Massive Exhibition of Greek Treasures from Agamemnon to Alexander’s Era Goes to the US

The Field Museum in Chicago, USA, has announced that it will open “The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” in November.

“We are honored to be able to present such an important exhibition that shows the emergence of Greek culture from its roots in the early agricultural villages of the Neolithic to the imperial expansion of Alexander,” Field Museum Curator, William Parkinson, said in an announcement.

The exhibition will take visitors on an extraordinary journey through more than 5,000 years of Greek history and culture — from their Neolithic origins to the expansion of Greek culture into Asia and Africa under Alexander the Great. Drawing from the collections of 21 Greek museums, it will be the largest exhibition on the ancient Greeks in North America in 25 years.

The Field Museum.

“This exhibition is not your typical Art Historical display of pretty vases and statues; it really gives the visitor an opportunity to see the evolution not only art, but also of Greek culture, politics, and economics over the long-term”, Mr Parkinson added.

“The Greeks” contains more than 500 magnificent ancient artifacts, many of which have never been seen outside of Greece.  The artifacts in the show include iconic objects from the tombs of the Bronze Age rulers of Mycenae and the earliest aristocrats of Archaic and Classical city states. Also included are astonishing finds from the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.

Visitors to the exhibition will get a glimpse into the individual lives of the Ancient Greeks including Minoan and Mycenaean rulers and priestesses, aristocratic warriors and ladies of Archaic Greece, athletes of classical Athens, and Philip II.

“The Greeks” is co-presented in Chicago by The Field Museum and the National Hellenic Museum, and made possible by the generous contribution of The John P. Calamos Foundation and John P. Calamos, Sr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Hellenic Museum.

An exhibition developed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports (Athens, Greece), The Field Museum (Chicago, USA), the National Geographic Museum (Washington, DC, USA), Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex (Montréal, Canada), and the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, Canada).

“The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” will open on November 26, 2015 and run until April 17, 2016.