Description of the attraction
The Athens Academy of Sciences has the official status of the National Academy of Greece and is the highest research institution in the country. The Academy is supervised by the Greek Ministry of Education and Religion. The Athens Academy was founded on March 18, 1926. It owes its name to the ancient Academy of Plato, founded in 385 BC. and named after the mythical hero Akadem. The official charter of the academy divides its activities into three areas: natural sciences, art, morality and political sciences.
The main building of the academy is a masterpiece of the neoclassical style, included in the famous Athens trilogy, together with the Kapodistrian University of Athens and the National Library of Greece. The project of the building belongs to the Danish architect Theophilus von Hansen and is recognized as his best masterpiece in Greece.
The building has been under construction for 28 years. The work was supervised by the architect Ernst Ziller. The first stone was laid back in 1859 at the expense of the philanthropist Simon von Sien (Austrian entrepreneur), but due to political instability in 1864, construction stopped. Four years later, work was resumed and in 1885 the building was completed. On March 20, 1887, the main building was put into operation. Despite the fact that the building was originally intended for the national academy, in the absence of such it was transferred to the numismatic museum. Later it housed the Byzantine Museum and the State Archives. On March 24, 1926, the building was transferred to the newly created Academy of Athens.
The structure consists of a central part and side wings. In front of the building there are two columns with statues of Apollo and Athena (by the famous Greek sculptor Leonidas Drosis). Also, in front of the entrance you can see two seated statues of Socrates and Plato. The frescoes and decorations are by Austrian Christian Greipenkerl.
The Athens Academy has 12 research centers, 10 research departments, a library and a Biomedical Research Foundation.
