Museum of Cycladic Art a fine first stop on a tour of Athens
Like every summer, Athens makes an ideal historical starting point for tourists before they set off to explore the white-washed houses and sunsets of the Cyclades islands.
Set in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece, the group of around 220 islands is also the birthplace of the unique Cycladic civilization, best known for its idols carved out of the islands' pure white marble. The name Cyclades was coined in Greece's Archaic period (800 BC-480 BC) as the islands form a rough circle (kyklos) around Delos, the central and most sacred island of the time.
As the locals abandon Athens for their own vacations, visitors who want to explore Greece would do well to stop off at the Museum of Cycladic Art and take a look at the civilization which left an important mark on the world's cultural heritage.
