Best Libraries Open On Holidays Athens Near Me

4worldlovers:
Summer hours of the Gennadius Library are in effect from Monday July 3 through Saturday September 2, 2023.


Watch the new film “A Short History of Greece with Mark Mazower”


On the occasion of the bestowal of the Gennadius Prize to Mark Mazower for his contribution to the study of the history of Modern Greece at the gala of the American School of Classical Studies in New York City on May 11, 2023, the American School is proud to present this new film.


School Awards Mark Mazower with the Gennadius Prize at Seventh Annual Gala


Ira D. Wallach Professor of History at Columbia University and a member of the Board of Overseers of the Gennadius Library honored at Gotham Hall in New York City.

4worldlovers:
The Nordic Library is a joint venture by the four archaeological institutes of Sweden (working in Greece since 1948), Finland (1984), Norway (1989), and Denmark (1992).


The Library contains 40.000 volumes mainly in the field of Greek archaeology and of ancient Greek religion and history, including 450 periodicals.

The Library mainly caters towards Nordic scholars but also welcomes both Greek and foreign scholars who are members of the various research institutions and archaeological schools of Greece.

Nordic scholars who would like to work for a shorter or longer period as residents in the Library (we offer office space and access 24/7 to the library) should contact either the relevant institute or the Library directly.

The Library is situated on the south side of the Acropolis in the Makrigianni area:

4worldlovers: Location: Southeast corner of the Agora, between the Stoa of Attalos and the Southeast Stoa, east of the Panathenaic Way. No 21 in the Agora plan of the Guide: Μc Camp II, J., The Athenian Agora, A Short Guide to the Excavations, Excavations of the Athenian Agora, Picture Book no 16, American School of Classical Studies (Princeton 2003), p. 2 and pp. 24-25.

Date of construction: During Emperor Trajan’s rule (late 1st cent. AD)

The Pantainos Library survives in a very fragmentary condition: part of it is located under the Late Roman defensive wall in the Agora and, more specifically, under a large tower. It is one of the most important buildings of the Roman Agora, where the study of philosophy and the worship of the Muses flourished. It was destroyed in 267 AD by the Heruli and later became incorporated (5th cent.) into a large peristyle structure.

The Library of Pantainos is one of the few buildings of the Athenian Agora the circumstances and date of construction of which are precisely known. This structure was dedicated by Titus Flavius Pantainos and his children to Athena Archegetis, Emperor Trajan and the people of Athens, as testified by the inscribed lintel of the main doorway, found incorporated in the Late Roman defensive wall. It is thought that the library was dedicated at some point between the accession of Trajan to power (98 AD) and his Dacian campaign (102 AD). This is based on the use of epithets for the emperor which were employed after the campaign against the Dacians and the later campaign against the Parthians (115 AD). There are, however, sound reasons to believe that the building was erected by Pantainos’ father and that it really constituted the seat of a school of philosophy. The area, the southeast corner of the Agora square, where the stoa was constructed did not previously feature any significant monumental or residential structures.

The excavation in the Late Roman defensive wall, during which the aforementioned important epigraphical find came to light, was conducted in 1933, but the ruins of the library were largely revealed in 1935, while the eastern part of the building was excavated in 1971.

Although the library's excavation was not completed, as its eastern part lies under the Late Roman defensive wall, there are enough evidence to allow us to infer its design with a degree of accuracy.

The ground plan of the building is rather unusual and rather dissimilar to other known contemporary Roman libraries (in Thermae and in Trajan’s Forum). This particular arrangement resulted from the need to build in a rather irregularly shaped plot, to the south of the Stoa of Attalos and the Panathenaic way. Its core consists of two spaces, a large open air courtyard measuring 20 x 13.5m, with a floor covered with irregularly shaped marble-chips set in mortar, and a large square room to the east with a floor covered with marble slabs. At a later phase a peristyle was added to the courtyard, the central part of which was also paved with marble slabs. The entrance of the building was located in the area directly below the spot where the inscribed lintel was discovered. The excavation of 1971 revealed that the building’s E-W side was 35m long, while the main room faced the east side of the courtyard, it was square in plan and measured 15 x 15m approximately. There are no traces of internal supports for the placement of shelves where the books could be stored. The walls were veneered with marble slabs on the inside, as was the floor.