Words and Melodies

We invite you to take a wonderful journey into the world of Greek traditional musical instruments, exploring 12 themes in 4 exhibition halls. The Museum's rich collection is housed in an equally impressive setting, a house with great historical and aesthetic value: The Lassanis Mansion.

The Lassanis Mansion: A Haven for the Anoyanakis Collection

The Lassanis Mansion is a typical example of an Athenian house from the time of King Otto, the first king of Greece. It was built between 1832 and 1837, roughly the same period when the king’s palace was constructed.

The house belonged to Georgios Lassanis, a scholar who fought in the 1821 Revolution. Born in Kozani in 1793, Lassanis went to Germany in 1813, where he studied literature, and then to Odessa, where he became a member of the Filiki Eteria. He was one of the leaders of the Sacred Band, an adjutant in the Revolution’s first battle, the Battle of Dragatsani, and a Commander-in-Chief in its last, the Battle of Petra. After the Revolution, he was appointed as the first Prefect of Attica and Boeotia and Minister of Military Affairs in King Otto’s government.

In addition to being a military officer, Lassanis also distinguished himself as a writer of school textbooks and a translator and playwright. He left his entire estate to the University of Athens, on the condition that a drama competition be established in his name.

At the end of the 20th century the house of George Lassanis, a man of letters, took in the collection of a man of music: Fivos Anoyanakis. The museum opened its doors on June 6, 1991.
The Anoyanakis Collection: A rare and melodious ensemble

Born in Heraklion, Crete in 1916, Fivos Anoyanakis became involved in music at an early age. A lover of Greek folk culture, he collected folk musical instruments for years, during a time when few others were interested in them. Had he not, many would not have survived as types of instruments. In 1978 Fivos Anoyanakis donated his collection to the Greek state. It numbered roughly 1,200 instruments. Some of them you will have the chance to admire up close.

To create sound, we need a sound source, something that vibrates. The instruments in the exhibition are thus grouped by the materials that produce the sound, according to the categories and classification criteria that ethnomusicologists have established for folk musical instruments. Not all the instruments in the collection are on exhibition. The others are kept in the Museum’s archives, where they can be examined by researchers. Shall we start our journey now?