The Benaki Museum, housed in the Benaki family’s former mansion, is home to an outstanding collection of art representing various stages of Greek culture.
Its holdings include 120,000 works of art starting in prehistoric times and ending today. With 181,000 books, it is Greece’s largest Muslim library, though they are housed in one of the museum’s four satellite facilities.
The museum also has an extensive collection of Asian art. The museum started in 1934 when the Benakis donated 37,000 Islamic and Byzantine objects. Other donations over the years have made the Benaki Museum one of Greece’s top museums.
