"Beholding Liberty! At the Hellenic Parliament, two centuries later" Exhibition

"Beholding Liberty! At the Hellenic Parliament, two centuries later" is ready for visitors.

The exhibition focuses on testimonies of high historical and artistic value, in order to reconstruct intellectually and emotionally the supreme asset of the Revolution of 1821.

It unfolds in the two most monumental areas of the building, the Colonnaded Lobby (“Peristylio”) of the Plenary Hall and the “Eleftherios Venizelos” Hall, former Trophy and Aides de Camp Room.

Through contemporary museological approaches, the exhibition’s narrative utilises the cultural reserve of the Parliament, focusing on two unique historical sets:

• The Frieze of the Revolution and the Medals of the Heroes, i.e. the mural decoration adorning the former Trophy and Aides de Camp room, with 20 representations of war and political-diplomatic events from 1821 (proclamation of the Struggle) to 1833 (arrival of King Otto) and with 14 portraits of heroes, made around 1842-1843.
• The Archives of the Greek Revolution, an emblematic archival collection of the Library of the Parliament, comprising of 28 codes and ten thousand unbound documents from the period of 1821-1832.

The exhibition features 367 exhibits - manuscripts, books, paintings, engravings, sculptures, philhellenic plates, vases, musical score sheets and weapons.

The majority come from collections of the Parliament’s Library and from the Parliament’s Art Collection, as well as from the private collection of Michalis and Dimitra Varkarakis, the Averoff Museum in Metsovo and other private collections.

From abroad, a monumentally-sized “School of Athens” tapestry has been offered on loan, as well as an emblematic painting depicting Lord Byron in Messolonghi from Trevizo in Italy.

Tours of "Beholding Liberty! At the Hellenic Parliament, two centuries later" will take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11am and 3pm, as well as every Sunday at 12pm.

This is “an exhibition in the glorious chronicle of corresponding initiatives of the Greek Parliament”, said speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Konstantinos Tassoulas, adding: “learning where we started from and how difficult we started, we better understand ourselves, because we compare it with our own past and we call it to land our present and to be optimistic about our own future.”

The president of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou characterised the exhibition as “exceptional”.

She pointed out that “the necessity of establishing a constitutional state was expressed by the Greek insurgents from the first months of the struggle”, emphasising that “in the Constitutions of the Struggle the revolutionaries recorded everything that constitutes and guarantees the unity and cohesion of the nation.”

“We gratefully acknowledge their contribution, study their texts and honour their struggles,” Sakellaropoulou added.

On her part, President of the Greece 2021 Committee Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki  pointed out that in the 200 years after the Revolution, Greek women and men are called to take advantage of the opportunity that this anniversary gives us to respond to a corresponding challenge of accountability and vision.

Visitors are therefore invited to “behold” Liberty in the Hellenic Parliament, to gain access to the events that led to its achievement and to witness, through the power of art and speech, all the emotion that arises from this historic moment.

For more information, please click here- "Beholding Liberty! At the Hellenic Parliament, two centuries later"

*More on GCT: ‘1821 Before and After’ exhibition at the Benaki Museum, Athens