The Spring Program of the Athens Friends of CIG and the Prehistoric Collection of the National Museum in Retrospect and Prospect

Kiapha Thiti from the south

Our Spring Program of the Athens Friends Association of the Institute starts on Saturday April, 5th with an excursion to southern Attica. Between Vari and Koropi there is an archaeological site called Kiapha Thiti on a prominent hill. Here in the early 1980s a team from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario excavated a fortified Bronze Age settlement with occupation as well in the Final Neolithic period and afterwards in the Archaic through Roman Imperial periods. While there are limited remains visible today we will nevertheless enjoy the scramble up the steep hill for a dramatic view across southern Attica. The tour will be led by Margarita Nazou, who studied the earliest (Final Neolithic-Early Bronze Age) ceramics excavated from Kiapha Thiti in her PhD thesis (Institute of Archaeology, University College London).

The rewards for this physical effort will be a visit to a local winery and lunch in a taverna. More details will be forthcoming in March. So save the date!

This spring our Friend’s program will feature two art exhibitions. The first, opening on Tuesday, May 6th, is by the French artist Pascaline Bossu. The exhibition is entitled “Nature & Paysage – intensitiés grecques.” The exhibition presents a series of chalk drawings, pastels and inks on the theme of Greek landscapes and flora.

Chris Stewart’s time in Greece is drawing to a close we are sad to report. To commemorate our fond association with Chris over the past few years he will mount a final exhibition in Athens with a fascinating title, «Αντíο κι ευχαριστώ για τα ψάρια». The opening date is Wednesday, June 4th. The exhibition is a look back at how Greece has influenced Chris’ art. The works in the exhibition examine how living all of the seasons in Athens, learning from the people and the environment, and simply being in Greece has inspired him to create. The material of this show is varied; mixed media, photography, and fine art collide.

Early view of the prehistoric collection in 1912

Lecture on the Prehistoric Collection of the National Museum
As one enters the National Museum, in the central corridor is one of the jewels of the Museum, the world famous Prehistoric Collection. This collection was founded in 1891 to display the “prehellenic art” of Greece. Until the creation of a network of museums throughout the country, where new finds would be displayed close to their places of discovery, the National Museum was the repository of all prehistoric finds. Over the years the Prehistoric Collection has had an interesting history.

Opening of the Minoan Exhibition in 1938

On Monday, February 17th at 6:30 PM, Dr. Eleni Konstantinides-Syvridi and Dr. Kostas Paschalides, the present Curators of the Prehistoric Collection, will give a lecture in Greek entitled «Η Συλλογη Προϊστορικων Αρχαιοτητων του Εθνικου Αρχαιολογικου Μουσειου: Παρελθον, παρον και μελλον». They will explore the rich history of the Collection, discuss its present situation and suggest new directions for the future.

The Akrotiri frescoes exhibition in 2004

This lecture is sponsored by the Syllogos Filon tou Istorikou Archeiou tis Archaiologikis Yperesias. The lecture will take place at the Historical Archive of the Hellenic Archaeological Service at Psaromylingou 22 on the border of the Kerameikos and Psyrri Districts. The Theseio Electric Train Station is the closest station.

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director