The galleries of the new Acropolis Museum that houses invaluable finds dating from the 4th Millennium BC to the 5th century AD found on the Sacred Hill of the Acropoliswere officially unveiled here on Saturday.

    Dimitros Pantermalis, director of the new museum, told Xinhua that all of the Parthenon Temple sculptures owned by Greece will be displayed on the third floor of the new museum.

The third level of the 25,000 square meters museum, offering an unparalleled view of the Parthenon atop the Acropolis a couple of hundred yards away, has been reserved for when the Marbles -- as many Greeks devoutly hope -- return.

    Replicas of the sculptures in the British Museum which were taken from Parthenon's frieze some 200 years ago are sitting next to those left in Greece. Visitors from across the world will admire the complete sculptures of the famous Parthenon Temple for the first time.

Greek President Karolos Papoulias, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis as well as heads of states and governments, the President of EU Jose Manuel Barros and the Director-General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura attended the opening ceremony.

|  Return   |