Ticket prices for most ancient sites and museums in Greece are on the up as the Greek government seeks to increase much-needed revenue from its world-beating antiquities.

Single admission tickets for the Acropolis are to rise by about 66 per cent from €12 to €20 and those for the ruins of Knossos are to jump from €6 to €15.

According to Greece’s culture ministry, prices at other popular sites and museums will double, with the rises applied from next year to the peak tourist season between April and November. A 50 per cent discount will apply for the rest of the year.

Greece’s 200 state museums will be affected and the price hike will reportedly apply to Greece’s approximately 20,000 archaeological dig sites, which were previously free to visit.

Culture ministry official Ioanna Baltsou defended the increases, saying “the price adjustments put the rates on a par with those in the rest of Europe”.

Ms Baltsou added that unemployed people in Greece would be allowed free entry.

Greek travel agents, concerned that the price rises will discourage tourism, has asked for the new rates to be applied over a three-year period.

George Vardas, vice president of Australians for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures, said recent inaccurate reporting in the international media had confused people’s understanding of the new pricing regime.

“Some failed to distinguish between the cost of a single ticket to visit the Acropolis and the prices now imposed to visit another six archaeological sites, the cost of which was formerly covered by the purchase of a ticket for the Acropolis.

“While price hikes are generally viewed with dismay, increases in the cost of admission to Greece’s archaeological treasures are not unreasonable,” said Mr Vardas.

“By way of comparison, the price of entry to some of Europe’s great attractions such as Westminster Abbey, the Louvre, the Vatican and the London Eye is more than €20.

“As the writer Edward Hollis observed, ‘the Parthenon is perfect … it is what architecture was, is and should be’. €20 is a small price to see perfection in our lifetime.”