Acropolis Museum turns 6, takes a look at the country’s broader ancient heritage

The Acropolis Museum turns six on Saturday, when it will also inaugurate “Samothrace: The Mysteries of the Great Gods.” The temporary exhibition showcases 252 ancient artifacts from the Archaeological Museum of Samothrace, with a number of ancient findings traveling from the northeastern Aegean island to the mainland for the first time. Meanwhile, the Winged Victory (Nike of Samothrace), discovered on the island in 1863, has returned to her position at the top of the Louvre Museum’s Daru staircase following a lengthy conservation project completed last year.

The show essentially marks the launch of a series of temporary shows whose aim is to present a number of outstanding artifacts from more remote Greek museums – a new idea which museum president Dimitrios Pandermalis and his colleagues at the busy Athens cultural institution hope will also encourage local and international audiences to visit the country’s different regions.

While the ancient Greeks did honor their gods in public, the “mysteries” in the title of the exhibition refers to the secret religious schools where participation was reserved to initiates, or “mystai.” The most famous of these mystery cults were at ancient Eleusis and Samothrace.

Among the artifacts going on display at the Acropolis Museum is a collection of items, including Minoan stamp-seals, from the site of Mikro Vouni, a community situated southwest of the Samothrace sanctuary, dating to the 2nd millennium BC, 7th century BC drinking vessels from the sanctuary’s Hall of Choral Dancers, as well as vases, ceramic figurines and jewelry from the necropolis.

On Saturday, the exhibition will be open to the public from 9 p.m. to midnight, complemented by the premiere of “Samothrace,” a 30-minute documentary directed by Angeliki Aristomenopoulou and co-produced by the Centre Culturel Hellenique (Greek Cultural Center) in Paris and White Room (screenings take place from 8.45 p.m. to midnight). A shorter version of the film, which explores the island’s landscapes and was developed with the support of filmmaker Costa-Gavras, will be screened throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Running to September 30, the Samothrace exhibition is organized in association with the Antiquity Ephorates of the Rodopi and Evros prefectures and archaeologist and Samothrace expert Dimitris Matsas.

Meanwhile, the festivities will continue on Saturday with the Athens Municipality Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir performing music from Greek films and operettas and songs from the interwar years at the entrance to the museum as of 9 p.m.

On the day, the museum will be open from 8 a.m. to midnight, with admission costing a reduced 3 euros.

The focus on Samothrace continues on Sunday with a scientific conference discussing the island’s recent archaeological activity, starting at 10 a.m. at the museum.

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For more information, visit www.theacropolimuseum.gr.