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The Byzantine and Christian Museum
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The Byzantine and Christian Museum (BCM) in Athens is the first national museum dedicated to Byzantium. Founded by special legislative decree in 1914, its mission is to study, preserve and disseminate knowledge of Byzantine and post-Byzantine heritage. It was initially housed on the ground floor of the Academy of Athens.

Part of the original collection came from the National Archaeological Museum, which made over the Byzantine sculptures found on the Acropolis, and from the Christian Archaeological Society, which first began collecting artefacts from churches and monasteries in the late 19th century. The artefacts (crosses, chalices, trays, tabernacles, holy vestments, icons, etc.) were donated in 1923, and first went on display in five halls in the Academy building.
The museum's collections grew considerably in the interwar years, with the addition of excavation finds and purchases from individuals and dealers.

In 1926 the Byzantine and Christian Museum moved to new premises granted by the Greek army - a two storey townhouse originally built for the Duchess of Piacenza, on Vassilisis Sofias Avenue in central Athens. Following modifications it was inaugurated in 1930 as a permanent home for the museum collections.

The exhibition of that time was set up on academic lines, to serve teaching purposes. The ground floor rooms were turned into mockups of Christian churches from different periods, so as to illustrate the evolution of eccelsiastical architecture and church building. Minor objects, mosaics, frescoes and icons were exhibited on the upper floor, arranged chronologically and by type, while sculptures were placed in the garden.

In the 1960s and 1970s the collections grew and were re-classified. New exhibitions were established, the museum’s first photographic collection was put together, and the conservation lab reorganized. Over the next decades new spaces were created and the museum took part in exhibitions both in Greece and abroad.

 Further reorganization and expansion continued into the first decade of the 21st century. Now extending over ​approximately 5,000 square meters, the museum exhibition space houses more than thirty thousand objects, including icon collections, sculptures, miniatures, wall paintings, ceramics, textiles, architectural members, manuscripts and copies from Greece and other areas in the Byzantine Empire, such as Asia Minor, the Black Sea, Eastern Thrace, Coptic Egypt, etc.

 The permanent exhibition numbers approximately three thousand artifacts, divided into two sections. The first contains objects and artworks dating to the Byzantine period (3rd - 15th century AD). Exhibits are organized so as to narrate stories and show different aspects of the Byzantine and post-Byzantine world, while also reflecting the changes in society and doctrine brought about by the arrival, dissemination, and eventual consolidation of Christianity within the borders of the Byzantine Empire. The second part of the permanent exhibition displays objects dating from the 15th to the 20th century, which demonstrate the evolution of the institutions, customs, religion, language, and common perceptions that moulded Greek identity.

In addition to housing the permanent collection, the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens organizes temporary exhibitions, offers educational programs to familiarize students with various aspects of Byzantine life and culture, and holds extensive photographic and historical archives.


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