Archive note: This text comes from the older Nomika Epilekta archive and is preserved with editorial care for historical and informational reading.

The Museum of Cycladic Art presents the exhibition “Princesses of the Mediterranean at the Dawn of History”. Noblewomen or princesses, priestesses or healers and sorceresses, women with the prestige of lineage or knowledge, local women who stood out or others who received and adopted cultural elements from other societies, women who had traveled widely: these are the women examined and presented by the exhibition. In other words, the word prince in the exhibition denotes the first person in a society and not necessarily princely origin. The stories of these women show women’s participation in the creation of civilizations, and specifically in the development of ancient Mediterranean civilization.

The exhibition includes 24 collections from women’s burials from Greece (Attica, Euboea, Macedonia, Crete), from Cyprus, Southern Italy and Etruria. The concentration of wealth and grave goods, as well as the kinship among burial customs, demonstrate that these women, who held high status in the societies in which they lived, were carriers of cultural and ideological elements.

The objects in the exhibition tell real stories of real women, and this is its great advantage. It therefore offers an opportunity to discuss questions of interpretation and approaches to the female role in the societies of the Early Iron Age through tangible evidence.

In the exhibition, visitors will see more than 500 objects in total: bronze vessels and vases, clay, bronze and ivory figurines, bronze utensils, spoons, precious jewelry with elaborate designs, gold masks that covered the face, an entire world of art and wealth, glory and ideas from the world of women at the dawn of history. It is an exhibition worth visiting.

The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Cycladic Art in collaboration with the University of Crete, the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports. The curator is Professor Nikos Stampolidis, Director of the MCA. The exhibition will run until 10 April 2013. Opening hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10:00-17:00, Thursday 10:00-20:00 and Sunday 11:00-17:00. Guided tours for the public take place every Saturday and Sunday at 12:30.

Marina Avgerinou

Conservator of antiquities and works of art