In September, I visited The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great on a tour with

my History of Ancient Greece class, guided by Professor Diane Cline, a classicist and author of
the book accompanying the exhibit and the associated PBS documentary. The exhibit featured
over 500 objects from Ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, which were
selected to give an archaeological overview of the history of the Ancient Greeks. While many of
the aspects of the exhibit and its supplementing material (including the accompanying PBS
documentary) were heightened for dramatic effect and to increase visitors engagement with
exhibit, the National Geographic museum successfully moved beyond this necessary technique
and accurately displayed the extraordinary objects in a way that the visitor learned a great deal
about the archaeology and history of Ancient Greece. The combination of the objects
archeological importance and the manner in which they were presented not only increased the
visitor's understanding of the History of Ancient Greece but also provided a unique tour through
the evolution of art, architecture, warfare, and political systems of the Greeks. The essential
effect was to create a sense of the immediacy of human history, with the visitors connecting
real-time and real-life with the past.
The objects were housed in a series of rooms in the National Geographic Museum,
progressing with the timeline of the exhibit; as you moved deeper though the exhibit you moved
further along through Greek History. Beginning with the Bronze Age, the exhibit housed a
collection of objects from Greeks early history; there was a large a collection of Cycladic Idols
(see fig. 1) as well as an impressive collection of some of the grave goods from the shaft graves
at the palace at Mycenae (including the face of Agamemnon death mask which the infamous
Heinrich Schliemann allegedly laid eyes on as he dug at the site.) Throughout the rest of the
exhibit, the curators attempted to represent the evolving history of Ancient Greece through the
objects the different eras produced. As you walked through the museum, moving further through
time, the increasing sophistication of the objects made it easy to follow the improvement in art
styles (such as the beautiful but stylistic Minoan gold jewelry (fig. 2) to the breathtakingly

intricate gold myrtle crown from the tomb of Philip IIs wife (fig. 3)) and weaponry, technology,
and politics (such as the ostracizing ostraka pottery chards or the lottery machine used to
choose the years officials in the Athenian democracy)
The objects were displayed with related objects and in ways that reflected their original
primary context to give the viewer a sense of how they would have been originally used. While
this was educational, since it gave the viewer an idea of an objects original purpose, it also
created a powerful sense of immediacy. For example, the curators could have simply placed
Hoplite equipment in display cases, but as presented in the exhibit, they lined them up in
military-style formations in a large shadowy room. It was as if an imposing phalanx itself was
standing before us, prepared to move forward (fig. 4). Rather than unnecessarily overdramatizing the experience, this type of display made the viewing of the object more
meaningful, especially on a human level: One could not only see the formation of the Ancient
Greek army and the details in their armor and helmets, but imagine the fear and intimidation
opposing soldiers would feel with this very sight before them.
For my classmates and I, the tour was meant to give us the chance to look directly at the
objects associated with the material we were studying in-depthly in class, especially with our
professor explaining the context of the objects. However, I was able to recognize several
aspects of the exhibit which clearly made the information available, understandable, and
captivating emotionally to a lay audience. Its important to note that objects and their
arrangement not only provided a more successfully exciting exhibit, but they gave the audience
a part to play in the history and an opportunity engage with the concepts firsthand.
Supplementary materials also supported the visitors understanding of the objects place
and significance in Ancient Greek history. As the viewer entered the exhibit, they first were
guided to watch a short video introducing them to the Greeks and explain what they would
encounter once inside. Through dramatized with music, reenactments, and motion graphics for
a greater effect on the viewer, the video provided a presentation of the overarching academic

