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 hospitable and sacred ancient metropolis of the Olympic Games up close.

The museum of Elis, inheritance 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 narrate the history of the capital of the state of the Eleans.

These works present aspects of the daily life of the city's inhabitants, their occupations and professions, as well as aspects of the public life and the worship of Gods and heroes. These are finds from both rescue and systematic excavations, 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 c. AD mansion 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 in Olympia, the bronze funerary hydriai, various representative speciments of miniature objects made from clay, copper, glass and bone, as well as characteristic vessels of Elean production (karchesia-kantharoi, lekythoi, skyphoi, etc.) of the Hellenistic era.

Copyediting: Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia