The Exhibition Program

Narrates the story of the birth and development of Tegea, the most powerful city in ancient Arcadia. The rural sanctuaries lie at the center of the narration. Among these, the most important is the sanctuary of Athena Alea - famous all over the Peloponnese.

Gallery 1

Artifacts dating from Neolithic up to the Archaic period are exhibited. The exhibition narrative begins with the significant prehistoric sites of the Neolithic Era and the Bronze Age and proceeds in historical times with the significant rural sanctuaries of Tegeatis. The latter played an important part in the process of polis formation from the Early Geometric period up to the 6th century BC. The development of monumental architectural forms (doric architectural elements - tegean anta-capitals) is associated with the emergence of a strong pole of power and the emergence of the polis (city-state)

Gallery 2

A peculiar category of monuments, the so-called Arcadian Herms, is exhibited.The Arcadian Herms, private votive offerings to sanctuaries, constitute abstract representations of gods or deities. They have been discovered only in Tegea.

Gallery 3

The evolution of the polis from the Classical period up to the Roman times is narrated. Many different aspects of the city's life are presented: economy (monetarization, weights and measures, trade), cults, athletic contests - festivals, the world of the dead and the hereafter.

Gallery 4

The story reaches its climax. The sanctuary of Athena Alea, around which the polis of Tegea was formed, is presented. Its development from the Geometric up to the Hellenistic period is narrated: from the very beginning to the development of monumental forms and Skopas' architectural and sculpture creations in the mid-4th century BC.

Outdoor Exhibition

It is divided into two entities: in the entity “Public Life”, selected inscriptions are exhibited. They refer to the public life in Tegea, while in the entity “The Hereafter” a set of grave stele from classical up to the Late Roman period is exposed. The outdoor exhibition covers a period form the Late Archaic up to the Late Roman period.