Groundbreaking Greek Artifacts Exhibition at The Field Museum

“The Greeks—Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” exhibition, is drawing from the collections of 21 museums throughout Greece, making it the largest exhibition of its kind to tour North America in 25 years. The exhibition will open on November 25th at The Field Museum in Chicago.

Spanning 5,000 years of Greek history and culture, the exhibition presents stories of individuals from their origins in Neolithic villages through their expansion during the conquests of Alexander the Great.

The exhibition is making the first of two U.S. stops at The Field, and its appearance is the result of a first-of-its-kind partnership between The Field Museum and co-presenter, the National Hellenic Museum.

This groundbreaking art and history presentation was developed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs (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).

“We are honored to be able to present such an important exhibition that shows the emergence of Greek culture from its roots in early agricultural villages of the Neolithic to the imperial expansion of Alexander,” says Field Museum Curator William Parkinson. “This exhibition is not your typical art historical display of vases and statues; it really gives the visitor an opportunity to see the evolution not only of art, but also of Greek culture, politics, and economics over the long-term.”

The exhibition contains more than 500 magnificent artifacts, many of which have never been displayed outside of Greece. Show-stopping examples include stone figurines from the Cycladic Islands, gold funerary masks from Bronze Age tombs, classical marble statues of Greek poets, athletes, and heroes, and brightly painted ceramic vases featuring scenes from Greek mythology and daily life.

Woven throughout the exhibition are the inventions, innovations, and institutions that provide the foundation for much of Western culture. Scholars today trace the origins of modern democracy, the Olympic movement, Western philosophy, poetry, and theater back to Greece. Even The Field Museum’s architectural style owes a debt to the mathematicians, builders, and sculptors of ancient Greece who first devised the system of Classical architecture.

Tickets to The Greeks—Agamemnon to Alexander the Great are included in All-Access and Discovery Passes. Special discounts are available for Chicago residents. Visit fieldmuseum.org for prices and to purchase tickets. Special rates are available for tour operators and groups of 10 or more.