Megaro Mousikis Metro Station

What I can see

The station is adorned with the mosaic composition “Babouzina” by Panos Fidakis. Few notice that this is a mosaic and not a painting. The project is inspired by music, due to the proximity of the station to the Athens Concert Hall. The songbirds of the entrances head towards 5 wires at the centre of the station, which resemble a pentagram. The birds are in various positions referring to notes. The decoration of the station seems to be inspired by music also by the portraits of Maria Callas and Dimitrios Mitropoulos at the escalators.

What I can't see

Few also know that this was the last work of the 46-year-old artist, who died a few months after the station’s inauguration. The original name of the station was Ilissia, as the tram stop of the same name was located there, until the early 1950s. The original plan was the station to be constructed a little further north, on Mavili Square, but the construction of the Athens Concert Hall at that time was a game-changer, thus the station was constructed to Eleftherias Park. Moreover, an underground tunnel between the station and the Athens Concert Hall was planned, but never materialized.

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