Temporary Exhibition

“Sounds of the Ancients”
Today, the ancient world is practically “soundless” for us, as the auditory memory has not been able to travel through so many centuries and carry the musical sounds to our times. In antiquity, music permeated all aspects of public and private life. However, regarding the musical instruments of the ancient Greeks, we draw valuable information from the surviving musical instruments, albeit fragmented, from written sources and the rich iconography.

From 13 May to 31 December 2023, visitors to the Archaeological Museum of Abdera had the opportunity to see the lyre, the barbiton, the three-stringed lute (pandura), the flute and other exact replicas of musical instruments as part of the temporary exhibition “Sounds of the Ancients”.

The exhibition, which was originally organised by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thesprotia, had as its starting point and main axis a set of seventeen reconstructions and imitations of ancient Greek musical instruments of the period between the 8th and the 3rd century BC, handcrafted by Giorgos Polyzos from 1984 to 1994 for the orchestra “EVRETIRIO” of the Cultural Students’ Club of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

In addition, there was a photo exhibition of objects depicting musical instruments from the Archaeological Museum of Abdera.

“Gold Wreaths from Macedonia ... and Abdera”
Gold wreaths appeared in the ancient Greek world in the late 5th or early 4th century BC. Most of them come from the rich tombs of men and women in Macedonia, Aegean Thrace, Asia Minor, Egypt, southern Italy, etc. The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki has one of the richest and finest collections of gold wreaths in the world. During the Classical and Hellenistic periods, Macedonian craftsmen, using a wealth of precious metals originating from the Macedonian land, were able to recreate them accurately mainly in gold, gilded copper and, less frequently, silver. This fact resulted in their presentation in a photo exhibition at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki from June 2011 to March 2012. Prompted by various exhibitions in the past, they were photographed by the professional photographer Orestis Kourakis, who specialises in computational archaeological photography, providing the “material” for this exhibition. After that, the exhibition was presented in many other museums in Greece and abroad.

The Ephorate of Antiquities of Xanthi, in cooperation with the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, was proud to host the exhibition entitled “Gold Wreaths from Macedonia ... and Abdera” at the Archaeological Museum of Abdera, adding two more gold wreaths, the only ones found in the Abderite land!

The exhibition was held from 22 January to 30 October 2022. The opening and parallel activities, such as guided tours for schools and wreath-making workshops, which had been planned in the context of the exhibition, were suspended for a short period due to the pandemic, but they took place as soon as the circumstances allowed it.

“Settlers and refugees in the Museum of Abdera”
Visitors could take part in the “Settlers and refugees” intervention from 2 July until 31 December 2022 at the Museum of Abdera.

The temporary photographic exhibition “Settlement of the refugees in Xanthi in 1922” occupied various halls so that the refugees who came 100 years ago from the Ionian coast, the other Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace could interact with the ancient settlers who had come from Ionia about 2,700 years ago.
Throughout time, obscure and untold stories of people who lived in the same hospitable land that welcomed them and made them their own are intertwined. History has swept stories of simple people away, and we have never learned about them. And we fight for their reconstruction through whatever evidence we trace in their new homeland. Personal artefacts of the settlers that we find in the excavations. Personal moments of refugees frozen in the photographic lens. The modern visitor is not merely an observer but interacts with both groups. Those who came unwillingly and those who came willingly have so much to tell us as long as we ask them. They can even listen to the visitor’s story if they wish to impart details of how he came to be, whether permanently or temporarily, in their place.

Three time levels, three parallel narratives.

Opening of the temporary exhibition “BioMuse. From bone fragments to people’s stories”
Did the food gatherer from Astypalaea travel to the Aegean? Was the girl who lived during the time of the first farmers and herdsmen in Paliabella, Roditis lactose intolerant? What do a Spartan and a Tenean have in common with a nobleman from Archontiko in Pella? Did the Abderite woman survive the trepanning surgery?

These questions are answered by individual biographies that bring to life the stories of ten real people who lived in Greece over the past 11,000 years. Visitors to the Archaeological Museum of Abdera will have the opportunity to meet them in the Multipurpose Room and get to know them throughout the temporary exhibition entitled “BioMuse. From bone fragments to people’s stories”. The exhibition is organised by the Laboratory of Natural Anthropology of the Democritus University of Thrace and Tetragon S.A. in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Xanthi.

The opening will take place on Friday, 17 May 2024, at 8.00 pm at the Archaeological Museum of Abdera. The event is part of the celebration of International Museum Day under the theme “Museums for Education and Research” and will be complemented by a presentation of the biographies by the Professor of the Department of History and Ethnology and Director of the Laboratory of Natural Anthropology of the University of Thessaloniki, Christina Papageorgopoulou. Α reception will follow in the foyer of the Museum.

The exhibition will be hosted until 31 August 2024 and will be open daily, except Tuesdays, during Museum opening hours (08:30-15:30).
 
Admission will be free to the public on Friday, 17 May and Saturday, 18 May, as part of the celebration of International Museum Day.