Athens’ Benaki Museum
Athens’ Benaki Museum is one of the city’s top museums with an
outstanding collection, especially of Greek and Egyptian artefacts, in a
beautiful mansion.
The Benaki Museum in Athens
Photo by Dimboukas
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
The Benaki Museum in Athens is housed in a neo-classical
mansion built in 1867, but extended and refurbished several times over the
years. It contains a remarkable collection of Greek and Egyptian items. The
exhibits, and the house in which they are displayed, belonged to an Alexandrian
Greek cotton trader, Antonis
Benakis (1873–1954).
Gold Bracelet Showing the Owl of Athens
Over a period of 35 years he amassed a splendid selection of
artefacts, which he eventually gave to the Greek state for display in a museum.
He continued to help curate the collection, and to ensure the museum’s
financial security, until he died.
Our Pick of the Athens Guides
The mansion was thoroughly renovated in the late 1990s to
create a fine backdrop for the collection. Thirty thousand pieces illustrate
the daily life in Greece from ancient times to the 20th century.
El Greco's Adoration of the Magi
On Display in Athens' Benaki Museum
The collection incorporates paintings (including two by El
Greco), jewellery from Mycenae, ceramics, icons, clothing and Greek folk art,
such as bridal cushions, traditional clothing and decorative items.
Lord Byron's writing desk is one of the many items from the
War of Independence, along with other historical objects.
The Death of Markos Botsaris in the Greek War of Independence
The Egyptian collection is also fascinating. Early Coptic
textiles and jewellery give an impression of the wealth of artistic talent
found within this still-thriving community. A major attraction is a highly
unusual piece: a complete Egyptian reception room from a palace of the 17th
century.
Another showcase item from Egypt, where Benakis grew up in Alexandria and made his great fortune, is a wonderfully sensitive portrait of a man, painted on linen in the 3rd century AD.
Don't miss the café-restaurant at the top, with a terrace
that offers fine views and the perfect place to take a break after the time you
will no doubt spend walking round this wonderful collection.
Some other Athens pages
The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.
Piraeus is the port of Athens from where many ferries to the Greek islands depart, and it also has an Archaeological Museum and the Hellenic Maritime Museum.
This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
Greece Travel Secrets picks the best time to visit Athens with a month-by-month account of the weather, hotel prices and any special events that are happening.
Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.
Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.
Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.
Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.
Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.
Athens Airport hotels include the luxury Sofitel at the terminals, Holiday Inn near the airport, and others close by like the Hotel Pantheon.
Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.
There are lots of flights from Athens to Santorini as well as a ferry service from Piraeus, with flights to Santorini leaving from Athens International Airport.
The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.
The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.
Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.
The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.
This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.
The Athens Agora or ancient market is a must-see site and one of the best things to do in Athens with its restored arcade building, the Stoa, and its museum.
Pictures of Athens from the Greece Travel Secrets website
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to the original Athens Olympic Stadium, built for the 1896 Olympic Games and open to the public for jogging and photography.
Athens, an Eater's Guide to the City, is published by Culinary Backstreets, who do walking food tours in Athens and the book recommends the best places to eat.
The Greece Travel Secrets website looks at the Athens weather, the chance of rain, the climate in summer and winter and the best time to visit Athens.
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
Mount Lykabettos is the highest hill in Athens and provides some of the best views of the city, with a funicular cable car the easiest way to get to the top.
The beach resorts of Athens are easily reached from the city and also close are Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon, ancient Marathon and Rafina's port.
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