Athens
The Jewish Museum
39, Nikis St. 10557 Athens
Tel: (+30) 210 322 5582
Fax: (+30) 210 323 1577
www.jewishmuseum.gr
Opening hours:
Daily 9:00 14:30
Sunday 10:00 14:00
Saturday closed
The Museum was founded in 1977 in order to collect, conserve, research and exhibit the material evidence of 2300 years of Jewish life in Greece. Its collection, which is continuously enriched, consists of seven and a half thousand original artifacts, photographs, documents and archives, and includes diverse material pertaining to the domestic and religious life, as well as the historical course of the Greek Jews.
The permanent exhibition illustrates subject areas such as the synagogue, the Jewish Holidays, traditional costumes, the Holocaust, the cycle of life and more.
Dont miss the reconstruction of the 19th century synagogue of Patras.
Ancient Synagogue
In the heart of the ancient Agora
Below the Acropolis on the edge of Monastiraki- entrance on Adrianou St.
Tel: (+30) 210 321 0185
In the ancient Agora of Athens is a site that may well be that of a synagogue dating back to the third century C.E. The Germans excavated this area in the early 1930s and found a small Pentelic marble revetment piece nearby, on which was carved a menorah and part of a lulav. The proximity of this revetment fragment to the foundations of a synagogue-like structure supports the view that this site may be the ancient synagogue of the city that was destroyed during the 6th century.
Modern Synagogues of Athens
5 & 8 Melidoni St.
Open daily from 9:00 to 13:00
Tel: Community offices: (+30) 210 325 2875 210 325 2823
Rabbi J.Arar (+30) 210 325 2773
For information about the services, click here
The two surviving modern synagogues of Athens are both on Melidoni St. facing each other across the street:
The older of the two is located at 8 Melidoni St. and today, its building houses the community offices. The synagogue bears the title of Etz Hayyim, a name usually used by Romaniote Jews (Jews whose origin in Greece goes back to the 3rd century B.C.E, as opposed to the Sefardic Jews, who arrived in Greece in the 15th century after being expelled from Spain and Portugal). It is used today essentially during the High Holidays.
The newer of the two synagogues, called Beth Shalom, is located at 5 Melidoni St. The exterior is in white Pentelic marble in neo-classic style. The interior decorations, including the bronze-paneled wall of the echal and the windows, were completed in 1975. The echal proper dates from the late 30s.
Jewish senior's home RESTEION
Contact person: Monis Halegoua
180, Labtron str, P.O. Box 185,
Doussi Koropi 194 00, Attica
tel.: +30 210 96.56.736-9
fax: +30 210 89.79.559
e-mail: info@restion.gr
website: www.resteion.gr
A beautiful and modern building which was built with the support of the Claims Conference and thanks to the generosity of the Restis family and other donors of the community, the Resteion lies in the southern suburb of Athens in a beautiful setting. To visit and for more information, see their website.
Cemetery and Holocaust monument
In the third cemetery of Athens, in the suburb of Nikea, Piraeus
For more information about the history of the Athens Jewish community,
click here.
Based in part on Jewish Sites and Synagogues of Greece -
Nicholas P. Stavroulakis and Timothy J. DeVinney - Talos press
