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Sights of Interest in Greece
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Iliou Melathron
05-02-2013 15:49The Iliou Melathron is located in downtown Athens, on Panepistimiou Street, close to Syntagma Square and it houses the Numismatic Museum. It was built in 1879 and designed by the German architect Ernst Ziller as the residence of the family of Heinrich Schliemann. The name given to the building meaning Palace of Troy was inspired by Schliemann’s discovery of the ancient legendary city.
The construction of Iliou Melathrion was finished in 1881 and it was then one of the most impressive privately owned villas. It is a two-storey building impressively decorated with decorative themes and elements taken of the Greek Mythology. It is considered as one of the most remarkable works of the architect Ernst Ziller. It follows the neoclassical style incorporating elements of the Italian renaissance, such as the two balconies on the forefront that add lightness and elegance to the building’s bulk.
The ground floor functioned mainly as a place for social life where the artifacts from the excavations in Troy were also in display. The bedrooms, offices and the library were on the second floor. Technological novelties were applied to the building, like the ventilation system with pipes installed behind the perforated plaster acanthus moulding which runs the ceiling of each room, the heating system with gas and the fire protection by using wood only in doors and windows.
The decoration of the building conveys Schliemann’s great passion for antiquity and agrees with his attempt to portray himself as a man of arts and letters. The wall decoration is characterised by the reproduction of themes from the wall-paintings in residences in Pompey. The decoration was completed by terracotta copies of ancient statues, made in Vienna, three of which were placed in the garden and twenty-four on the perimeter of the roof.
In 1926 the building was sold to the Greek state for the amount of 27.000.000 drachmas, to cover family expenses. The expenditure was carried into effect from the Alexander Soutzos endowment, in order to house the Museum of Fine Arts and the Numismatic Museum. However since 1929, were housed successively the seat of the State Council (1929-1934), the Supreme Court (1934-1980) and the Court of Appeals (1981-1983).
In 1983, the Greek Public Real Estate assigned the Iliou Melathron to the Ministry of Culture. After the completion of restoration works at the building, the Numismatic Museum has been housed in the Iliou Melathron since 1998.
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