Plato's Academy in Athens: an archaeological park in the Akadimia Platonos district

About three kilometres north-west of the Acropolis, in the residential neighbourhood that bears its name (Akadimia Platonos), lies the place where Plato founded the Academy around 387 BC, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world. Today it is an open, free archaeological park, crossed by people walking the dog, jogging, or cutting through on the way to work. Despite the historical weight of the place, the tour buses do not come here: the area is made of five- to seven-storey buildings, schools, shops and two neighbourhood squares, far from the Acropolis-Plaka-Monastiraki circuit.

The sacred grove

Before becoming a philosophical school, the area was a sacred olive grove dedicated to Athena, connected to the Athenian hero Akademos from whom it takes its name (the archaic form was Hekademia). The statesman Cimon enclosed it with a wall, and the road that left through the Dipylon gate ran through it, lined with the tombs of the Athenians. The Academy continued to function for centuries, until the Roman general Sulla, during the siege of Athens of 86 BC, ravaged the site and cut down the sacred olive trees to build siege engines.

What you can see

The visible remains are concentrated along Kratylou street and its surroundings, and are almost all foundations: it takes a little imagination, but the signs help you understand what you are looking at. The Sacred House, of the Geometric period (around 800 BC), is a building with seven rectangular rooms arranged on the sides of a corridor; sacrificial remains were found inside it, a sign of intense religious use. Further south is the Gymnasium, with the palaestra courtyard where pupils practised wrestling; according to some scholars the northern part housed the library. There is also an apsidal house of the Early Helladic period, traditionally identified with the dwelling of the mythical Akademos. Perhaps the most important piece is the Square Peristyle (Tetragono Peristylio), of the 4th-3rd century BC, roughly 40 by 40 metres: it is probably the only large building that truly belonged to Plato's Academy.

The excavations

The first excavation campaigns were carried out between 1929 and 1940 by the entrepreneur Panaghiotis Aristophron, at his own expense; work resumed between 1955 and 1963 under the Archaeological Society of Athens, and continues today. A Digital Museum has also been opened in the park, with multimedia installations that reconstruct the historical context for those who want more than just the stones.

How to get there

To get there, the nearest metro station is Metaxourgeio (line 3, red), from which you continue on foot westward for about twenty minutes, or by an urban bus heading towards Akadimia Platonos. Alternatively, it is a manageable walk from the Kerameikos archaeological park. The park has no ticket or the rigid hours of a fenced site: it is a public green space, with a small open-air theatre and a playground. The best months are spring and autumn, when the Athenian heat is bearable and the trees give shade. It is worth pairing it with a half-day in the neighbourhood, perhaps with a stop at one of the local tavernas, where the prices are those of the real Athens and not of the historic centre.

Related guides: Lesser-known Greek islands: where the sea stays authentic · Tired of Santorini? The Greek islands with the same blue domes and half the tourists.

Practical guides for Roma

• Where to stay in Roma
• What to see in Roma in 2 days
• Where to eat in Roma
• How to get to Roma