A window on the ground

The film presents the finds from the archaeological excavations which were carried out for the Metropolitan Railway of Athens and are exhibited in various underground stations and at “The City under the City” exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art. These finds, from the water system, the copper workshops and foundries, the multitude of vases with their painted representations reveal the quality of life in ancient Athens. The visitor hurrying along the city’s underground space, can simultaneously travel through time and compare his every day life with that of those who came before him, thus sensing the continuity of history. The film presents these two levels, “then” and “now”, the modern technological achievement of the Underground and the works of our ancestors, the modern way of life and the archaeological finds’ testimony of the way of life of the ancient Athenians. Despite the great distance separating us from them, we feel that we understand their motives and share their fears and hopes. Our guide for this voyage into the past, through the finds on display at the “City under the City” exhibition is Mr. Nicolas Stambolidis, professor of Archaeology and director of the Museum of Cycladic Art.