Cycladic Society 5000 years ago

In 2016, the Museum of Cycladic Art celebrated 30 years of creative presence with an exhibition entitled “Cycladic Society 5000 Years Ago,” which was open from early December 2016 to late March 2017. Since there are no known written documents that survived from the Early Cycladic period, this exhibition attempted to “read” in a simple and straightforward manner the social structure, activities, living environment, and, where possible, convictions and beliefs of the Cycladic islanders in the Early Bronze Age (3200-2000 BC) through their creations. Τhe exhibition was organized by the Museum of Cycladic Art in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, and housed 191 ancient artifacts: from its own collections, but also from the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades (98 artifacts from the Museums of Naxos, Apeiranthos, Syros, and Paros), as well as from the National Archaeological Museum and the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum.

The exhibition was organized with the financial contribution of the Associated Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation.

Cycladic figurines, in their present form, with their simple shape and clean outline, became popular because of their abstract art by artists from the 20th-century like Modigliani, Brancusi, Matisse, and Picasso. Viewed first as works of art, they were often presented in a strictly typological manner (meaning that they were organized with regard to their shape and morphological characteristics), without reference to their creators’ cultural environment. The “Cycladic Society 5000 Years Ago” exhibition aimed to fill that void and explore the daily life and undertakings of the Cycladic islanders 5000 years ago.

The publication includes eleven original scientific texts dealing with a wide range of subjects such as settlements, cemeteries, art and everyday life on the Cyclades islands of the 3rd millennium BC.

The 191 objects in the catalog are documented with comprehensive entries and analytical bibliography and presented with rich, colorful photographic material.