ATHENS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A masterpiece from the Athens Acropolis hill, the Moschophoros (Calf bearer) dated back to 570 BC, was presented at the city's landmark Acropolis Museum on Sunday in a new display to mark the festivities for this year's International Museum Day.
During an interesting guided tour, visitors watched on a wide screen the whole procedure of the conservation and learned the secrets that a sculpture can reveal as it is put on display.
"In the Archaic Gallery and in other galleries of the museum, we want to point out the most famous and great exhibits as they are, to take care of them with the best conservation techniques," Acropolis Museum President Professor Dimitris Pantermalis explained to Xinhua.
For the Moschophoros sculpture, the conservation team removed with surgical mastery the old massive leg props which were made many years ago and were like huge implantations in the sculpture and replaced them with light metallic ones which significantly improve the aesthetics of the exhibition.
"In the museum we use the latest technologies and to a great extent an innovative laser technique. With this the sculptures are being meticulously cleansed of grime without touching them and without touching the patina, that orange hue that the statues took on with the passage of centuries," he said.
Among these works, Pantermalis highlighted the example of the Caryatids, which have been undergoing conservation work for almost two and a half years and shortly will return on display bright and glowing.
"Through their conservation, they have revealed us many new elements, their history and all the hardships they have been throughout all the centuries," he told Xinhua.
For the feast of the day, the Acropolis Museum in collaboration with the Hellenic Mint produced also commemorative medals dedicated to the "Acropolis' hare".
Visitors were surprised to find out from museum's archaeologists attractive stories about the hare and other animals as well.
"For the ancient Greeks, the hare was a symbol of great speed, there were also references in the Aesop's Fables and were depicted in ancient Greek jars next to runners," Pantermalis noted.
All Greek museums across the country celebrated the International Museum Day with free entrances, special events, guided tours, concerts and workshops.
"Culture has always been the identity and will always be our passport to Greek extroversion, which we need and we want," Greek Minister of Culture Panos Panagiotopoulos said.
This year's motto "Museum Collections Make Connections" marked the contribution of the museums to the development of the society by creating bonds between visitors and objects in their collections.