Lesvos Museum exhibition to travel to Chicago
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
The critically acclaimed exhibition "Aegean: Creation of an Archipelago" put together by the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest is to open in Chicago's National Hellenic Museum on November 23, where it will remain until August 31, 2016.
Previously exhibited in Rome, Athens and Thessaloniki, “Aegean: Creation of an Archipelago” explores the Aegean Sea's literally groundbreaking history, marked by extinct civilizations, volcanic eruptions, tectonic shifts and the rise and fall of islands - as well as the birth of myths and legends.
Organised by the Lesvos museum in collaboration with the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the University of the Aegean and the University of Crete, it features rare artifacts and a wealth of photographic and audiovisual displays tracking the area's history, both human and geological, over millions of years.
In addition to its scientific and educational character, this exhibition appeals to a broad audience with images reflecting the beauty of the Aegean and the power of its landscape, its flora and fauna and the natural phenomena that have inspired men to create myths and art.
The exhibition opening will be preceded by a presentation, with remarks by Dr. William A. Parkinson, Curator of Eurasian Anthropology & Associate Professor of Anthropology at The Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Dr. Nickolas Zouros, Associate Professor at the University of the Aegean and Director of the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest.
Dr. Zouros said the exhibition aimed to present the processes that had created the Aegean Sea in an accessible and attractive way for a broader audience, also featuring activities for younger visitors, while highlighting the archipelago's history and its present-day ecosystems and attractions.
The exhibition will be shown concurrently and will complement another major archaeological exhibition on ancient Greeks in Chicago, entitled "The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great". This will be exhibited at Chicago's Field Museum, running from November 2015 until April 2016, and display well-known masterpieces from Greek archaeological museums, as well as recent archaeological finds that have never been outside of Greece.
