Delos museum and statue of Alexander the Great have been approved

In a time where economic crisis rules Greece and budget cuts in the culture sector are severe, I have two bits of good news for you: the Archaeology New Network reports that plans to built a Delos museum have been approved, and Ekathimerini reports that Athens has gotten the OK for the erection of an Alexander the Great statue.


Delos museum construction plans approved

The plans for the construction of a new museum on the Greek island of Delos were approved by the Central Archaeological Council, after the funds for the plans were collected.

According to the plans, the new museum will have to adhere to strict bio-climatic architectural standards and must be situated as far away as possible from the sea, in order to better protect the antiquities and the museum itself from the elements.

The new museum will occupy a space of at least 5,000 square meters and will feature all of the exhibits displayed in the existing museum, along with many other artefacts located on the island’s archaeological sites and in storage. The funds for the construction plans were donated by the London-based International Foundation for Greece.


Athens gets OK for erection of Alexander the Great statue

The Central Archaeological Council (KAS) has given the City of Athens the green light to erect a bronze statue of Alexander the Great at either of two places proposed by the municipal authorities.
The statue, which depicts the ancient conqueror at an early age, was crafted by Yiannis Pappas in 1992 but has never gone on public display due to bureaucratic problems.

Earlier this week, the mayor of Delta, in the northern region of Macedonia, asked the City of Athens, which now owns the statue, to donate the artifact. Athens officials said the statue would eventually be installed either on the junction of Vassilissis Olgas and Vassilissis Amalias avenues or at Asomaton Square in Thiseio.