Benaki Museum

The Benaki Museum ranks among the great benefactions which have enriched the material assets of the Greek state. At the same time, it is the oldest museum in Greece, which functions as a Foundation under Private Law.

Through its extensive collections covering several different cultural fields, as well as its more general range of activities which serve more than one social need, the Benaki Museum is perhaps the sole instance of a complex structure within the wider network of museum foundations in Greece.

The museum today

Over the past two decades, the Benaki Museum has experienced a significant increase in the number of its objects, staff, visitors and activities. This has led to a redefinition of its role as a museum, taking into account the demands of contemporary society and the need to ensure and faciliate the Museum’s future operation.

In the light of past developments and current opinions, it was deemed necessary to divide the Museum’s collections and services into several different entities. This will be accomplished by moving the Museum’s Islamic collection to a group of buildings in the Kerameikos district of Athens which were donated by Lambros Eftaxias and which are presently undergoing restoration, by moving the Department of Historical Archives to the house of Penelope Delta in Kifissia which was donated by Alexandra Papadopoulou, by moving the Museum’s collection of children’s Toys ang Games to the neo-Gothic mansion, left to the Museum by Vera Kouloura, and by moving the Photographic Archive to the apartment donated by Penelope Vlangali and Mary Carolou.

This reorganisation of the Museum’s structure has been influenced by contemporary trends towards decentralisation, which is realised in this case by the creation of a series of separate but interrelated annexes.

The well-known neoclassical mansion of the Benaki Museum continues to be the focal point of this new structure. It has nevertheless undergone thorough modernisation and has been extended through the addition of a new wing. This building will provide a home for the Greek collections of the Museum, offering visitors a rare opportunity to form a complete and uninterrupted picture of the historical evolution of the Greek people.