The exhibition has retained a chronological structure –necessary in order to accommodate approximately 400 artifacts ranging in date from the 2nd millennium BC (focusing on material from Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece) to the 4th century AD– but builds and extends its narrative upon the concept of the image. 

The ancient Greek city is often called a ‘city of images’.  Few ancient civilizations have depicted their gods and heroes, their myths, their daily life and death in such detail. Representational art was not only reserved for public buildings and luxury items, but extended to simple objects of everyday or personal use.

Fifty thematically organized cases offer a synthetic approach to the prehistory and history of the Aegean and mainland Greece societies. The journey through time focuses on the continuous stylistic transformations of Greek art, and explores the changing role of images in the course of ancient Greek history. The exhibition includes stone vessels, pottery, terracottas, marble sculptures and reliefs, bronzes, gold ornaments, glass, and a representative selection of seals and coins. 

Introductory and thematic panel texts, extensive captions, and touch screen presentations provide information about the major socio-political, technological, and cultural developments of each period.

Beyond aesthetic enjoyment, the exhibition is aimed to offer a fresh look into ancient Greek societies. Visitors are invited to view objects within their historical environment, and contemplate upon their symbolic dimensions and the power of images to carry messages of various types. Thus, the monumental vases of the Geometric period decorated with funerary or heroic scenes are seen not only as manifestations of technical command but also as carriers for clarity and order, a dynamic characteristic of Greek art. The rich warrior iconography on vases of the Archaic period is not presented only as evidence of warfare, but also as a reflection of the rising importance of hoplites in the social life of the Greek city-states, the primary Greek institution.

EXHIBITION CONTRIBUTORS 
| Curator: Dr. Nikolas Papadimitriou, Curator MCA
| Architectural Design: Anestei Parisi, Andromachi Skourogianni