The Ministry of Culture has agreed to proceed with a special construction that will allow visitors to enter the Erechtheion of the Acropolis in small groups. Presently, the visitor may admire from a distance this elegant edifice and the six statues of maidens known as the Caryatids which support its roof.

Erechtheion used to be a temple which was built on the sacred rock of the Acropolis, in the 5th C. BC as a replacement of an earlier temple dedicated to Goddess Athena. The name Erechtheion derives from Erechtheus (earth born), the mythical king of Athens, who was worshipped there.

The building has been used in almost every historical period. In the early Christian period, it was converted into a church dedicated to Virgin Mary. During the Frankish Rule, it became a palace and under the Ottoman Rule, the building served as the Turkish commander's residence of his harem. In the early nineteenth century, Lord Elgin removed one of the Caryatids together with a column and during the Greek War of Independence the building was bombarded and severely damaged. In the 1980s, the Erechtheion became the first monument of the Acropolis to be restored as part of a project which was honoured with the Europa Nostra award.

See also: The Acropolis Museum in the Google Art Project