From the outside, it looks deceptively simple – a sleek, metallic base beneath an ancient sculpture. But hidden within this unassuming structure is a feat of modern engineering: a seismic protection mechanism capable of absorbing earthquakes up to magnitude 8. Designed with a system of metal beams, concrete blocks, and calibrated friction surfaces, this base is the new guardian of the famed Kore of Thera.

Standing at 2.48 meters tall and weighing around 500 kilograms, the 2,700-year-old Naxian marble statue has now been freed from the metal ring and four braces that once supported it. The intervention has been intentionally minimal, preserving the integrity of the archaic sculpture while significantly improving its safety and mobility.

The new seismic base was developed by the National Technical University of Athens, based on a study by NTUA emeritus professor Vlassis Koumousis. Beyond its protective function, the base simplifies transportation, an essential improvement for a statue of such size and significance. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni noted that this innovation builds on lessons learned from the first seismic base designed 25 years ago for Praxiteles’ Hermes, reflecting the evolution of Greece’s cultural preservation expertise. Dimitris Athanasoulis, head of the Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities, hailed the base as a “technical achievement.”

This base now accompanies the Kore to her new permanent home, as the Archaeological Museum of Thera reopens its doors following an extensive renovation. The museum’s first major exhibition, “Cycladic Women: Unknown Stories of Women of the Cyclades,” is the result of a collaboration between the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Ministry of Culture, and the Municipality of Thera. Previously presented at Athens’ Stathatos Mansion, the exhibition now debuts in a reimagined space designed to honor both past and present.

The museum itself, originally designed in the wake of the 1956 earthquake by modernist architect Konstantinos Dekavallas, closed in 2017, opening only for special occasions. It has now undergone a €750,000 renovation that maintains its original character while bringing its infrastructure into the 21st century. Key architectural elements, like its distinctive mosaic floors and side skylights, have been carefully preserved.

Updates include improved accessibility, new glass panel installations, and the removal of previous alterations that obscured Dekavallas’ design. The museum’s windows, once framing views of neighboring islands, are now strategically glazed to block out the visual clutter of Santorini’s rapid tourist development.

The exhibition’s curators, Panagiotis Iossif, Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Dr. Ioannis Fappas and Dimitris Athanasoulis, also developed the museographic design with architects Despina Tsafou and Katerina Apostolou. Iossif emphasized that, while “Cycladic Women” was originally designed to be presented at both the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Archaeological Museum of Thera, it clearly benefits from the expanded space and sophisticated lighting of the renovated museum. The result is not just a relocation of the original show, but what Iossif describes as a “new exhibition,” reinterpreted for its Santorini setting.

A Global Future for Cycladic Heritage

“Cycladic Women” – the first pan-Cycladic exhibition ever presented – aims to explore the role of women in island societies through 180 masterpieces spanning from prehistory to the 19th century. It also marks the first initiative to emerge from a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and the Museum of Cycladic Art, which also includes plans to create a global digital database (corpus) of Cycladic antiquities and a Cycladic Civilization Research Center on Naxos.

Responding to a question from Kathimerini, Mr. Iossif revealed that the corpus’s first public initiative will take place in February 2026 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Also noteworthy is the second, expanded exhibition catalogue, which sets a new standard in Greek museology. It includes full photographic documentation of every section, along with scholarly contributions, including an in-depth study of the Kore of Thera by archaeologist Maya Efstathiou.

“Cycladic Women: Unknown Stories of Women of the Cyclades” will run until October 31, at the Archaeological Museum of Thera.