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Experience

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About us

Imagining Greece: How Tourism Shaped a Nation
Imagining Greece is a digital exhibition that explores the evolution of tourism in Greece from the end of World War II to the closing chapters of the Cold War. The exhibition examines multiple aspects of the phenomenon by showcasing a wealth of textual and visual material curated from a wide range of state and private archival repositories and sources, including the Greek National Tourism Organisation, architectural firms, advertising agencies and both domestic and foreign press and periodicals. It is further enriched by an ongoing oral history project that captures firsthand experiences from specialists and the general public. We hope this exhibition will bring the history of tourism in Greece to life while deepening understanding of its profound impact—both on Greek society itself and on the millions of international visitors whose journeys have helped transform Greece into one of the world's most beloved destinations.

Our Team
We are an interdisciplinary team with expertise spanning history, visual culture, design studies, architectural history, cultural heritage, and digital humanities. Led by Professor Eirini Karamouzi (Principal Investigator) and Dr Mary Ikoniadou (Co-Investigator), our team includes:

Dr Stavros Alifragkis and Dr Emilia Athanasiou (Scientific and Artistic Curators, Lead Researchers), Dr Christos Christidis (Special Advisor), Despina Tsilimagkou (Digital Humanities Director), Dr Marina Emmanouil, Dr Metaxia Papageorgiou and Dr Aphrodite Kamara (Researchers). Our work has been generously supported by the Onassis Foundation, the National Bank of Greece and Research England. We are honoured to have the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and the Greek Ministry of Tourism as our patrons, and we work closely with Greece’s National Historical Museum.

Our Goal
Our goal is to make Imagining Greece a widely accessible digital exhibition that serves as a valuable resource for schools, universities, tourism professionals, and the public in Greece and beyond. We aim to promote a deeper understanding of tourism as a crucial element of Greek culture, economy, politics, and society. The exhibition is organised around four thematic experiences: Picture, Travel, Discover, and Remember. Each theme presents carefully chosen artefacts in an intuitive, easy-to-explore journey. Visitors will explore a rich collection of promotional materials, including advertising, audio-visual culture, periodicals, commercial and government sources, tourist guides, tourism infrastructure and architecture, cultural artefacts from folklore, feasts and festivals, leisure activities, books about Greece, souvenirs, vacation photographs, and postcards. The entire spectrum of Greece as a tourism destination is accessible through the thematic experiences, the interactive map, or the chronological timeline.

The Future of Imagining Greece
Imagining Greece will continue to grow with new artefacts, and we welcome your contributions. If you have relevant materials to share, please contact us at: info@imagininggreece.com

Legal Notice / Disclaimer
Every reasonable effort has been made to trace and contact the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this digital exhibition, ‘Imagining Greece: How Tourism Shaped a Nation, 1945-1989’, and to obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material. We apologise for any omissions in acknowledging copyright. If you own the copyright for any material used on our website and believe it infringes upon your rights, please contact us directly at info@imagininggreece.com

Acknowledgements
We thank the numerous institutions and private individuals who have contributed their valuable archival materials to this project:

Benaki Museum’s Photographic Archives Department, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, Greek Film Archive, Greek National Tourism Organisation, Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive, Hellenic National AudioVisual Archive - Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, Hellenic Touring Club, Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece – National Historical Museum, Historical Archive of the National Bank of Greece, Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives, ‘Konstantinos G. Karamanlis’ Foundation, The Library of the Hellenic Parliament, Modern Greek Architecture Archives of the Benaki Museum, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Neraida Floating Museum - John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Olympic Airways Workers Cultural Center, Philatelic Postal Museum, Spyros Vassiliou Archive - Dominum Artifex NPO, The Alpha Bank Art Collection, The Ghika Gallery - Benaki Museum.

Dimitris Antonakakis – Atelier 66, Archimidis & Eleni Athanassiou, Tasos Biris – Tassos Biris Architectural Firm, Vassilis Bogakos, Vassilis Giannakis, Panos Haratzopoulos, Erifyli Hontolidou, Maro Kardamitsi-Adami, Yannis Karlopoulos, Kostas Katsigiannis, Konstantinos Lyssaridis – ETETH SA, Eirini Philippides, Marina Philippides – AMK Architecture + Design, Jenny Perivolari, Christos Rallis & Georgia Sovatzoglou, Vassia Stylianidi – WOBI Architects, Vaggelis Stylianidis - Stylianidis Vaggelis Architects, Nicos Valsamakis – N. Valsamakis Architectural Firm, Ioannis Vikelas – Vikelas Architects.

