The Academy of Athens building

The Academy of Athens is one of three buildings in an “architectural trilogy” consisting of the National Library (the “Museum”), the University and the Academy. The latter was designed in 1859, by the Danish architect Theophil Hansen (1813-1891), the younger brother of the architect, Christian Hansen who designed the University. The architect drew inspiration from the classical architecture of fifth century B.C. Athens, as represented in the monuments of the Acropolis. In particular, Hansen imitated the features of the Ionic order that are predominant in the building of the Academy, based on the temple of Erechtheion. The building’s sculptural and pictorial decoration epitomises ancient Greek tradition, reflects the spirit of its time and the vision of a new future for Hellenism. In 1861, Hansen’s student, the architect Ernst Ziller (1837-1923) was entrusted with implementing his architectural drawings. He became an emblematic figure of Modern Greek architecture and deeply influenced its course.

Leonidas Drossis (1843-1884), sculptor and professor at the Scholeion Technon, as the Technical University was then called, who had studied in Munich and Dresden, designed the sculptures of Athena and Apollo. They are mounted on the Academy’s flanking pillars. He is also responsible for the seated marble figures of Plato and Socrates, in the forecourt to the entrance of the Academy.

The painted decoration in the building’s interior is the work of the Austrian artist Christian Griepenkerl (1839-1916). He was a student of the great painter Karl Rahl, a Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna. The pictorial ensemble decorating the Academy’s Great Hall was executed between 1878 and 1880; it begins thematically with Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, but it is also based on the universal reception of the Promethean myth. It unfolds along the western and southern side of the Great Hall in eight panels depicting successive phases of the myth of Prometheus.

The ceiling of the Eastern Hall that will host the event is decorated with panels of exquisite artistry. This Hall houses libraries and art collections acquired through donations, and hosts conferences and exhibitions.

The construction of the building was funded by the magnate of the Greek Diaspora in Vienna baron Simon Sinas, and, after his death, by his wife Iphigenia. On 20 March 1887, the building of the “Sinaean Academy”, as it was called, was delivered by Ziller to the Greek Prime Minister, Charilaos Trikoupis. Until the founding of the Academy in 1926, the building was used for housing the Numismatic Museum in 1890, the Byzantine Museum and the General State Archives and in 1914.