Glorious Victories. Between Myth and History through February 2021 at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece

In celebration of th 2500-year anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Naval Battle of Salamis, this exhibit presents 105 ancient works along with a model of an Athenian trireme of the 5th century BCE, assembled from the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the archaeological museums of Astros, Thebes, and Olympia, as well as the Konstantinos Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology.  A Roman copy of a 5th century BCE Greek bust of Themistocles has also been contributed by the Archaeological Museum of Ostia. Displays show the military attire of the Greek hoplites and Persian warriors and votive offerings made in the large sanctuaries of antiquity following the battles, including the helmet of Miltiades, the arrowheads from the battlefield of Thermopylae, and fragments of vases with traces of fire from the burning of Athens by the Persians. Figures of gods and mythical heroes are used to represent  the subsequent legends developed over later centuries that retold which gods and mortals joined forces to achieve the overall victory. 

https://www.thenationalherald.com/culture/arthro/national_archaeological_museum_glorious_victories_between_myth_and_history-1056028/


Image: Statue of Miltiades at the site of the battle of Marathon, image derived from an original image by Carole Raddato contributed to Wikimedia Commons.

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