by Jackie and Malcolm Love stood among the tourists in the heart of Athens as they approached the Acropolis with a mixture of wonder and admiration. The largest classical site in the Greek capital was truly magnificent, they said, but the crowds were so great, even in April, that they preferred to experience it from afar.
“We didn’t go, not with all those people,” Jackie said, looking up at the fifth-century monument from the cobbled boulevard below. “We didn’t think it was the best thing to do, did we?” she said, nudging her husband.
The couple, enjoying a city break from their English hometown of Ipswich, had considered taking a private trip instead. Greece’s culture ministry is planning personalized visits to the ancient complex – for €5,000 (£4,285). “We wouldn’t pay that,” said Malcolm, a lorry driver. “Crazy prices,” Jackie chimed in. “Certainly not for people like us.”
The Acropolis has long been Greece’s biggest attraction, drawing more than 22,000 visitors a day last summer, forcing authorities to introduce strict controls, including a time slot system .
This year, officials have gone a step further, announcing a scheme that allows sightseers to beat the crowds and experience the Periclean masterpiece on an exclusive basis. The initiative foresees that up to four groups of five people will be guided by expert archaeologists around the site between 7am to 9am and 8pm to 10pm – before opening and after closing times – to avoid the thousands of lonely adventurers who go up the rocky hill . “We have received requests for this from tour operators for a long time,” said Nikoleta Valakou, president of the Hellenic Organization for the Development of Cultural Resources, a state body linked to the Ministry of Culture.
The ministry, she said, was willing to allow tours for individuals, provided they were willing to pay the group fee. “There will also be memorials,” Valakou said. “A replica coin, perhaps, or a copy of a small statue … something to evoke memories of the unique experience.”
But the move – part of an overhaul of ticketing policy at more than 350 archaeological sites and museums managed by Greece’s culture ministry – has sparked outrage and derision, including from archaeologists. Leaders have described it as impractical and critics have argued that it contradicts the spirit of the world’s dominant symbol of democracy. “The next thing you know people will be proposing and drinking champagne up there,” said Despina Koutsoumba, vice president of the country’s archaeologists association. “They’ll feel entitled, if they’ve spent that kind of money, to do whatever they want on the site.”
The very idea, she said, was “unacceptably exclusive”. After all, the monument was the emblem of democratic Athens where citizens enjoyed equality before the law.
“What this says is that Greece is willing to give people with money the ability to enjoy the Acropolis in a very exclusive way and leave out those who can’t afford it. We are completely against it,” Koutsoumba added.
Previously, the site was only accessible to world leaders, royalty and the occasional celebrity outside of opening hours.
The public, with the exception of academics and conservationists, has one day – the full moon of August – to experience the temples at night.
Opponents of the scheme have questioned the wisdom of the decision at a time when the country’s wealth gap is becoming ever sharper. “He is a clear elitist,” said Costas Zambas, who has led restoration works at the Acropolis for more than 25 years.
“The very notion goes against the spirit of where we are concerned with democracy. It doesn’t sit well.”
With Athens at the sharp end of the climate emergency, tourist guides have raised objections about the viability of a scheme that will see the site open at 9am instead of 8am for most. Last summer saw record temperatures of up to 45C (113F) in the Greek capital – continental Europe’s southernmost city – prompting officials to take the unprecedented step of closing the Acropolis closed for several days.
“If they push opening hours back to 9am because of these private tours it will be a disaster,” said Kriton Piperas, who was until recently the head of the 4,000 Panhellenic staff of the Federation of Tourist Guides. “For several years our union has been pushing for the opening of the Acropolis earlier precisely because of the changing weather. Don’t forget the lack of shade means it’s much hotter up there.”
More and more, he said, the right government of the Greek business center saw culture through an exclusively commercial lens. “They see the Acropolis and anything related to tourism as a product,” he said. “This idea of unique tours is like putting a price tag on the site, it reminds me of an auction where the highest bidder wins and says ‘you can have it for yourself’. It’s wrong and it’s bound to cause trouble.”
Ticket holders on cruise ships, which bring more day-trippers to the Greek capital, often book months in advance and are on very tight schedules. Most are waiting in line at the Acropolis by 8am.
In her office overlooking a central boulevard in Athens, Valakou said the culture ministry was on board with the criticism. It is estimated that up to €40,000 per day could be brought in because of the trips, with the money going to hungry cultural projects.
“Income will be reinvested,” she said. “As the Acropolis will be the first of its kind it will be a pilot program and we are open to change.”
Not all commandments are bad. Some people in the Greek diaspora were very happy with the scheme where it has already been suggested by the well-heeled that they will be signing up.
“I have heard from dozens of friends who have expressed interest in joining these customized tours,” said Peter Poulos, executive director of the Hellenic Initiative, a global philanthropic organization of the Greek diaspora.
“Why not release people with their money if it’s going to help protect and preserve our cultural monuments for future generations? We all support the highest ideals but at the end of the day the ideals are not going to pay the hard costs required to run a site of this size.”
