The golden mask of “Agamemnon”.

Although is has been proven not to be Agamemnon’s mask, it is still a remarkable exhibit worth seeing. The theory of E. Schliemann was wrong and nowadays it is believed to be the mask of a dead king, who died three centuries before Agamemnon (16th century B.C.). You can see the mask together with other objects (jewels, golden artifacts, swords etc) found in Mycenaean royal tombs in The Mycenaean Collection Room right opposite the entrance.

The Artemision Jockey. This bronze statue (2nd century B.C.) was discovered with the Poseidon statue outside Artemision cape. The jockey was probably smelted separately from his horse. Pay attention to the depiction manner of the horse’s strained muscles as well as the agony on the face of the jockey.

Marble votive bas-relief: Dimitra, Persephone and Asclepius. Persephone stands on the left side of the relief holding two torches on her right hand. In front of her sits Dimita and on her right stands Asclepius. On the right side of the relief you can see six beggars who, according to the inscription, dedicated this bas-relief to Asclepius and to the two Elefsinian goddesses. Their names are curved on the bottom of the bas-relief, between crowns made from olive tree branches.

Hygeia’s (Goddess of Health) head. It was discovered in the temple of Athena Alea in Tegea and was obviously part of a statue. You will definitely recognize Ygeias head from numerous photos you have seen it in.

Efivos of Antikythira (Teenager of Antykithira). It is one more statue that caused disagreement among archeologists. It is obvious that the statue held a spherical object on his hand. That’s the reason why some argue that the statue represents God Pan holding an apple, while others claim that this is Perseas' statue holding Andromeda's head (340 B.C.) It was found in a shipwreck next to Antikythira in 1900.

The Child of Marathonas. It is a statue of a young boy named after Marathonas' gulf where it was discovered in 1926. The inscription on its base says that the child is a boxer. Apart from its left hand which is believed to be a later repair, this statue is considered to be a masterpiece. It is probably the work of Praxiteles or one of his students (330 B.C.).

The Thera exhibition. The most important items of this exhibition are the frescos which give valuable information about the life in the Aegean during the Bronze Period. The findings were discovered in Thera’s cape (Santorini) and constitute earliest examples of large scale painting in Europe.

Spring fresco: It depicts a rocky landscape full of bright red lilies and swallows flying in couples or alone.

The fisherman’s fresco: One of the most well preserved frescos depicting a naked fisherman holding two bunches of fish.

Fresco of two children boxing. Here you see two children boxing. The child standing on the left wears boxing gloves and earrings. Note their almond-shaped eyes.

Epigraphic Museum (Museum of Inscriptions). It is part of the Archeological Museum but has a separate entrance. It includes 14.000 inscriptions from Greece and Asia Minor and is the biggest epigraphic museum in the world.

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