Epigraphical Museum, Archaeological museum in Athens, Greece
The Epigraphical Museum displays thousands of inscriptions carved into stone from different periods of ancient Greece and Rome. The collection spans from the early historical era through the late Roman period and includes texts written in multiple ancient languages and scripts.
The museum was founded in 1885 in the south wing of the National Archaeological Museum, a building designed by Ludwig Lange, Panagis Kalkos and Ernst Ziller. Between 1953 and 1960 the building was extended to plans by architect Patroklos Karantinos. Its first collections were assembled by Kyriakos Pittakis, who gathered inscriptions from monuments and ruins across Athens.
The inscriptions reveal how ancient people recorded their laws, honors, and daily concerns on stone through multiple languages and scripts. Walking through the rooms, you see the voices of ordinary citizens and leaders preserved in their own words.
The museum occupies the south wing of the National Archaeological Museum, entered from the courtyard side. Only the courtyards, lobby and four rooms are open; the other rooms, gallery and laboratory serve researchers. A conservation laboratory for inscribed stone is on site, and a full photographic archive of the collection is being assembled for future visitors.
The oldest Attic inscription in the museum, carved on a Pentelic marble stele, was found north of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion and is written boustrophedon, alternating directions line by line. Only two words survive, so the text cannot be restored. The museum holds 14,078 inscriptions, the largest such collection worldwide.
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