Acropolis Museum president, ‘driving force’ prof. Pantermalis passes away

The president of the board of the Acropolis Museum, archaeology professor Dimitris Pantermalis, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 82.

Prof. Pantermalis was considered as a major protagonist in achieving the construction and subsequent operation of the state-of-the-art museum, which is located off the southern slope of the Acropolis in central Athens.

Establishing the specific landmark museum was deemed as imperative in boosting official Greece’s demand for a repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles (friezes) from the British Museum back to the country.

Before his pioneering effort regarding the Acropolis Museum, Prof. Pantermalis headed excavations by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki at the Dion site, in north-central Greece, essentially continuing the research and excavation commenced by Prof. Georgios Bakalakis.