Description of the attraction
On the northern slope of the Acropolis is the Kanellopoulos Museum. It has a fine collection of antique and Byzantine art.
The museum was founded in 1976 on the basis of the private collection of Paul and Alexandra Kanellopoulos, which they donated to the Greek state. The museum is located in the former mansion of the Mahalea family, built in 1864. The Greek government bought the building specifically to house the collection.
The museum displays a variety of vases, figurines, jewelry, weapons, coins, inscriptions, sculptures, statues, paintings, woodwork and other interesting archaeological finds. The museum collection contains two rare amphorae of the potter Nikosthenes with Dionysian scenes and a perfectly preserved black hydria depicting a woman near the fountain house. Notable exhibits include Cycladic figurines and tanagreases, small terracotta figurines from the 4th-3rd century BC. from Tanagra. A separate place in the exhibition is occupied by the marble head of Alexander the Great (2nd century AD) and Fayum portraits. The variety of gold and silver jewelry from different historical periods deserves special attention.
The collection of the museum includes 270 Byzantine icons. And the icon "Beheading of St. Paraskeva" has the original signature of the famous icon painter Mikhail Damaskin (a representative of the Cretan school of icon painting).
The artifacts collected in the museum date back to 3000-1200. BC. until the 18th and 19th centuries AD. The collection provides an excellent insight into the Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean, Roman and other civilizations. Today the museum has about 6,000 exhibits. The exposition is arranged in chronological order and on specific topics, which allows tracing the entire development path and diversity of the art of Greek masters.
