The Benaki Museum of Greek Culture in Athens was founded in 1930 by Antonis Benakis to house his Greek art collections, as well as those of his three sisters, Alexandra, Penelope and Arigini. A neo-classical style building dating back to 1860, it has undergone multiple refurbishments over the past century to accommodate its enlarging collection. Anastasios Metaxas made the first renovations in 1911 when Emmanuel Benakis acquired the building. Today, the permanent exhibition focuses on Greek culture, with the museum housing a vast selection of artworks from the Bronze Age up to the 20th century.
Visitors can observe among many Greek artefacts - Byzantine icons, Greek regional costumes, historical Greek heirlooms and post-byzantine and neo-Hellenic art. The collection was enriched by a donation by Damianos Kyriazis in 1953 and by many others since. It houses a total of 6,000 paintings and engravings by Greek and European artists. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and has a shop, a library and a café on site.