It was founded in 1986 to house the collection of Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris who, starting in 1962, collected a “marble treasure” of Cycladic figurines and other antiquities handed down to us by the culture of the Aegean Sea, from the deepest prehistoric centuries until the end of the Roman era.
Head of figurine of the Spedos variety, Early Cycladic II – Syros Phase
2800 BC – 2300 BC. Photo: Paris Tavitian
It is a museum of human dimensions which creates an evocative presentation of the exhibits on each of its exhibition floors, so that visitors can feel at once and to the fullest the awe caused by the purity, simplicity and perfection of the Cycladic marble figurines’ forms.
The main building of the museum was erected in 1985, in Kolonaki, the most elegant area in the center of Athens. In 1991, the Stathatos Mansion, a beautiful neighboring large neoclassical house, designed in 1895 by the architect Ernst Ziller, was added to the museum. The two buildings were connected by a closed external corridor. The Stathatos Mansion is used for periodic exhibitions.
The permanent collection of the museum is exhibited in the main building. On its first floor there are about 350 objects from the 3rd millennium BC and of course the older marble figurines. On the second floor of the building there are objects from the Bronze Age, that is from the 2nd millennium BC, until the late Roman period, in the 4th century AD.
The fourth floor houses the collection of antiquities of Karolos and Rita Politis, which they donated to the N.P. Goulandris Foundation in 1989. Among its acquisitions, the metal helmets of ancient warriors are particularly impressive.
The Museum of Cycladic Art has a very fine shop with souvenirs and replicas of exhibits, with a great variety and the highest quality materials.
Museum of Cycladic Art
4 Neofytou Douka Str., Athens /
Tel.: +302107228321-3) /
cycladic.gr /
e-mail: museum@cycladic.gr
Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10:00-17:00, Sunday: 11:00-17:00 – Closed: Tuesday / Tours of the permanent collections’ highlights every Monday, Wednesday and Friday /
Last entrance allowed: 15 minutes before the closing time of the museum. Annual Holidays: December 25 & 26, January 1st, Clean Monday, March 25, Easter Sunday & Monday, May 1st, Holy Spirit Monday, August 15.
Tickets – General Admission: €7 / Monday admission and reduced entrance fee for persons over 65, persons 19-26 years old and students: €3,5 / Group tickets (groups of 15 or more): €5/person
