November 2026): Wednesday-Monday 8:00-20:00, Tuesday 13:00-20:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing. Winter (from 16 November): Wednesday-Monday 8:30-15:30, Tuesday 13:00-20:00
- Free
- 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, last weekend of September, 28 October; first and third Sunday of the month from November to March
- Time
- 3 hours; 2 hours for the short version
- Note
- Closed 25-26 December, 1 January, 25 March, 1 May and Orthodox Easter Sunday. Metro: Omonia or Victoria
- Verified
- October 2026, on the official site. Prices and hours change: check before you go.
Questions
Is the National Archaeological Museum in Athens worth it?
Yes. It covers ancient Greek art from Cycladic marbles to Hellenistic bronzes in one building, and it is calmer than the Acropolis.
Where is the Mask of Agamemnon?
In Room 4, the Mycenaean room straight ahead of the entrance, among the gold from the royal graves of Mycenae.
Where is the Antikythera Mechanism?
In Room 38, among the finds from the Antikythera shipwreck in the metalwork galleries.
National Archaeological Museum or Acropolis Museum?
Both if you can. With time for only one, choose the Acropolis Museum for the Parthenon and this one for the whole history of Greek art.
Sources
- National Archaeological Museum, Athens, visiting information and opening hours (October 2026).
- National Archaeological Museum, collection and permanent exhibition pages: Mycenaean, Cycladic and Thera collections; Sculpture Collection (Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods); Metalwork Collection.
