After years of closure for extensive renovations, the Archaeological Museum of Thira, located in Fira, is finally reopening to the public. Visitors will once again be able to explore its treasures starting Saturday, June 21.
At the heart of the museum’s collection is the renowned Kore of Thira — a rare masterpiece of 7th-century BC Greek sculpture. This extraordinary find came to light unexpectedly in November 2000 during a rescue excavation at the ancient city’s cemetery in southeastern Sellada, led by the late Thiran archaeologist Charalambos Sigalas.
This larger-than-life archaic kore, carved from white Naxian marble and standing an impressive 2.48 meters tall (including its integral base peg), survives almost intact. Only the tip of her nose and the bent right arm resting on her chest are missing. The statue is among the few surviving monumental early Greek sculptures in stone, embodying the timeless kouros and kore archetypes that exemplify the beauty ideals of that era.
The Kore of Thira during its recent exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens
A Rare Glimpse Into Archaic Beauty
During her recent showcase at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, the Kore of Thira captivated audiences with her remarkable state of preservation, offering scholars invaluable insights into the development of the kore type in the late 7th century BC and highlighting her unique artistic value.
Now, the Kore returns to Thira on a new base, free of iron supports, and will be surrounded by her “Cycladic Sisters” — statues and artifacts gathered from islands across the archipelago to celebrate her homecoming.
Following her five-month stay in Athens from December to May, the landmark exhibition Cycladic Women: Untold Stories of the Women of the Cyclades will inaugurate the newly renovated Archaeological Museum of Thira. Organized by the Museum of Cycladic Art and Greece’s Ministry of Culture via the Ephorate of Cycladic Antiquities, the exhibition will run through October 31, 2025.
Cycladic Women: Uncovering Hidden Stories
This exhibition presents Cycladic history through the eyes of its women, spanning from antiquity to the 19th century. It features 180 remarkable artifacts sourced from nearly every museum and archaeological collection in the Cyclades: Amorgos, Andros, Delos, Thira, Ios, Kea, Kythnos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Serifos, Sikinos, Sifnos, Syros, Tinos, and Folegandros.
The exhibits, dating from early prehistory to the dawn of the modern Greek state, include iconic marble figurines from the Museum of Cycladic Art’s Early Cycladic collection, along with 135 pieces from the Ephorate of Cycladic Antiquities and works on loan from the Kanellopoulos Museum, the Epigraphic Museum of Athens, the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology and Speleology, prominent foundations, and private collections.
A Mosaic of Women’s Lives
© Paris Tavitian – Museum of Cycladic Art
The exhibition aims to shed light on the roles of women in island societies through untold stories — pieced together from written words, material remains, and often through the lens of their male contemporaries. It reveals how insularity shaped women’s roles over time. Deities and mothers, priestesses, courtesans, merchants, warriors, intellectuals, mourners, witches, and migrants — all take center stage. Visitors encounter Cycladic women in both public and private life, exploring their social, political, religious, and familial spheres.
The exhibition’s rich tapestry includes figurines, large-scale sculptures, pottery, jewelry, coins, funerary steles and inscriptions, wall paintings, mosaics, engravings, manuscripts, and icons spanning from prehistory to post-Byzantine times. Among these treasures, three standout pieces are celebrated for their uniqueness and scale: the monumental Kore of Thira, the iconic fresco from Akrotiri on Santorini depicting Women in the Adyton, and the Hellenistic statue of Artemis Elaphibolos from Delos.
Curators and Opening Details
© Paris Tavitian – Museum of Cycladic Art
The exhibition is curated by Dr. Dimitris Athanasoulis, Director of the Ephorate of Cycladic Antiquities; Dr. Panagiotis Iossif, Scientific Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art and Professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands; and Dr. Ioannis Fappas, Assistant Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The official opening of the Archaeological Museum of Thira and the Cycladic Women exhibition is scheduled for Friday, June 20 at 7:00 PM and will be accessible by invitation only.
Starting Saturday, June 21, the museum will welcome visitors daily except Mondays. Opening hours are:
Tuesday–Friday & Sunday: 08:30–15:30
Saturday: 09:00–21:00
Admission: €10.
Special Guided Tour on Sunday, June 22
As part of the initiative Santorini 2025: A Year of Supporting and Showcasing Authenticity, the Municipality of Thira invites the public to a special open guided tour of the renovated museum on Sunday, June 22 at 5:30 PM, led by the curators of Cycladic Women: Untold Stories of the Women of the Cyclades.
“We look forward to discovering together the unique stories and faces of the women who shaped the Cyclades!” says the Municipality of Thira in its invitation.
