The Iliou Melathron in Athens

The so-called "Iliou Melathron", the three-story mansion on Panepistimiou Street, was constructed between 1878 and 1880 as the residence of the excavator of Troy and Mycenae, Heinrich Schliemann. It was the most luxurious private building in Athens at the time and is considered the most significant work of architect Ernst Ziller (1837-1923), inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture and Athenian neoclassicism. In 1927, the mansion passed into the hands of the Greek state and subsequently housed the Council of State (1929-1934) and the Supreme Court of Greece (1934-1982). In 1935, the statues of ancient gods on the building’s crowning were removed following the collapse of one of them. In 1984, the mansion came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, and in 1985, it underwent its first restoration to house the Numismatic Museum. A second restoration process took place in the mid-2000s. Pictured: Heinrich Schliemann’s residence, "Iliou Melathron," in Athens in 1890. ©Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria ‘Christos Kalemkeris’.