The best museums Greece

An immense collector, Anthony Benaki has spent thirty-five years collecting all these objects, dating from prehistory to the present day, housed today in this elegant museum of neoclassical architecture. This enthusiast then donated his house and rare pieces to the State in 1931. And to extend the experience, a gigantic, very modern annex has also opened its doors on Avenue Pireos, housing high quality temporary exhibitions.

On the ground floor , objects dating from the Roman, Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods. In particular, beautiful gold jewellery, mosaics and religious objects. Room 12, magnificent icons. Note in particular the one depicting Saint Anne and the Virgin and a superb altarpiece.

On the first floor are displayed popular art objects marking the development of Hellenism during the periods of foreign domination.

In particular, there is a very fine collection of costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries and, in room 14, a magnificent interior reconstruction. Rooms 17 and 19 house a mansion in Kozani, Macedonia. You will notice the alternation of sculpted vases and double-headed eagles characteristic of neo-Hellenic art. Room 23 houses an admirable collection of illustrations of the Parthenon. In room 26, a huge altarpiece depicting Saint John the Baptist, the Virgin and Child, Christ and Saint George slaying the dragon.

On the second floor , you can walk through the culture and economy of Greek society before the war, through books, traditional musical instruments and other tools of the time.

On the third floor, the objects evoke the passage between the War of Independence and the formation of the modern state. At the entrance is a membership card of the Philiki Etaireia, the secret society formed in preparation for the War of Independence. Many weapons in this room as well as portraits of generals. At the back of the room, photos of Costis Palama, a poet engaged in the struggle for independence, and Constantin Cavafy, a poet of the Greek diaspora.

Museum and shops. The Benaki Museum is one of the great gifts that increased the assets of the State, and at the same time it is the oldest museum organization, operating in Greece as an institution under private law. It consists of 6 exhibition spaces (the main building, the Pireos Building, the Museum of Islamic Art, the Yannis Pappas Studio, the Ghikas Gallery and the Delta Residence) and special departments such as the library and the shop.

The ancient section of this museum is not most consistent, but the maritime and naval part is much more complete. There are numerous models of boats, maps, navigational instruments…

In the museum's exterior gallery you can admire a statue of Apollo as well as statues of women in armour, embodiment of Iliad and Odyssey.

Windows 1 to 3 present objects from the Neolithic age and bronze age, as well as mycéniennes pottery.

The showcase 4 shows offerings found in mycenaean tombs.

By entering the museum, objects discovered in mycéniennes tombs (showcase 5), including an admirable little pyxide in ivory whose decor represents griffins attacking biches. Also the schematic of a mycenaean tomb and gold ornaments designed to be sewn on mortuary clothing.

In the storefront 9, the burial urn of a warrior beside the tomb of a girl.

In the 12 storefront, cooking tests that determined the ideal cooking for the pottery.

In the showcase 13, a funeral pythos (huge jar) still containing the remains of a child.

The showcase 20 transports us to the classical age and evokes the life of Socrates on the Agora. The most impressive of these is the collection of small vials that had to contain the hemlock that was being drunk to death prisoners. Also a statuette presenting the face of the famous philosopher.

The 27 showcase exhibits pieces of court at the time: the bronze ballot papers; full chips meant that the accused was executed while the hollow stems meant that they were being condemned. See also, the only clepsydra arrived to us. They were used to limit the time of the pleadings.

In the storefront 23 is a mould used for performances of Apollo.

The 24 wall display presents a superb spartan shield taken by the Greeks during a fight. Also notice the child's breakthrough chair of the storefront 35. Also try to understand the operation of the machine to allocate public charges placed on the storefront 28.

The showcase 29 presents a very nice vase as an athlete.

In the showcase 34 is exposed a shield taken by the Greeks to the Persians during the battle of Pylos.

The 38 showcase presents a large number of shards that captures names of the city's citizens. These shards were used at ostracism assemblies (ostraca means "ceramic" in Greek) which decided to refer the town's citizens to: It reads the names of Themistocles, Callixénos and Aristide the Righteous, who were exiled back to the same time between 417 and 487.

In the 44 storefront, you can finally admire the beautiful terracotta figures, especially those representing theatre characters. The busts exhibited later all date from Roman times, and ceramics from Roman and Byzantine eras. Among them are the very beautiful young satire and the fragment of soil in mosaic exposed on the wall of the bottom of the room.