Heritage Tourism in Greece: 2022

Knossos © David Gill

The Hellenic Statistical Service has issued data for key archaeological sites and museums in Greece. There were 10.9 million visits to archaeological sites in 2022, with 3 million of those accounted by the Athenian Acropolis. The second most visited site was the palace of Knossos. This is still slightly below the numbers for 2017 but considerably higher than the figures during the pandemic (2.6 million in 2020).

There were 4.6 million visits to museums of which 1.3 million were to the Acropolis Museum in Athens and 474,000 to the National Archaeological Museum. This is slightly higher than the figure for 2016 and well above the pandemic numbers (1.1 million in 2020).

These visits generated 121.5 million Euros in ticket receipts, well above the 21 million Euros in 2020.

Chart © David Gill. Data: Hellenic Statistical Service

Study Day: The Work and Legacies of Charles Thomas Newton

Dedications from Branchidai (Didyma) in the British Museum © David Gill

A cross disciplinary study day will be held at UCL on the career and impact of the curator and classical archaeologist, Charles Thomas Newton (1816 – 1894). Newton was involved with the acquisition of the architectural sculptures from the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, and sculptures from the sanctuary at Branchidai. He was a key figure in the foundation of the Hellenic Society and the British School at Athens.

Date: 12 June 2023, UCL

This event is free and has been made possible by a partnership between the Institute of Classical Studies, UCL History and the British Museum. More details on the link.

Proposed reorganisation of museums in Greece

National Archaeological Museum, Athens © David Gill

A consultation is underway over the future of the status of five key museums in Greece (“Museums set to go it alone under new law“, ekathimerini.com 17 January 2023). There are concerns that these key museums, including the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and the Herakleion Museum, will be expected to act more independently and be responsible for part of their revenue creation. Some have suggested that the move will prepare the way for some future privatisation and will see a break with the rest of the Archaeological Service.

Visitors to Archaeological Sites in Greece

© David Gill

The visitor figures for archaeological sites in Greece are now available (up to June 2022). It is now clear that numbers in 2021 (5.3m) were just below those for 2010 (5.5m). The first six months for 2022 account for 4.0m visitors that may suggest a return to levels around 2013.

© David Gill

The major impact has been on the income derived from visitors to both archaeological sites and museums dropping from 130 million Euros in 2019 to 21 million Euros in 2020. The first six months of 2022 have generated 43 million Euros.

Greece: COVID-19 and the economic impact on heritage

Chart © David Gill, 2021; Data from the Hellenic Statistical Service

The latest figures from the Hellenic Statistical Service have revealed the major impact on visitor numbers to museums and archaeological sites in Greece to the end of November 2020. I have already comments on the dramatic fall of visitors (museums; archaeological sites) and the picture continues to be bleak: 3.7 million visitors (to the end of November 2020) compared to 19.5 million visitors in 2019. However, the telling figure comes from ticket receipts: 21.1 million Euros (to the end of November 2020) compared to 130.9 million Euros in 2019. This is a significant loss of budget for the protection and conservation of heritage in Greece.

Visitor Numbers for Archaeological Sites in Greece: 2020

© David Gill, 2021

The Hellenistic Statistical Service released the visitor numbers for archaeological sites in Greece today (31 March 2021). They cover the period up to the end of September and show a fall of 79.8 per cent due to the pandemic: a fall from 11.2 million visitors in 2019 to 2.2 million visitors in 2020. Olympia saw the largest fall with just over 85 per cent. Overall this represents a fall of some 9 million visitors for the period to the end of September. It also represents a drop of 84.2 per cent of income through ticket sales: from just over 90 million Euros in 2019, to 14.2 million Euros in 2020.

Museum Visitors and Greece: 2020

© 2021

The Hellenic Statistical Service released the latest visitor numbers for museums in Greece today (31 March 2021). Although the numbers are only available up to the end of September 2020, they show a drop of 79.5% due to the pandemic. The Archaeological Museum in Herakleion showed a drop of over 90 per cent. The January-September comparison between 2019 and 2020 shows the impact: a fall from 4.7 million visitors to 976,805. (In 2019 there were 5.8 million visitors to museums in Greece.) This is reflected in a decrease of ticket sales of 82 per cent: from 19.2 million Euros in 2019 to 3.4 million Euros in 2020.

The Parthenon marbles: paving “the path for modern democracy”

The Parthenon frieze © David Gill

As part of the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence draws near, two US members of Congress have passed a resolution calling on the UK Government to return the architectural sculptures from the Parthenon to Greece (“Hellenic Caucus Co-Chairs Maloney & Bilirakis Reintroduce Resolution Calling on the U.K. to Return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece“, 18 March 2021).

Congressman Gus Bilirakis said:

“The Parthenon Marbles were made by the citizens of Athens under the direction of renowned artist Phidias to celebrate the pride and majesty of the City of Athens. To not house and view these citizen contributions in the city they were originally intended does a disservice not only to the people of Athens, but also to the civilization that paved the path for modern democracy and freedom.”

The appeal to the original intention of the sculptor is a strong one. These sculptures were an integral part of a building, incidentally now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Athenian Akropolis.

Is now the time for these sculptures to be returned to Athens so that they can be displayed in line of sight of the Parthenon?

Battle of Navarino: the British Monument

The British Monument, Navarino © David Gill

Next week is the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence. The Battle of Navarino, in the south-west Peloponnese, took place on 20 October 1827 when the allied fleet of Britain, France and Russia defeated the Ottomans.

The British monument is placed on one of the small islands in the bay. Some of the ships were subsequently based at Nauplion.

For more on the Royal Navy in Greece in this period:

Gill, D. W. J., and C. Gill. 2010. “H.M.S. Belvidera and the Temple of Minerva.” Notes and Queries 57: 199-210. [DOI]

The British Monument, Navarino © David Gill

Renewed debate over cultural property

Architectural sculpture from the Parthenon currently in the British Museum © David Gill

The British Prime Minister has stepped into the debate about cultural property currently held in the British Museum by making a statement about what he considers to be the legal status of the Parthenon architectural sculptures (“Greek culture minister challenges British PM’s claims on Parthenon sculptures“, ekatherimini.com 12 March 2021). These sculptures were once an integral part of the Parthenon, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Athenian Acropolis. The proposal is to display them in line of sight with the Parthenon.

Some of the issues relating to cultural property are explored in my Context Matters: Collating the Past (20202) [see here].

The New Acropolis Museum and the Theatre of Dionysos from the Athenian Acropolis © David Gill