Two-and-a-half millennia since his death, the politician who drove Athenian democracy to its height, Pericles, is returning to his homeland to spend some time under the Acropolis. The marble bust of the ancient Athenian leader in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin will be on display in the new Acropolis Museum for six months starting this fall.

This is going to be the first temporary presentation of the new museum, entitled “Pericles Xanthipou.”

“Pericles Xanthipou” is “a series of single-theme presentations that the Acropolis Museum is running on its ground floor,” the manager of the new Acropolis Museum, Dr. Dimitris Pantermalis, was quoted as saying in the Greek daily Ta Nea.

Pericles is often feted as politician who made Athenian democracy thrive. This exhibition will also focus on Pericles as the man who inspired the construction program that started in 447 B.C., changed the landscape of classical Athens, and eternalized in marble the achievements of the ancient city.

“All kinds of enterprises should be created which will provide an inspiration for every art, find employment for every hand.... we must devote ourselves to acquiring things that will be the source of everlasting fame,” Pericles said in a speech to the Athenian Assembly, as recorded by Thucydides.

Pericles personally oversaw the building of the Parthenon, the most ambitious construction project in Greek history, and it would be his greatest triumph.

Costing 5000 talents in the first year – $3 billion today – the Parthenon stood complete in less than 15 years, despite attempts by Pericles’ components to derail his plans.

Pericles’ bust will serve as the core of the showcase at the Acropolis Museum and will be accompanied by viewing material and other museum exhibits. The exposition aims to highlight the role of Pericles in the building program in part through the use of exhibit labels that provide insights into the building designs of the age, and written accounts for the colossal statue of Athena made of gold and ivory by Phedias.

It shouldn’t be difficult to draw visitors to the exhibit. Long lines outside the new museum are the norm. Over half a million people have visited it in the first two months of its operation. Ta Nea reports that between June 20 and August 26, 23,540 people – 60 percent of them foreigners – crossed the museum's doorstep.

The peak visitor days are Tuesdays and weekends. Most of the tickets bought over the Internet have been ordered by people in Greece, followed by the U.S., France, Germany, Cyprus, England, Italy, Spain, Canada and Australia.