The exhibition, will be hosted at the BOCCF’s Museum of George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides Collection, traces the path from the Megali Idea (“Great Idea”) of national integration to the border and population formation of the present Greek state, through the dramatic events of the Asia Minor Campaign of 1922.
The journey begins with a reference to the flourishing of Greek populations in Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace. In the main part of the exhibition, the documents narrate the Greek presence in Asia Minor and the events of the Asia Minor Campaign, up to the retreat of the Greek army and the destruction of Smyrna.
Particular reference is made to the final chapter of the Campaign: the trial of those deemed responsible for the national tragedy. Their indictment, conviction and execution are presented through Periklis Byzantios’ drawings of the so-called “Trial of the Six”, which the artist sketched while attending the trial in his capacity as an on-the-scene reporter. Today the sketches are kept in the National History Museum.
The exhibition boasts copies of the historical evidence on display in the exhibition “From the Great... to Contemporary Greece” at the National Historical Museum’s headquarters in Athens’ Old Parliament House, which includes photographic evidence, documents and objects, accompanied by testimonies, diary extracts and press articles.
These testimonies come from the Photographic Archive and the Archive of Historical Documents of the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece. Archival items have also been provided by the Petralias Historical and Cultural Archive, the Michael G. Theotokas Archive, the Scouts of Greece Historical Archive and the Hellenic Literary & Historical Archive (ELIA).
Guided tours and educational programs will be held during the exhibition.
Exhibition duration 08.06.2023-30.09.2023
Opening hours: 10:00 – 19:00 on weekdays, weekends and public holidays
Venue: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 86-90 Faneromeni Street, Nicosia 1011 (Museum of George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides collection)
Info: 22 128157
Free entrance