Hadrian's Library

Athens, Greece

Hadrian's Library was created by Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 132 on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens.

The building followed a typical Roman Forum architectural style, having only one entrance with a propylon of Corinthian order, a high surrounding wall with protruding niches (oikoiexedrae) at its long sides, an inner courtyard surrounded by columns and a decorative oblong pool in the middle.The library was on the eastern side where rolls of papyrus 'books' were kept. Adjoining halls were used as reading rooms, and the corners served as lecture halls.

The library was seriously damaged by the Herulian invasion of 267 and repaired by the prefect Herculius in AD 407-412. During Byzantine times, three churches were built at the site, the remains of which are preserved: a tetraconch (5th century AD), a three-aisled basilica (7th century) and a simple cathedral (12th century), which was the first cathedral of the city.

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Address

Areos 3, Athens, Greece
See all sites in Athens

Details

Founded: 132 AD
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Greece

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Riley M (14 months ago)
Where interesting archaeological site, but I was disappointed that there is little to no written information about any of the structures for site. There is small stone designs to describe what the building was in one word. For example, library section has the word “library”
nocolor natsu (14 months ago)
Beautifully remained grand entrance and some forms of auditory and library?✨Great historic place for "must go" ? We've already had the package tickets for other historical places, and those can keep 5days, 30€/person so it's enough decent amount to enter more than 6places ?
Anand (16 months ago)
It’s a nice structure to visit. The most impressive part are the columns that can be seen without visiting inside the grounds. There are couple of nice floor art/mosaic still preserved that is worth a look. When compared to other structures around, this pales in comparison. It will be a hit or a miss for some. They have a water tap inside the ground that you could use to cool off during a hot day (I did). If you like history and archaeology and time permits then it’s a must go, else have a look from the outside.
Amber Wang (16 months ago)
Remnants of an emperor’s library, I suppose. It’s cool to look at for a few minutes, but honestly there’s 0 reason to pay money to go inside. As everyone says, you can see everything from the outside! It’s part of the combined ticket with the Acropolis (which is worth going inside ;))
Stefan Borisov (17 months ago)
I am sure it was once amazing, but as it stands today, you can only see a couple standing columns and one wall which is only partially original. Unless you're a EU resident under 25 and you get to enter for free, I really don't think it's worth the price. The most impressive part about it, you can see from the outside, without having to buy a ticket.
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