Museums Several kinds of museums are located in the Hellenic Republic. Generally speaking, every major city and town in Greece has its own Archaeological Museum, which houses findings from the nearby area. However, most of them can be found in the big cities like
Athens, where the famous
New Acropolis Museum and the
National Archaeological Museum are located. Furthermore, there is a vast number of galleries like the
National Gallery (Athens). There are many museums in
Thessaloniki too, like the Byzantine Museum. Overall, there are approximately 150 museums all over the country which are easily accessible by tourists. The Greek capital,
Athens, has many archaeological sites, the most famous being the
Acropolis, the
Temple of Olympian Zeus, the
Ancient Athenian cemetery of Kerameikos, the
Philopappou Hill, the
Tower of the Winds,
Plato's Academy and the
Ancient Agora. In the adjacent area of
Attica are the
Marathon tumuli, burying mounds in
Marathon that house the ashes of the
Athenian and
Plataean hoplites that were killed in the
homonymous battle. Findings from the area and from the battle of Marathon are preserved in the
Archaeological Museum of Marathon nearby. In western Attica is
Eleusis, where, from as early as 1700 BC up to the 4th century AD, it was the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, or the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore. At the eastern tip of Attica is
Sounion, with the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon. Central Greece is the location of
Thebes, an ancient city that once rivalled Athens, and featured in
Greek myth.
Delphi has a distinguished ancient theatre, the site of the Oracle.
Thermopylae is primarily known for the battle that took place there in 480 BC, in which an outnumbered Greek force probably of seven thousand (including the famous 300 Spartans) held off a substantially larger force of Persians estimated in the range 70,000-300,000 under Xerxes. The
Peloponnese peninsula, dominating the south of the mainland, has a wide variety of archaeological sites. Beginning at the north end, there is
Ancient Corinth, near the modern town of the same name. In the northeast of the peninsula are
Epidaurus, with its ancient theatre, now restored;
Argos, with several ancient ruins, including the
Heraion; and
Nemea, where, in Greek mythology,
Heracles overcame the
Nemean Lion of the Lady
Hera, and during Antiquity the
Nemean Games were played. Most important of all, however, is
Mycenae, which, in the second millennium BC, was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece and parts of southwest Anatolia. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called
Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae.
Tiryns, also in the area, is a Mycenaean archaeological site. In the centre of the Peloponnese are
Sparta, where, near the modern town, are ancient ruins, the most important being the tomb of
Leonidas;
Tegea, an important religious center of ancient Greece, containing the Temple of
Athena Alea; and
Lycosura, said by Pausanias to be the oldest city in the world. On the western side of the peninsula are
Bassae, an archaeological site in the northeastern part of
Messenia;
Messene itself, the ruins of a large classical city-state refounded by
Epaminondas in 369 BC; and, at Pylos, the ruins of the
Palace of Nestor, which is the primary structure within a larger Late Helladic era settlement, likely once surrounded by a fortified wall. In the northwest is
Olympia, with many ancient ruins, including the
Temple of Zeus, the
Temple of Hera, the
Palaestra and the
Leonidaion. Archaeological sites in
Epirus, the western part of mainland Greece, include
Ambracia, the ruins of the ancient capital of
Pyrrhus of Epirus;
Dodona, whose shrine was regarded as the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BC according to Herodotus;
Elaea, near the mouth of the
Acheron; and
Gitanae.
Nicopolis or Actia Nicopolis, also in Epirus, was founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. In addition, there are the ruins believed by some to be those of the
Necromanteion of Acheron, an ancient Greek temple of
necromancy devoted to
Hades and
Persephone.
Thessaly, another region of central Greece, has an archaeological site in
Larissa, the
Frourio Hill, which is the location of an
ancient theatre and the ruins of a
basilica. The second city of Greece,
Thessaloniki, is nicknamed the "Co-capital". It has many historic buildings, some
World Heritage Sites, including the
Arch and Rotunda of Galerius, the
Church of Panagia Chalkeon and the
White Tower. In the adjacent region of Macedonia, there is
Dion, the sacred place of the Ancient Macedonians. Dion is the site of a large temple dedicated to Zeus, as well as a series of temples to Demeter and to Isis.
Pella, also in the region, is the capital of
Ancient Macedonia and birthplace of
Alexander the Great and
Philip II of Macedon. Other archaeological sites in Macedonia include
Olynthus in Chalcidice;
Philippi, established by the king of Macedon, Philip II, on the site of the Thracian colony of Krinides or Crenides;
Amphipolis, an ancient city once inhabited by the
Edoni people;
Leibethra, an ancient city close to
Olympus where
Orpheus was buried by the
Muses;
Stagira, ruins of the ancient city known as the birthplace of
Aristotle; and
Vergina, a
World Heritage Site, the location of the Macedonian Royal Tombs and the ruins of the ancient Macedonian capital.
Thrace, of which only the western part belongs to modern Greece, has an archaeological site at
Abdera.
Didymoteicho is a historical town built near the Turkish border which has many Ancient Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman landmarks, including the ruins of the ancient city of Plotinopolis, the Byzantine fortifications built around the town, the
Bayezid Mosque built in 1420 and the Silent Baths, the oldest
hamam in Europe. The Greek islands have numerous historical sites of their own.
Chalcis is located on Euboea.
Delos is an uninhabited island in the Cyclades famous for its numerous archaeological sites, including the
Stoivadeion, the Temple of the Delians, the Terrace of the Lions and the House of the Dolphins. On
Syros, near Piraeus, and linked to the latter by a ferry taking only 2.5 hours, is the neoclassical city of
Hermoupolis, where two civilizations and two religions lived harmonically and peacefully together. It has beaches, classical theatre, casino, general hospital and many places to see.
Santorini, one of the Cyclades, is the location of
Ancient Thera, an antique city on a ridge of the steep, 360 m high Messavouno mountain, and of
Akrotiri, a Minoan Bronze Age settlement. The
Samothrace temple complex is one of the principal Pan-Hellenic religious sanctuaries, located on the island of Samothrace.
Crete, the largest Greek island, has archaeological sites at
Phaistos in the south,
Zakros in the east, and most important of all,
Knossos in the centre, which is famous for its ruined
Minoan palace, with bull motifs.
Rhodes, one of the
Dodecanese islands, is the location of the Acropolis of
Rhodes, an acropolis dating from the Classical Greek period (5th–3rd century BC); the Acropolis of
Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the
Greeks, the
Romans, the
Byzantines, the
Knights of St John and the
Ottomans; and the ancient city of
Kameiros. On the nearby island of
Kos is the
Asclepeion, the ruins of one of the greatest healing temples of the Ancient World and the place where
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine was trained. On
Kastellorizo, the easternmost island of Greece, is the
Lycian Tomb, a rock cut tomb built by the ancient
Anatolian civilization of the
Lycians. == Alternate tourism ==