Exhibitions

The Acropolis Museum presents the exhibition “Inspirations. Ancient Greek Art Living in Italy” in its Temporary Exhibition Gallery from 16 June 2026 to 30 August 2026.



The poet Horace accurately described the fascination that ancient Greek civilization exerted upon the Romans.

“Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit” – “Captive Greece captured her savage conqueror.”

Art, literature, philosophy and education inspired Roman society and profoundly shaped it, resulting in the creation of Greco-Roman civilization, essentially the foundation of Western civilization on a global scale.

This influence proved decisive from the very beginnings of the relationship between the Greeks and the peoples of the Italian Peninsula, the Etruscans, the Latins and others, as well as, naturally, with the peoples of Sicily and southern Italy, where important Greek settlements and colonies were established.

The exhibition focuses primarily on art and on the influence of ancient Greek art on Roman civilization until the 20th century. Thirty-eight masterpieces in ceramic, bronze and marble, unique works that are not usually exported from museums in Italy, comprise this exhibition, which is organized into seven sections:

Section I

Before Rome: Greek Merchants and Etrusco-Italic Aristocrats

Section II

Artists in Magna Graecia

Section III

The Sea as an Archive

Section IV

The Romans’ Greece

Section V

Living the Greek Way

Section VI

The Aristocratic Collecting of the Modern Era

Section VII

Italian Looks: Canova, Savinio, de Chirico