Melbourne Museum's new exhibition 'Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys' will be opening on Saturday April 23.
Melburnians will be able to dive into the trade, spirituality and art, ideas and culture of ancient Greece in an Australian-first exhibition which brings precious artefacts from Greece exclusively to Melbourne Museum.
Melbourne famously has the third largest Greek population of any city in the world after Athens and Thessaloniki, and Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys is set to set to engage Melbourne’s Greek community, in addition to the wider Victorian population, in just how crucial ancient Greece has been to humanity’s development.
Melbourne Museum and Greece’s National Archaeological Museum have collaborated on the exhibition, which will take attendees on a journey through the golden age of Greek politics and philosophy, through to the present day.
It offers a telling reminder that Greece continues to influence culture, politics and sport on a wide scale, despite the nation’s population of approximately 10 million people, despite the nation’s deeply troubled economy and position at the forefront of Europe’s struggle with the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis.
Open Horizons will showcase 44 treasures from the Early Bronze age through to the Roman period. Highlights include a 2,500-year-old marble sphinx depicting a female head with the body of a winged lion and a collection of artefacts depicting Heracles, the greatest of all Greek heroes.
“We are excited to be collaborating with the National Archaeological Museum to bring some of the most remarkable artefacts direct from Athens for audiences in Melbourne to enjoy,” Museums Victoria CEO Lynley Crosswell said.
“This captivating exhibition will invite visitors to explore the cross-cultural connections that contributed to the formation of Ancient Greece.”
Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys opens on Saturday, 23 April. Tickets are included with general entry to Melbourne Museum with more information available here.
