October – November 2022
The Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum continues the program “The Museum meets the City”, which aims to familiarize the public with its history and collections. The program includes thematic presentations and guided tours by the museum curators and invited scholars. The presentations focus on selected parts of the collection and the history of the museum, and address all age groups.
Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 October
THE ANCIENT WALLS AND THE ROADS OF ATHENS
At the basement of the Canellopoulos Museum there are preserved remains of the Medieval fortification wall of Athens, the so-called Rizokastro. Starting from this find, the archaeologists of “Dipylon – Society for the Study of Ancient Topography”, Vanda Papaeythymiou, Leda Costaki and Annita Theocharaki, together with the museum curator, Antonis Bekiaris, will guide visitors to the course of this wall and draw a lively picture of Medieval Athens.
Then, with the help of digital maps, they will present the fortification walls of other historical periods and explain their significance for the structuring of urban space. Also, they will speak about the city gates and the roads leading to other parts of Attica. Finally, they will discuss the practice of incorporating older architectural members or parts of sculptures in the masonry of fortification walls.
Moving to the museum terrace, the visitors will have the chance to observe the north wall of the Acropolis precinct, which contains many architectural members of earlier temples in its masonry. Then, with the help of archaeologists, they will attempt to trace the extent of the ancient city in the landscape and locate important topographical landmarks.
Presentations are in Greek.
Tours start at: 11.00 and 13.00
Duration: ca. 90’
Booking: by telephone (210 33 19 300)
Admission: with the museum ticket (standard 3€, reduced 2€)
Max. number of participants per tour: 30 (with protective mask)
Remains of the Medieval wall of Athens (Rizokastron) at the basement of the Canellopoulos Museum and details of a map from the online application “Mapping ancient Athens” bu the Society for the Study of Ancient Topography “Dipylon” (www.dipylon.org)Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 October
EARLY PRINTING & ARISTOTLE
In the collections of the Canellopoulos Museum there are two of the earliest books printed in Greek: a volume of the first edition of Aristotle’s Opera by the Italian scholar Aldus Manutius (1497) and the Etymologicum Magnum Graecum, which was published by Zacharias Calliergis (1498). Starting from these incunabula (15th century editions) and other editions of the 16th century, we will attempt to trace the development of early Greek printing and to explain its importance for the transmission of classical literature to the modern era.
TOUR: Irini Solomonidi, Senior Librarian of the Gennadius Library, American School of Classical Studies in Athens, will guide visitors to the collection of early printed books and present the early history of Greek printing and its implications.
WORKSHOPS: Antonis Papantonopoulos, artist-typographer and collaborator of the Museum of Typography at Chania, will present the methods of type-setting and printing in handmade paper and will speak about the technical side of early Greek printing.
Then, Stasinos Stavrianeas, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Hellenic Open University, will speak about Aristotle’s work and its impact on scientific thought in the Renaissance.
Presentations are in Greek.
Tours start at: 11.00 and 13.00
Duration: ca. 90’
Booking: by telephone (210 33 19 300)
Admission: with the museum ticket (standard 3€, reduced 2€)
Max. number of participants per tour: 30 (with protective mask)
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 November
THE ART OF WARFARE IN ANTIQUITY
Warfare was a popular topic in ancient Greek art. Countless vase paintings, reliefs, metal vessels, together with actual remains of weapons, allow us to study the character of warriors, their armour and the fighting techniques. In this seminar we will explore the nature of warfare from prehistory to Classical times through the collections of the Canellopoulos Museum.
TOUR: Stavroula Oikonomou, curator of antiquities and post-doctoral researcher at the University of Thessaloniki, together with the director of the Museum, Nikolas Papadimitriou, will guide visitors through the collection, focusing on the equipment of warriors, the preparation for ware, their departure to the battle, the organization and tactics of infantry, the violence of battle, and the treatment of human losses.
WORKSHOP: The experienced craftsman and researcher of ancient metal technologies Dimitris Alexandrou will present the manufacturing techniques used for making parts of the weaponry and will demonstrate how the various elements of the armour were used to protect the body.
All presentations are in Greek.
Tours start at: 11.00 and 13.00
Duration: ca. 90’
Booking: by telephone (210 33 19 300)
Admission: with the museum ticket (standard 3€, reduced 2€)
Max. number of participants per tour: 30 (with protective mask)
