Chinese display set for Greece

ATHENS — Herakleidon museum opposite the Acropolis hill offered this summer a look at Greek seafaring — from antiquity to modern times — showcasing through models of ships and nautical instruments Greeks’ achievements in a field that is regarded as an integral part of their identity.

However, as the curtain of the exhibition Voyage: Greek Shipbuilding and Seafaring falls this week in Athens, the museum prepares to host another significant exhibition of ancient Chinese technology in the fall, says Eleni Nomikou, the museum’s director.

“Seafaring has formed Greeks’ character. The spirit of Ulysses still exists in Greeks today. Shipping was and still remains their basic activity. The sea and shipping in particular offer Greeks wealth, vision and a future,” Nomikou says.

The sea and shipping in particular offer Greeks wealth, vision and a future.” Eleni Nomikou, director, Herakleidon museum

A total of 35 handmade wooden models of vessels, complemented with works of art, maps, drawings and video projections narrate the history of Greek seafaring from prehistoric times to the middle of the 20th century.

As the Voyage exhibition is set to travel to Cyprus and the United States, Herakleidon museum is getting ready to welcome for first time in Athens a remarkable exhibition of the technological and scientific achievements of the ancient Chinese civilization.

“The museum has signed a significant agreement with Beijing’s China Museum of Science and Technology for the exchange of two exhibitions of ancient technology,” Nomikou says.

“Ancient Greek technology will travel to China in October this year, while ancient Chinese technology will be presented in Herakleidon museum in less than a month.”

The deal was sealed as the two countries celebrate the China-Greece Cultural Exchanges and Cultural Industry Cooperation Year this year as part of efforts to further enhance bilateral ties.

Through models and demonstrations over the next few months at Herakleidon museum, visitors will have the opportunity to get acquainted with pioneering Chinese inventions covering a broad scientific spectrum from astronomy, mechanical engineering and seismography to papermaking, printing and weaving techniques.

The China Museum of Science and Technology will host an exhibition that will include reproductions of ancient Greek ships, metal machinery, automation models and measuring instruments.

The exhibition will also include a section on Chinese seafaring.