EXHIBITIONS
Permanent exhibition
The collection of the Jewish Museum of Greece includes more than 10,000 objects of rare art and historical importance from the 3rd BCE to the 20th century.
Visiting the Museum is a journey into the past of a culture and a tradition that spans almost two and a half millennia. The permanent exhibition is structured in thematic units, which are structured in levels around the central octagonal skylight (axis) of the building.
Level -1
The Synagogue
On this level is exhibited the restored interior of the old Romaniote Synagogue of Patras after the dissolution of the Jewish Community in 1981. In the same space, in three display cases, rare synagogual and liturgical objects are exhibited, such as Romaniote traditional wooden cases for the Torah (Tikkim) and Sephardic Scrolls of the Law (Sefer Torah), sacred synagogual artifacts and textiles, as well as other unique objects of Jewish religious art (Judaica) from the Jewish communities of Greece.
Level 1
Reception & Information Center
Level 2
Holidays
The display case exhibits liturgical, synagogual and domestic objects related to the biblical and historical Jewish holidays based on the Hebrew calendar from pre-war and post-war Jewish communities in Greece.
Level 3
History
This level includes the “History”, Military Memorabilia” and “Zionism” display cases through the exhibits of which the visitor comes into contact with the historical and archaeological evidence of Greek Jewish history from Late Antiquity to the 20th century.
Level 4
Audiovisual area
In this specially designed space, the visitor can watch educational films, as well as a short audiovisueal guided tour of the permanent exhibition.
Level 5
Shoah
The four display cases and wall exhibits on this level cover the events during the Italian, Bulgarian and German occupation in Greece until Liberation. The events covered and highlighted through rare and important documents, photographs, objects from the concentration camps include, among others, the first measures against the Greek Jews, the destruction and looting of synagogues, homes, properties and cemeteries, the deportations, life in the camps, the participation of the Greek Jews in the National Resistance and finally Liberation.
Level 6
Costumes
Complete ensembles of Romaniote and Sephardic costumes, personal accessories, as well as historical engravings from the late 18th century compose the folklore and ethnological richness and variety of the costume tradition of the Jews of Greece.
Level 7
Cycle of Life
Through a unique collection of objects of domestic worship, embroideries, rare illustrated manuscripts, amulets and other works of metalware, the unique cultural tradition of the Greek Jews is outlined through the rites of passage customs, which define the cycle of life, such as marriage, birth, circumcision, religious coming of age, everyday life and death. In addition, on the same level, there are two display cases dedicated to the Jews of Crete. The artifacts, family heirlooms of the Kapon, Minervo and Albert families are complemented by related objects from the Museum’s collections from the end of the 19th century to the period of Occupation.
Level 8
Jewish Inscriptions
The temporary exhibition area was inaugurated in 2011 with the exhibition “Images of Greek Jews” from the JMG Photographic Archive and is dedicated to the families of Samuel (Makis) Matsas and Maurice Saltiel. It hosted temporary exhibitions of historical, ethnographic or artistic thematic content. From December 2023, this area hosts an exhibition of nine Jewish inscriptions from Greek archaeological museums and Ephorates, under a long-term loan by permission of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. These important archaeological artifacts have been included in the permanent exhibition, strengthening and expanding its multi-collective character and documenting the early settlement of the Jews in Greece, not as an isolated historical event, but as an integral part of a wider historical, geographical and chronological context.
Level 9
Benrubi Art Gallery
The Benroubi Art Gallery hosts, on an annual and renewable basis, temporary exhibitions from the world of fine and applied arts. The Gallery was inaugurated in 1998 with the exhibition of the works of the Corfiote Jewish artist, writer and scholar of folk art and shadow play, Giulio Kaimi.
