Visitors queue on the steps of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens on Sunday 1 November. Photo: Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Kentridge’s Orpheus Show Draws Queues at Athens Archaeological Museum

02 Nov 2026, 02:42 by Bill Giannopoulos · Greek City Times

Long queues formed outside the National Archaeological Museum in Athens on Sunday, as crowds came to see the new William Kentridge exhibition on the myth of Orpheus.

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture shared a photo of the line on the museum steps in a Facebook post. It pointed to “two reasons” for the crowds, starting with the “amazing” new show.

Sunday 1 November was also the first free-admission Sunday of the winter season at state museums and sites. Free entry then applies on the first and third Sundays of each month until 31 March.

Orpheus meets the museum’s ancient treasures

Titled “Imitate the Sleep of Stones – Orpheus and Eurydice: Transformation and Return”, the show opened on 30 October and runs until 24 January 2027. Curator Burcu Fikretoğlu put it together, according to the museum.

The South African artist William Kentridge, born in Johannesburg in 1955, works across drawing, film and theatre, as well as opera. In this show, his works sit beside ancient objects tied to music, death and transformation.

First, rust-coloured steel figures and paper tree silhouettes by William Kentridge stand among the kouroi, sphinxes and grave monuments. They then lead visitors to the central hall, where a diorama uses the 19th-century stage trick known as “Pepper’s Ghost”.

In addition, the antiquities on show include a Corinthian red-figure krater (c. 400–375 BC) showing Orpheus playing the lyre. An ivory lyre from the Menidi tholos tomb, dating to the 14th–13th century BC, joins it.

A white kylix by the Pistoxenos Painter (c. 470 BC), on loan from the Acropolis Museum, also features. It shows Orpheus raising his lyre as a Thracian woman attacks him.

Linked to the Greek National Opera’s L’Orfeo

The exhibition opened on the eve of the premiere of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, which William Kentridge directs for the Greek National Opera at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. Like the show, it has international backing, as a co-production with Glyndebourne and New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni called the show “emblematic”. In her words, the works “converse with selected antiquities” around the myth of Orpheus and “life, love, death”.

For his part, William Kentridge said he was “very happy” to show his work in Athens. The museum itself, which earlier extended its Mycenaean exhibition, faces its own transformation as the Chipperfield extension moves ahead.

Until 15 November, the museum at 44 28is Oktovriou (Patission) Street opens 8am to 8pm, except Tuesdays (1pm to 8pm). Standard admission costs €20, and the next free Sunday falls on 15 November.

Source: Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Stay connected to Greek City Times for Free on Google News
Click NOW
Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world on greekcitytimes.com.
Contact our newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on WhatsApp, Google News and Apple News.

Related coverage

Advertising