GREECE PELOPONNESE ARCADIA TEGEA MUSEUM

The Archaeological Museum of Tegea was founded in 1907 as one of the first public museums of the independent Greek state. Recently, it has been extensively refurbished, with improvements to both the building and the exhibition, and reopened in 2014. It is now one of the very modern archaeological museums in Greece, very impressively displaying its items (although a bit dim) that seem to float in the air, but nevertheless there seem to come only a few visitors. This may be due to the fact, that the neighboring archaeological site of Tegea Alea is not well known (which is certainly unjustified) and that tourists usually prefer the coastal regions from where a trip to Tegea takes some time.

The exhibited items come from the area of Tegea and Episkopi, so the selection is a bit limited. But still there is a good representation of the Classical period, the written information is adequate, the staff is very friendly and the presentation is really nice.

Above left: Deep clay bowl fragment with incisions from Agiorgitika (5600-5300 BC). - Above right: Laconian clay skyphos rim (1050-900 BC). - Below left: Various bronze pendants (900-490/480 BC). - Below right: In the front heads of female figures, clay (500-400 BC). Behind fragments of female figurines, clay (600-500 BC).

Above left: Gorgoneion, marble, extracted from a wall of a house at the village of Alea (about 600 BC). - Above right: Tegean pilaster-capital with upright volutes, marble, region of Agios Ioannis Provantinos (510-500 BC).

Below left: Daedalic relief fragment, marble, from the sanctuary of Athena Soteira and Poseidon (625-600 BC). - Below right: Marble mould for the production of a prototype of a helmet crest, Tegea, 400-300 BC.