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Travel
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Remember

Discover / Culture /Heritage

Festivals Heritage Folklore Local Feasts

Displaying 69/69 artefacts

Delphi Greece 1958 artifact
Delphi Greece 1958
Brochure
Ancient Greece 1962 artifact
Ancient Greece 1962
Brochure
Onesiphorus Mosaic detail, Rotunda Thessaloniki artifact
Onesiphorus Mosaic detail, Rotunda Thessaloni...
Poster
Hydra Hellas 1959 artifact
Hydra Hellas 1959
Brochure
Delphi Greece 1961 artifact
Delphi Greece 1961
Brochure
Olympia 1955 artifact
Olympia 1955
Brochure
Olympie Grèce artifact
Olympie Grèce
Brochure
Thessaloniki Greece 1958 artifact
Thessaloniki Greece 1958
Brochure
Kastoria Hellas artifact
Kastoria Hellas
Brochure
Olympia Greece 1959 artifact
Olympia Greece 1959
Brochure
Sparti Mystras 1959 artifact
Sparti Mystras 1959
Brochure
Horse from the Hekatompedon artifact
Horse from the Hekatompedon
Poster
The Calf-bearer artifact
The Calf-bearer
Poster
The Lenormant Relief artifact
The Lenormant Relief
Poster
The Head of Apollon at Olympia artifact
The Head of Apollon at Olympia
Poster
Grèce 1929 artifact
Grèce 1929
Poster
Parthenon of Athens Greece artifact
Parthenon of Athens Greece
Poster
Acropolis of Mycenae The Lions Gate artifact
Acropolis of Mycenae The Lions Gate
Poster
Epirus 1990 artifact
Epirus 1990
Brochure
Travelling to Olympia in the 1980s artifact
Travelling to Olympia in the 1980s
Brochure
Thessaloniki & East Macedonia 1964 artifact
Thessaloniki & East Macedonia 1964
Brochure
Temple of Athena Nike artifact
Temple of Athena Nike
Poster
Panagia Platsani Church in the Isle of Santorini artifact
Panagia Platsani Church in the Isle of Santor...
Poster
Syros Tinos Andros 1960 artifact
Syros Tinos Andros 1960
Brochure
Syros Tinos Andros 1961 -1963 artifact
Syros Tinos Andros 1961 -1963
Brochure
Mykonos Delos 1962 artifact
Mykonos Delos 1962
Brochure
Mykonos Delos 1959 artifact
Mykonos Delos 1959
Brochure
Mykonos and Paros 1958 artifact
Mykonos and Paros 1958
Brochure
Hydra 1960 artifact
Hydra 1960
Brochure
Hydra 1962 artifact
Hydra 1962
Brochure
Hydra 1964 artifact
Hydra 1964
Brochure
Argosaronikos Gulf 1960 artifact
Argosaronikos Gulf 1960
Brochure
Argosaronikos Gulf 1964 artifact
Argosaronikos Gulf 1964
Brochure
Paros Santorini 1959 artifact
Paros Santorini 1959
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Paros Santorini 1960 artifact
Paros Santorini 1960
Brochure
Chios 1967 artifact
Chios 1967
Brochure
Rhodos Greece 1957 artifact
Rhodos Greece 1957
Brochure
Rhodes 1958 artifact
Rhodes 1958
Brochure
Rhodes 1959 artifact
Rhodes 1959
Brochure
Corfu 1957 artifact
Corfu 1957
Brochure
Thessaloniki 1956-57 artifact
Thessaloniki 1956-57
Brochure
Argolis 1959 artifact
Argolis 1959
Brochure
Delphi 1956 artifact
Delphi 1956
Brochure
Pylos Grèce 1959 artifact
Pylos Grèce 1959
Brochure
Pylos Griechenland 1961 artifact
Pylos Griechenland 1961
Brochure
Korfu Hellas 1958 artifact
Korfu Hellas 1958
Brochure
Korfu Griechenland 1959 artifact
Korfu Griechenland 1959
Brochure
Corfu Greece 1961 artifact
Corfu Greece 1961
Brochure
Corfu Greece 1963 artifact
Corfu Greece 1963
Brochure
Cephalonia Ithaca Zakynthos 1960 artifact
Cephalonia Ithaca Zakynthos 1960
Brochure
Kefalinia Ithaki Zakynthos 1961 artifact
Kefalinia Ithaki Zakynthos 1961
Brochure
Kephalinia, Zakynthos, Ithaki 1963 artifact
Kephalinia, Zakynthos, Ithaki 1963
Brochure
Kythera 1967 artifact
Kythera 1967
Brochure
Samos 1967 artifact
Samos 1967
Brochure
Thessaloniki 1959 artifact
Thessaloniki 1959
Brochure
Thessaloniki 1960 artifact
Thessaloniki 1960
Brochure
Thessaloniki 1961 artifact
Thessaloniki 1961
Brochure
Olympia 1963-65 artifact
Olympia 1963-65
Brochure
Olympia 1967 artifact
Olympia 1967
Brochure
Olympia 1961 artifact
Olympia 1961
Brochure
Rhodos Grèce 1963 artifact
Rhodos Grèce 1963
Brochure
Rhodos 1964 artifact
Rhodos 1964
Brochure
Pylos Messinia Grèce 1965 artifact
Pylos Messinia Grèce 1965
Brochure
Delphi, The Treasury of the Athenians artifact
Delphi, The Treasury of the Athenians
Postcard
Empress Sissy's Peristyle in the Achillion gardens artifact
Empress Sissy's Peristyle in the Achillion ga...
Postcard
Delphi 1967 artifact
Delphi 1967
Brochure
Heniochos of Delphi artifact
Heniochos of Delphi
Poster
The White Tower in Thessaloniki artifact
The White Tower in Thessaloniki
Poster
Minoan Snake Goddess artifact
Minoan Snake Goddess
Poster