War Museum

The War Museum, custodian of Greek military history, gathers in its collection an invaluable wealth of war relics, works of art, books and archival material, which contributes to the recording, study and promotion to the general public of the military struggles of the Greek nation from antiquity until today.

Following a decision by the Greek state, in 1964, to establish a Museum to pay tribute to those who fought for the freedom of the country, the War Museum was founded in 1975, which to this day is the custodian of the military history of Greece. Through the collection, preservation, exhibition and promotion of relics of military interest, the Museum contributes to the study and the promotion of the military struggles of the Greek people, from ancient times to modern times. The rich collections, consisting of unique historical relics, works of art, documents, books, newspapers, photographs and films, are truly a Museum treasure, which composes a complete narrative of the military history of Greece, raises historical consciousness and collective memory and promotes national unity.

EXHIBITS

From Prehistoric Antiquity to the Greek campaign in Korea, the War Museum’s linear historical narrative is composed thanks to thousands of unique artifacts, weapons, flags, uniforms, works of art, models and dioramas, which correspond to 20 main thematic sections of the course of Hellenism over time.

F. Karavia Collection

The War Museum has one of most important collections of paintings by the leading artist Thalia Flora-Karavia (1871-1960). The body of her work consists of drawings on paper, mainly with charcoal and pencil, which represent famous and unknown figures of modern Greek history, but also scenes of battle and everyday military life.

Saroglou Collection

The War Museum houses the rare museum and artistic value Petros Saroglou Collection (1865-1920), consisting of offensive and defensive weapons, combat weapons and firearms, mainly from the Balkans, Western Europe and Asia.

Library

The Library of the War Museum houses more than 30,000 works, books, publications and magazines, in Greek and in foreign languages, on many different subjects and scientific fields, but with a dominant focus on the political and military history of Hellenism.

Photography

The Photographic Archive of the War Museum houses a number of unique photographs of significant historical value, dating from the late 19th century to the modern era.

History Archive

The Historical Archive of the War Museum, divided into the general archive and the Napoleon Zervas archive, has more than 100,000 documents of various subjects, dating from the early 19th century to the present.