Archaeological Museum of Elis

With a panoramic view of the fertile plain of Elis and the archaeological site, its beautiful spaces and its important exhibits, the archaeological museum of Elis welcomes and rewards its visitors, those who have chosen to get to know the welcoming and sacred ancient metropolis of the Olympic Games up close.

The museum of Elis, a legacy of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games, is one of the most valuable modern museum structures in Greece with respect to the sensitive, rural character of an area of ​​great archaeological interest. The precious archaeological exhibits of all kinds and from various materials dating from the Palaeolithic to the Roman era, vividly tell the story of the capital of the state of Ilians.

These works present aspects of the daily life of the city's inhabitants, their occupations and professions, as well as aspects of public life and the worship of Gods and heroes. These are finds of excavations, rescues and systematics that took place from time to time in the archaeological site of Elis but also in a radius around it and belong to settlements - suburbs dependent on the ancient capital.

Among them stand out the mosaic floor from a 3rd century mansion. A.D. with the symbols of Apollo and the Muses and the labors of Hercules, the marble statue of Hermes, with influences and similarities to the statue of Hermes by Praxiteles of Olympia, the bronze urn hydria, various representative examples of micro-art in clay, copper, glass and bone, as well as characteristic vessels of Ilian production (karchisia-kantharis, lekyths, skyphs, etc.) of the Hellenistic era.

Copyediting: Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia