Palaeopolis Archaeological museum in Andros
The Palaeopolis Archaeological Museum was founded in 2003 and is housed in an old building renovated with the sponsorship of the Vassilis and Elisa Goulandris Foundation. It is dedicated to the antiquities of Palaeopolis and the classic city that has been the capital of the island since the 6th century BC until the 6th century AD. Till the raids of the Arabs, for twelve centuries, Palaiopoli was the centre of the island of Andros.
The exhibits at the Palaeopolis Archaeological Museum cover an extended chronological period from the 5th millennium BC until the 6th century. They come up from archaeological excavations, surface investigations and from citizens who have collected findings in the broader area of Paleopolis. The finds are divided into three thematic sections. Various discoveries in Hall A, sculptures in Hall B and inscriptions in Hall C.
The hymn to the goddess Isis
At the Palaeopolis Archaeological Museum, you will admire jars, tools, statuettes, jewellery, coins, sculptures and inscriptions. You will be informed about the archaeological sites and monuments of Andros from the 5th millennium BC until late antiquity.
Its most important exhibits are the marble sculpture complex of the mythical winged horse Pegasus with his rider, Vellerefonti. It is an architectural sculpture apparently a decoration of a temple. It was found in Palaeopolis and dates back to the late 6th and early 5th century BC. The tombstone of a marble lion in natural size. It was found in the cemetery of ancient Andros and dates back to 320 BC. The marble statuette of Artemis of the Hellenistic period dating back to the 3rd century BC.
The most important find, unique in Greece, is the inscribed marble plaque with 178 verses from the hymn in honour of the eastern goddess Isis. In the inscription dated to the 1st century BC, the goddess is praised as an earthly, heavenly and aquatic goddess and inventor of shipping.