Akadimia Platonos

A musician plays a santour during a revival of the Klidonas ritual at the park of Akadimia Platonos (Plato's Academy) in central Athens, in a photo released on Saturday. Involving music, singing, dancing and leaping over fires, the ancient custom, which has both pagan and Christian roots, was celebrated Tuesday to mark the Summer solstice and the birth of Saint John the Baptist.

Tsolakis Architects have won the top prize among 17 proposals in the architectural competition launched in August for the new Athens Archaeological Museum in Akadimia Platonos, inside a recreational park and archaeological site in western Athens which was the site of Plato's Academy.

The municipality of Athens announced Tuesday it is opening heated areas in the city center to protect the homeless from the cold snap expected on Tuesday night.

The new culture minister, Lina Mendoni on Tuesday sought to underline the priorities of the new government in her field, heralding a revamp of the capital's historic center and plans for "sustainable development" in regions that host some of Greece's most significant archaeological sites and monuments.

The Athens Open-Air Film Festival is holding a free screening of the 1964 James Bond classic "Goldfinger," starring Sean Connery as 007 and Gert Frobe and the big villain on Friday, June 15. The screening, a cooperation with the British Council, will take place at Akadimia Platonos park (137 Monastiriou Street), starting at 9.30 p.m.

Get your reggae groove on at the Quilombo Cultural Center's annual spring street party on Saturday, May 5, which this year is dedicated to the genre which emerged in Jamaica in the late 1960s and was popularized by the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and Ken Boothe. The party starts at 10 p.m. and is free of charge.

Had Stavros Dimos chosen a different path in life, say science and being confined to the laboratory, he may have made some important discovery. After all, he has all the right ingredients for greatness: He's methodical, goal-oriented, dependable, hardworking and talented, not to mention a bit of a nerd.

Central Athens, the city's southern suburbs and Piraeus are expected to be the main locations of the next generation of shopping centers planned for the broader capital region by the end of the decade.

The Muchatrela band, known for brightening the days of harried Athenians with their street show blend of lively Balkan brass and Caribbean calypso in the city center, will be getting revelers in the Carnival mood at a costume party at the Quilombo cultural space on Friday, February 24. Admission is free of charge.

At least four major malls are scheduled for completion in Attica by 2019-20 in a combined investment of more than 800 million euros, as shopping centers appear to be crisis-resistant in Greece.