Archaeological Museum of Kos: Tracing the evolution of the art of sculpture on Kos

The building was erected in 1936 to house the finds from the Italian and German archaeological excavations. Today, the collection of the recently renovated Museum also includes select finds from the many excavations carried out by the Archaeological Service and other research institutions across the island (ancient Alasarna, the present-day Kardamaina, among others), dating from prehistoric to Late Roman times, chronicling the island’s long history, from the 4th millennium BC to the 3rd century AD, through engaging displays and modern interpretive media.

Sculpture no doubt dominates the exhibition with twenty-nine statues tracing the evolution of this particular art form, from the late 5th to the 1st century BC. Ιn the entrance hall, visitors are welcomed by the colossal head of the goddess Hera and a funerary relief representing a lion. Mainly originating in the Agora, the Western Archaeological Site, the Altar of Dionysus, the Odeon and the Casa Romana, most sculptures are in an excellent state of preservation.

Among the mosaics on display, the most impressive specimens are the Hellenistic one from the Roman Villa (Casa Romana), representing the bottom of the sea, and the mosaic from the so-called “House of Asclepius”, which covers the entire floor of the Museum’s atrium with a composition featuring Asclepius arriving on the island.