The main museums of Athens are the National Archaeological, the Byzantine, and the Benaki Museums.
There is also the Acropolis Museum, the National and Historical Museum, the Museum of Greek Popular Art, the National Picture Gallery, the Theatrical Museum, the Geological and Paleontological Museum, and others.
The National Archaeological Museum
It is one of the most important museums for ancient Greek art internationally. Unique in the world is its Mycenaean collection ( gold jewelry, precious stones ), the collection of Cycladic art ( statuettes and idols ), its collection of Archaic art ( the famous statues of young men named “Kouroi” and pottery ), and the recently discovered superb frescoes and other finds from Thera ( Santorini ).
The rich collection of vases covers the periods from the pre-Geometric era to the 4th century B.C.There is also the Epigraphical Collection as well as the Numismatic Collection of some 300,000 ancient coins.
The Byzantine Museum
It is housed in what was once a mansion of Florentine architecture, built-in 1848. It displays the features of Byzantine art and objects for use in churches, including works of art from Byzantine and post-Byzantine sculpture, paintings, small handicrafts, icons, and frescoes.
Many of the exhibits come from churches that formerly stood in Athens or its surrounding regions.
Benaki Museum
This was founded in 1930 by Antony Benaki. It is lodged in a neo-classical building and contains a rich and interesting collection of Ancient Greek and Byzantine art, jewelry, Oriental exhibits, and much Chinese porcelain from the Neolithic Age to the 18th century A.D.Also on display are textiles, embroideries, carpets, weapons from the Greek War of Independence, and jewelry of Coptic, Muslim, and Turkish art.
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