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.
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.
Where to Stay in Athens
Some other Athens pages
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.
The Athens Museum of Cycladic Art houses a remarkable collection of Cycladic figurines and other items and is one of the best museums in Athens.
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.
Athens walking tours and other experiences like cookery lessons, ceramics workshops, dining with a family, and street art are available from Alternative Athens
Athens Airport hotels include the luxury Sofitel at the terminals, Holiday Inn near the airport, and others close by like the Hotel Pantheon.
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.
Easter in Athens is, like everywhere in Greece, the biggest religious celebration of the year and this page tells you what to expect over the Easter weekend.
The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.
If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.
A History of Athens from the first people to live on the Acropolis through the Golden Age of Pericles and Alexander the Great to the military junta.
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.
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.
There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.
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.
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.
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.
This extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..
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.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Monastiraki Flea Market, followed by Sunday lunch at Sigalas on Monastiraki Square
Athens International Airport is east of Athens city centre with its own Metro train station, buses to Athens and Piraeus, taxis and car rental offices.
The Athens Acropolis has the city's most iconic building, the Parthenon, along with other historic buildings and is where the Elgin Marbles were taken from.
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.
Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.
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.
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.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
-
Epirus in northwestern Greece has been recognized as one of the Most Welcoming Regions on Earth for 2023, according to Booking.com’s recently announced Traveller Review Awards list.
Read More
-
Thessaloniki in northern Greece is preparing to host the 17th International ‘Alexander the Great’ Marathon-bwin that is scheduled to run on April 30.
Read More
-
Athens, Rhodes and Milos are the three Greek destinations competing with popular cities in Europe for the title of “European Best Destination 2023”. The competition is being held for the 14th consecut…
Read More
-
Package holidays to Greece, which include accommodation for a week, will cost UK travelers 30 percent more this year compared to 2022, according to UK consumer association Which?.
Read More
-
The restoration of Thessaloniki’s old municipal slaughterhouse building complex will be completed with the creation and opening of a virtual industrial museum, according to an announcement by the city…
Read More
-
Ferries will stay docked at ports across Greece during February 8-9 after the Pan-Hellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO) announced a 48-hour strike in all ship categories.
Read More
-
Trikala is a city in Thessaly, noted for its traditional architecture with lots of things to see and a good base for visiting the monasteries of Meteora.
Read More
-
The Greek Culture Ministry recently released photorealistic images of a new museum in Thessaloniki that will host artefacts discovered during the city’s metro excavations. Following the ministry’s ann…
Read More
-
The Greek city of Trikala in Thessaly has been chosen as one of Europe’s 18 Best City Break Destinations for 2023 by digital magazine Time Out. Launched in 1968 as a London-only publication, Time Out…
Read More
-
The archaeological museum of Chios, whose award-winning design stands as a characteristic example of 1960s architecture, will soon see renovation works that will include a state-of-the-art expansion.
Read More