Winner of the European Museum of the Year award, it tells the story of the ancient city of Tegea and that of the Sanctuary of Athena Alea, using a contemporary museological approach. The digital applications will make the visiting experience interactive.
Upon entering the museum, you’ll be impressed by the modern museum interpretation and evocative lighting, highlighting the exhibits by creating a distinct atmosphere. By “conversing” with the great Sanctuary of Athena Alea, whose ruins lie close by, the Archaeological Museum tells the story of Tegea, the most powerful city in ancient Arcadia.
After a building and museological upgrade via NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework) between 2011-2013, the museum reopened in 2014. In 2016, it won the “European Museum of the Year” award. The reorganisation of the findings is completed by digital applications, rendering the visiting experience interactive.
Walking through the halls, first of all you’ll see findings dating back from prehistoric to Archaic times. Next, the Arcadian Herms are exhibited, which were oblations to sanctuaries. In the next hall, the exhibition is a about the evolution of the city from Classical Antiquity to the Late Roman era. In the fourth hall, the evolution of the Sanctuary of Athena Alea is presented, from the Geometric Period up to the Hellenistic Period. It was then that it was renovated by the famous Parian sculptor and architect Scopas.
In the open air space, you’ll see inscriptions about public life in Tegea and the section “Hereafter” with inscribed sepulchral columns.
In 2022, the award-winning museum hosted the first temporary exhibition entitled “Memory and impression”, where 14 selected sculptures “converse” with 17 rare coins.