What Is The Archaeological Museum Of Eretria?
The Archaeological Museum of Eretria is found in Eretria, in the Euboea regional unit of Central Greece. Eretria is a coastal town in Evia and the gateway of the island and can be reached by ferry from Oropos, Attica.
The Archaeological Museum of Eretria is located adjacent to the archaeological site of Eretria. It contains artifacts unearthed at Eretria, Magoula, Xeropolis, the cemetery of Skoumbri, Palaia Perivolia, Toumba in Lefkandi, Paliochora, and the Geraki hill in Amarynthos.
Many of the artifacts found at Eretria are on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and in the Louvre in Paris.
History
The Archaeological Museum of Eretria was built in 1960. It was enlarged the next year and underwent further renovation and extension between 1989 and 1991. This was done by the 11th Ephorate of Antiquities of the Greek Archaeological Service in collaboration with the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece. The Swiss School also funded the project.
The permanent exhibition was renewed in 2014 through a donation from the Federal Office of Culture of Switzerland.
The exhibits cover all the periods of antiquity and originate from the wider region. Among the most important are the finds from the protogeometric cemeteries of Lefkandi and Eretria and the sculptures from the temple of Apollo Daphnephoros.
Interest For Today
Two rooms in the museum exhibit the important finds from Eretria as well as those from Lefkandi and Amarynthos. Several sculptures and inscriptions are displayed in the gallery and the garden.
Excavation at Eretria has unearthed some notable sculptures which are on display in the museum, including those from the west pediment of the archaic temple of Apollo Daphnephoros that depict an Amazonomachy. One of the sculptures representing Theseus and Antiope, is believed to have been made by the famous Athenian sculptor Antenor in the 6th century BC.
The museum also contains Archaic relief pithos fragments decorated with representations of birds devouring bodies dated to the 7th century BC.
Some of the most important exhibits of the museum are:
- A funerary black-figure amphora, dating to 560 BC from the coastal necropolis of Eretria. On the one side it portrays a fight between Herakles and Centaurs, while on the other side Potnia Theron, the Mistress of the Animals. This Minoan deity is considered a prodromal form of the goddess Artemis.
- A Panathenaic amphora dated to around 363-362 BC with the armed goddess Athena portrayed on the front and on the back an illustrated scene from the Panathenaic contest for which the vase was the prize. In this case, wrestling. It was found during the excavation of a house in Eretria. These large vessels, full of oil, were given as prizes to the winners of the Panathenaic Games.
- A terracotta gorgoneion dated from the 4th century BC which belonged to the decoration of the House with the Mosaics at Eretria. Gorgoneion was the depiction of the head of Medusa Gorgo, the mythical creature whose image was considered in classical antiquity as evil-averting.
- Clay alabastron of the late Mycenaean period, between 1200 – 1000 BC, from Lefkandi. It has three handles and is decorated with white matt paint on a dark surface. The shoulder and body bears figures of a griffin, doe, and deer.
- A necklace made of faience beads representing Isis and Horus, dating from the Protogeometric period, 11th – 10th century BC. Is was found at the cemetery of Lefkandi along with other valuable items imported from Cyprus and Phoenicia. The finds confirmed the interactions of Lefkandi, located in the wider region of Eretria, with Cyprus and Phoenicia during the early historic times.
- The clay terracotta Centaur of Lefkandi, dating to the 10th century BC, was discovered broken in two parts. Each was placed in a different grave and is the earliest representation of the mythical creature composed of part human and part horse.
- Funerary amphora dating to the 8th century BC portraying geometric patterns and birds contained the cremated bones of a child. In terms of shape and decoration, this pot is a characteristic product of the Euboean pottery workshop.
- A black figure epinetron illustrating a symposium scene from Amarynthos dating to the end of the 6th century BC. One of the most unusual pottery shapes, the epinetron, was placed over the thigh during the preparation of wool for weaving.
- The pedimental sculptural complex of Theseus and Antiope from the temple of Apollo Daphnephoros, dating to the 5th century BC. It is one of the most important examples of the Late Archaic period and represents the abduction of the queen of Amazons Antiope by Theseus, the legendary king and founder of Athens. The scene includes the goddess Athena, which was the central figure, and several fighting Amazons. The decoration of the temple is considered as a work of the Athenian sculptor Antenor, to whom is also attributed one of the most renowned Kore statues of the Acropolis museum, the “Antenor Kore”.
Hours of Business
- Monday: closed
- 1 June to 31 October: Tuesday – Sunday from 09:00 – 16:00
- I November to 31 May: Tuesday – Sunday from 08:00 – 15:00
Holidays
- 1 January: closed
- 6 January: 08:30 – 15:00
- Shrove Monday: 08:30 – 15:00
- 25 March: closed
- Good Friday: 12:00 – 15:00
- Holy Saturday: 08:30 – 15:00
- 1 May: closed
- Easter Sunday: closed
- Easter Monday: 08:30 – 15:00
- Holy Spirit Day: 08:30 – 15:00
- 15 August: 08:30 – 15:00
- 28 October: 08:30 – 15:00
- 25 December: closed
- 26 December: closed
Tickets
- Full: €2, Reduced: €1
Free admission days
- 6 March (in memory of Melina Mercouri)
- 5 June (International Environment Day)
- 18 April (International Monuments Day)
- 18 May (International Museums Day)
- The last weekend of September annually (European Heritage Days)
- Sundays in the period between 1 November and 31 March
- National Holidays
- The first Sunday of every month, except for July, August, and September (when the first Sunday is holiday, then the second is the free admission day.)
- 27 September, International Tourism Day
Reduced admission for
- Citizens of the E.U. aged over 65
- Students from countries outside the E.U.
- Free admission for:
- Journalists
- Members of the ICOM-ICOMOS
- Persons possessing a free admission card
- Persons under 19
- Soldiers carrying out their military service
- Tour guides
- University students from Greece and the E.U.
Contact information
- Address: 1 Archaiou Theatrou & Isidos Streets, 34008, Eretria, Evia, Greece
- Telephone: +30 22290 62206
- Email: protocol@iaepka.culture.gr
How To Get There?
Eretria is about a one-hour drive north from Athens. It can also be reached by train, bus, or taxi.
