Kykladitisses: Untold Stories of Women in the Cyclades

The islands of the Cyclades, known for their beauty and rich history, have been the cradle of a culture that has celebrated women like few others in the world.

The exhibition Kykladitisses: Untold stories of women in the Cyclades at the Museum of Cycladic Art pays tribute to the women of the Cyclades, shedding light on their lives and their role in the societies of the islands of theArchipelago from the Neolithic period until the 19th century. Over 180 masterpieces, most of which have never travelled outside the Cyclades, while others are being presented to the public for the first time, reveal thefascinating world of the women of the Cyclades, who emerge from obscurity and tell us their unknown stories.

Works of unique artistic value portray the Cycladic woman as a goddess, priestess, worshipper, mother, wife, merchant, fighter, intellectual, and sometimes as an image of fear, as a victim of gender violence or as an object ofdesire. Among them, three works stand out for their uniqueness and size: the Colossal Kore of Thera dated in the Archaic period, which is being exhibited to the public for the first time, the emblematic fresco of the “Women inthe Sanctuary” from Akrotiri on Thera, and Artemis Elaphebolos from Delos, a statue from the Hellenistic period, which is being exhibited outside the island for the first time.