Travel through time at the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture

Antonis Benakis was an art collector who came from a political background, his father, Emmanuel Benakis, being a politician himself. Despite his non-artistic background, Benaki was heavily influenced by his father and acquaintances in the political and financial industries who also took a deep interest in Greek culture.

Gifted with an artistic eye, Benaki focused his efforts towards this creative direction as his main profession. He began seriously investing in art collecting, and once he permanently settled in Athens in 1926, Benaki founded his very own museum to display his impressive collections gathered from all over the world.

The museum’s building in itself holds history. It was famously designed by Anastosios Metaxas in 1911, fitting as one of the most beautiful neoclassical buildings in all of Athens. Being too small to withhold all of Benaki’s pieces, the building was first extended in 1930 in order to house the second half of his ancient Greek collection as well as his Islamic and Chinese art. Further extensions were made in the 60s and 70s to accommodate more donations after Benaki’s death. Finally, the building was renovated into separate ‘houses’ to segment different collections (such as the Museum of Islamic Art, the Ghika Gallery, the Delta House, or the Toy Museum) and entirely redesigned in the late 1980s to 2000s amounting to today’s brilliant final result!

Amongst his collections, which include a large variety of Ancient Greek and Roman art, Benaki also took a liking in collecting religious-toned artefacts such as Byzantine art and Islamic drawing, paintings, and print. But his gift doesn’t end here. Benaki also satisfies other artistic styles (such as touches of realism & naturalism) and materials (such as sculptures, jewellery, and authentic Chinese ceramics) which are also displayed permanently in the museum. Finally, another permanent component of the museum is its fabulous library that hosts up to 2,000 written publications on the topics of his collections, mainly those of Greek and Roman art.

However, the most impressive feature of the museum is Benaki’s famous diachronically arranged collection of Benaki's Ancient Greek and Roman artwork from prehistory to the 20th century,until he died in 1954.

It is segmented chronologically in 5 periods: Prehistoric times (featuring mainly pottery, tools, figurines, ‘royal’ tombs, or yet again jewellery), Geometric and Archaic periods (vases, sculptures), Classical period (sculptures, vases, figurines, jewels, and coins), Hellenistic period (marble portraits, faience and ivory works, pottery, jewellery, and other treasures), and the Roman period (fine jewellery, portraits, and funerary steles).

The Benaki museum showcases temporary exhibitions from various disciplines and artists all over the world. Here is a list of three collections that are a must-see as of right now:

1. ### The Grand Tour, (open until the 1st of June, 2025)

The Grand Tour exhibition showcases British Government-owned art lent from the British Embassy of Athens to the Benaki Museum in the spirit of reviving the Greco-British connection, sharing their histories, and mediating their diplomatic ties. 

Amongst the 17 works displayed is the famous portrait of Lord Byron by Thomas Phillips in memory of his death marking a bicentenary in 2024. You may also find the collaborative 19th and 20th century works of iconic artistic duos, Joseph & Anton Schranz and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika & John Craxton, who offer an esthetically pleasing ensemble of classicism and modernism, with a splash of refreshing watercolours on a white backdrop. What a show!

2. ### The Origins of Sculpture, (open until the 7th of January, 2024)

Travel through time and walk amongst the sculptures designed by our ancestors in this temporary exhibition. 

Spanning an impressive stretch of time, the exhibition explores sculptures dating back to 2.5 million years ago to a slightly more recent 50,000 years ago. Indeed, this collection gathers nothing but detailed and raw masterpieces made by the Homo Sapiens. In addition to archeological sculptures, the exhibition displays 3D-printed casts based on the ‘First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone’ and prehistoric tools from the Palaeolithic site of Rodafnidia in Lesbos, recently discovered and lent by the University of Crete. 

3. ### George Hadjimichalis, works from 1966 to 2022, (open until the 14th of January, 2024)

The George Hadjumichalis collection is a national representation of postmodern contemporary Greek art. The particularity of this artist is his creativity and liberty when experimenting with various visual art forms such as video, photography, text, prints, and much more. He plays with dimensions and tests the unordinary to compose masterpieces that shall be inspired for generations to come. 

The Museum of Greek Culture is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM, on Thursday from 10 AM to midnight, and on Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM. 

The Cafe-Restaurant is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 1 AM. 

Full Admission tickets cost 12 euros, whereas temporary exhibition tickets are 8 euros. Reduced Full Admission at 9 euros and Temporary Exhibition at 6 euros for students, seniors over 65, teachers, archaeologists, conservators, members of Hellenic Chamber of Fine Arts, Hellenic Ministry of Culture card holders, and European Youth Card holders. 

1 euro admission for Journalists. 

Free admission for permanent exhibitions every Thursday from 6 PM to 12 AM. 

Free admission for permanent and temporary exhibitions on International Museum Day (May 18th).

Note: The museum is closed every Tuesday and on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Epiphany, Clean Monday, March 25th, Easter Day, Easter Monday, May 1st, Holy Spirit Day, August 15th, October 28th, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. 

The museum is located at 1 Koumbari Street and Vas. Sofias Avenue, 106 74 Athens. 

Kolonaki Square Roofgarden Studios offers one of the best hotel views in all Athens, with the city, its surrounding valleys and the sea! Rooms are simple, modern, and comfortable - but what truly differentiates this hotel from others is its abundant terrace accessibility from all rooms. These more than sufficiently large balconies offer their guests the incredible possibility of watching lively Athens from the comfort of their rooms. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a cocktail or snack as Athens blows you away. Indeed, thanks to this feature, all rooms are delightfully luminous thanks to its many windows. In addition, the rooms are equipped with free wifi, TVs, and air conditioning! Finally, the Benaki museum is just around the corner, so that you can head over and discover Ancient Greece in a flash!