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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. Please note that all images and materials remain the property of their respective copyright holders, and may not be reproduced, distributed, or otherwise used without their prior permission.

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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Picture
Travel
Discover
Remember

Picture / Promotion /Posters

Ads in the Press Brochures Posters Yearbooks & Calendars Fairs & Exhibitions Stamps & Commemorative Cancellations

Displaying 41/41 artefacts

The Island of Hydra 1956 artifact
The Island of Hydra 1956
Poster
Ai Giannakis Beach Parga artifact
Ai Giannakis Beach Parga
Myrtos Beach Kefalonia artifact
Myrtos Beach Kefalonia
Poster
Promoting Greece in Germany artifact
Promoting Greece in Germany
Poster
1962 Epidaurus Festival Poster artifact
1962 Epidaurus Festival Poster
Poster
Promoting Greece with a Sun artifact
Promoting Greece with a Sun
Poster
Ancient vase with flowers artifact
Ancient vase with flowers
Poster
Hellas - Sun, sea, sand and a balcony artifact
Hellas - Sun, sea, sand and a balcony
Poster
Grèce - A ship-figurehead 1960 artifact
Grèce - A ship-figurehead 1960
Poster
Griechenland - Island Reflection 1961 artifact
Griechenland - Island Reflection 1961
Poster
Greece 1963 artifact
Greece 1963
Poster
Greece as a mosaic artifact
Greece as a mosaic
Poster
Greek Weaving Art 1963 artifact
Greek Weaving Art 1963
Poster
A littoral on the Aegean Sea artifact
A littoral on the Aegean Sea
Poster
The sun and the moon over a golden sea artifact
The sun and the moon over a golden sea
Poster
Visit Greece in the 1930s artifact
Visit Greece in the 1930s
Poster
An imaginary landscape in 18th century Athens artifact
An imaginary landscape in 18th century Athens
Poster
The golden sun of Greece artifact
The golden sun of Greece
Poster
Minoan goddess terracota figurine artifact
Minoan goddess terracota figurine
Poster
Mount Athos monastic architecture 1963 artifact
Mount Athos monastic architecture 1963
Poster
Statue of the Kore with almond eyes artifact
Statue of the Kore with almond eyes
Poster
Window with a view artifact
Window with a view
Poster
The southeast corner of the east pediment of the Parthenon artifact
The southeast corner of the east pediment of...
Poster
Embroidery from Crete artifact
Embroidery from Crete
Poster
Hand-woven textile from Crete artifact
Hand-woven textile from Crete
Poster
Scrape mural in Pyrgi artifact
Scrape mural in Pyrgi
Poster
Cretan fringed embroidery artifact
Cretan fringed embroidery
Poster
The Blue Bird Fresco at Knossos artifact
The Blue Bird Fresco at Knossos
Poster
The Port of Aegina artifact
The Port of Aegina
Poster
The jetty at the port of Hydra artifact
The jetty at the port of Hydra
Poster
The Grand Staircase at the Palace of Knossos artifact
The Grand Staircase at the Palace of Knossos
Poster
The islet of Pontikonissi in Corfu artifact
The islet of Pontikonissi in Corfu
Poster
The Acropolis of Lindos Rhodes 1954 artifact
The Acropolis of Lindos Rhodes 1954
Poster
The Antikythera Ephebe artifact
The Antikythera Ephebe
Poster
View of Mikrolimano Bay and the Kastella district in Piraeus artifact
View of Mikrolimano Bay and the Kastella dist...
Poster
A balcony with a view of the Athens Acropolis artifact
A balcony with a view of the Athens Acropolis
Poster
Hydra's port photogrphed by N.A. Tombazi artifact
Hydra's port photogrphed by N.A. Tombazi
Poster
Α windmill in Mykonos artifact
Α windmill in Mykonos
Poster
Mount Athos artifact
Mount Athos
Poster
Delphi in 1960 artifact
Delphi in 1960
Poster
Study for a poster artifact
Study for a poster
Drawing