themes the curators wished the audience to draw from the experience through commentary
from experts in the field. Placed among the exhibits were video displays similar to the one at the
entrance, which gave a succinct overview of the historical context of the objects displayed in the
room in greater detail than displayed on the information card. Videos of and about the
excavations of the object reminded the visitor that the archeological recovery of the objects
made the objects historical value possible. For example, the video depicting parts of the
Parthenon frieze described both the history of the actual construction of the Parthenon as well
as the restoration efforts currently being made to make it appear more like it when it was the
center of Athenian culture.
The exhibit also had several interactive displays to provide a more immediate connection
between the visitor and the objects on display. These activities were designed thoughtfully to
engage a wide audience and to convey information tailored to specific demographics. Children
had the option to complete a scavenger hunt which led them through the history of Ancient
Greece having them discover the objects themselves. Adults and children alike could play an
interactive Iliad and Odyssey board game which gave them a chance to fictionally fight in, and
thus understand some of the strategy, of the Trojan War. Replicas of many objects were also
made for the visitors to handle which gave them a sense of how the object felt as they were
used. These replicas were especially useful in objects such as the strigils (tools used to scrape
off oil and sand after an athlete had finished training), where merely viewing them through a
glass case would not give a complete understanding of their purpose and function.
The exhibit also engaged visitors in the archaeological process itself. As in many of the
accompanying videos, parts of the exhibit also provided an overview of archaeological
processes. One of the most interesting was a replica 5x5 dig square set up in the Archaic era
room. You could see the tools and method used on an actual dig, and even the read the original
notes the archaeologist made during the process of the excavation. This was an unusual and
extremely useful part of an exhibit of ancient objects. By showing the visitor how these objects

came to be viewable in the museum in the first place, the curators highlighted the role
archaeologists play in the process of historiography and reminded the viewer that these objects
would have been otherwise lost to time.
Another, often controversial, aspect of archaeology that the exhibition made sure to
respect was the idea of the ownership of the objects, which has become a pervasive
controversy among archaeologists, art historians, scholars, and the public alike. This
controversy was even addressed by the exhibit itself in a video about the Parthenon and the socalled Elgin marbles which are housed in the British Museum in London rather than in the
museum adjacent to the actual Parthenon. Though the objects in this exhibit were part of an
international tour, making stops in in several cities and countries, all of the objects would return
to their home in 22 national museums all over Greece. Knowing that this exhibit was the was the
only chance to see them all together (without taking a national tour of Greece), made visiting the
exhibit a special experience.
While Im certain most of those who visited the exhibit realize Classical civilizations
permeate almost all aspects of contemporary Western culture, this exhibit made the these
connections even more relevant by bringing contemporary viewers in especially intimate contact
with the objects, creating an inescapable reminder that they were made and used by people.
This immediacy made the influence of Greek culture feel somehow more human rather than
academic. In fact, this feeling of human connection across the ages is what made The Greeks,
so successful. The exhibit made archaeology and history more than merely accessible to the
public; It allowed people to engage with the material firsthand. Though contemporary media
provides sufficient avenues for the public to interact with archaeology, exhibits as unique as The
Greeks offer a irreplaceable personal experience with the objects themselves, with no
middleman or interpreter.
I can understand that curators need to make exhibits dramatic to draw in those who may
find archaeology and history dull or irrelevant. However, in overcoming this challenge the

curators of The Greeks created opportunities to go beyond the merely dramatic. The ways the
objects were displayed did not dilute the intellectual and academic impact of the history or the
archaeology, but in fact achieved the opposite: each display enhanced the objects historical
value and gave a vivid backdrop of the reality in which the objects existed. The curators
transformed them from objects simply displayed in a glass case into to compelling vessels of
human history.

Fig. 1. Cycladic Idols. Hale, Becky. 2016. Photograph. The National Geographic Museum,
Washington, DC

Fig. 2. Bronze Age Jewelry. Hale, Becky. 2016. Photograph. The National Geographic Museum,
Washington, DC

Fig. 3. Philip IIs Wifes Myrtle Crown. Hale, Becky. 2016. Photograph. The National Geographic
Museum, Washington, DC

Fig. 4. Hoplite Soldier Helmets. Hale, Becky. 2016. Photograph. The National Geographic
Museum, Washington, DC