Archaeological Museum of Kythera, Kythira, Greece

Anyone visiting Kythira shouldn’t miss the opportunity to admire up close the findings exhibited at the island’s Archaeological Museum, in Chora. The space housing the museum has been granted by the Kytherian Association. The Museum has two halls. The first, the main hall on the right contains mostly findings of Prehistoric and Classical years from the island, the most important being the marble lion of the 6th century BC – probably from Paleokastro- found in the early 19th century.

In the second, smaller hall, are the findings of recent excavations as well as later samples –mainly Venetian- of the island’s history, such as stone coats of arms of the Venetian period and tombstones, also including the marble statue of Aphrodite and Eros, probably a Renaissance work from Venice. Specimens of prehistoric pottery, mainly from the Minoan and Mycenaean period from Paleopolis, marble sculptures, ceramics, inscriptions and coins are also presented. Due to lack of space many of the findings are exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus.

References:

kythera.gr

Address

Kythira, Greece

See all sites in Kythira

Details

Founded: 1981
Category: Museums in Greece

More Information

www.kythera.gr

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Castle of Chora (0,7 km)
The Byzantine Collection (3,6 km)

Paliochora (16,4 km)
Avlemonas Castle (11,9 km)
Monastery of Agia Moni (13,6 km)
Mylopotamos Castle (11,5 km)

User Reviews

Gary Hippman (2 years ago)
A small, well curated museum with great displays that are informative and interesting.

Peter Evenhuis (2 years ago)
Very detailed history from the island, it is small two rooms, so it doesn't need long to visit.

Shelly Saunders (3 years ago)
A small museum that's packed with interesting information about the island. Definitely worth a visit

Eirini Ap (4 years ago)
The curation is really good and the narrative of ancient Kythera is easy to follow. The general admission is 4 euros and when we visited there was no aircon so the heat was unbearable. The museum is clean and the collection is worth a visit. Your visit won't last long as this is a relatively small museum.

Chris Lee (6 years ago)
Despite advertised times, museum was shut on this Saturday May 18th. Our third try after local assurances it would open. Quite a few other people also frustrated. See attached note we found referring to 10 of those.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Ninara

Historic Site of the week

The Church of the Holy Cross

The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).

The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.

The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.

The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.

Archaeological Museum of Kythera