The National Archaeological Museum is very close to Omonia Square, in Patission Street.

The National Archaeological Museum is the largest museum in Greece and one of the most important in the world. In its halls, over 11 000 exhibits of unique beauty and immense archaeological value present the history of the ancient Greek civilization. While it is unfair to single out any of the exhibits, among the most famous include the Golden death mask of Agamemnon and the famous Antikythera mechanism, perhaps the oldest computer in the world.

The National Archaeological Museum has five large permanent collections;

• The Collection of Prehistoric Antiquities, with findings from the civilizations that developed from the 6th millennium up to 1050 BC (Neolithic, Cycladic, Mycenaean) but also from the prehistoric settlement in Cape Thira.
• The Collection of Sculptures, depicting the evolution of ancient greek sculpting from the 7th century BC to the 5th AD.
• The Vase and Minor Objects Collection, with representative works of ancient Greek pottery, which includes the Stathatou collection, a corpus of petite art objects.
• The Metallurgy Collection, with many original sculptures and miniatures.
• The Egyptian and Near Eastern Antiquities Collection with works of art, dating from 5000 BC to Roman times.

What is more, the museum hosts temporary exhibitions with findings from all over Greece.

In the south wing of the museum, the Epigraphic Museum is also housed and is probably the largest of its kind in the world. It is a house for over 13 000 inscriptions, mostly Greek, from antiquity to the early Christian times.

In short, you would be a fool to visit Athens and forget to pay a visit to the National Archaeological Museum.

National Archaeological Museum: Address, Patission 44 Street, Athens.

More information concerning the National Archaeological Museum can be found inwww.namuseum.gr and the number 213 2144800.