ABSTRACT
The monumental projects made for the capital of the new Greek State are explained by the position of nineteenth-century Athens in the Hellenic world and in Europe, a position related to its ancient monuments and their importance in nineteenth-century Europe. However, when Athens became capital of Greece, it had not the necessary infrastructure for housing a European capital. Therefore, there was the problem to decide which buildings were more urgent: those housing the most urgent practical needs of a modern European capital, or those related to the connection of modern Greece to the cultural supremacy of ancient Greece.
