The first person to come up with the idea of establishing a Maritime Museum was Gerasimos Zochios, Captain of the Greek Navy. That happened in 1867 while he was serving as Secretary General in the Ministry of Navy.
Nevertheless, his idea was to be implemented as a private initiative 82 years later. On the 7th April 1949 a group of reputable citizens of Piraeus along with officials of the Greek Navy, bonded by their love for the sea and the ships, gathered at the office of the Minister of Navy of that time, Gerasimos Vasileiadis. There, they signed the Society’s certificate of incorporation under the name “Society of the Maritime Museum and the gathering of relics of the Nation’s sea battles”. This moment signaled the birth of the Hellenic Maritime Museum. The ship-owner Georgios Strigos was appointed first president. The reason for undertaking this initiative was the founding members’ wish to save the Greek maritime tradition and heritage. Owing to the rapid technological developments and the absence of an equivalent public or private institution, this extremely important aspect of Greek tradition was threatened with extinction.
The Museum’s first home belonged to Anna M. Pipineli and in 1955 it was located at 18 Akti Moutsopoulou in the small harbour of Zea (Pasalimani). The exhibits gathered till that time were placed offhandedly, while the Navy General Staff, the Ministry of Mercantile Marine and private individuals continued their efforts to gather nautical relics by means of advertisements on the Marine press and the press of Piraeus.
In the 60s under the presidency of Admiral Konstantinos Alexandris, two significant attainments were achieved. In 1964, Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) and then the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) conveyed the building site where the premises of the Maritime Museum are situated today by means of a typical lease. At the same time, according to Law 4502 of 1966 the Museum was endowed, through the Navy Retirement Fund (ΝΑΤ), with one resource accounting for 10% of the selling value of some of the Fund’s appraised documents.
At that time the expatriate Konstantinos Kiriazis subsidized the publication of the album “Ships and Naval Battles of the Greek Revolution of 1821”. The album consisted of 28 colour pictures of sailing ships. The 19th century ships were reproductions of lithograpies belonging to the Roux family of French painters. The pictures were drawn by Antonios Kriezis, a Navy officer, grandson of the renowned Admiral of the Greek Revolution.
The earnings from the selling of the album were considerable and helped finish the building which continues to house the Museum today. The building has about 1,700 square metres of exhibit area. The entrance incorporates part of Conon’s walls which aimed at protecting the ancient harbour.
This, at least partial, resolution of two major issues, namely housing and financing, allowed the Museum to go on with its undertakings undistracted. That is to collect exhibits and relics related to both the Navy and the Merchant Marine.
In the years that followed, the Museum became a member of the following international associations:
- ICOM (International Congress οf Museums).
- ICMM (International Congress of Maritime Museums).
- AMMM (Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums).
The Ministry of Culture has repeatedly assigned to the Museum the representation of Greece at relevant events abroad. Moreover, the Museum also participates and organizes equivalent exhibitions.
Today, 2,500 chronologically and thematically classified items are exhibited in its rooms, bringing to life the marine history and tradition from the prehistoric years to our day.
There have been many contributors to the Museum during the 56 years of its operation. Organizations which have contributed to the Museum are the Ministry of National Defense (Navy General Staff), the Ministry of Mercantile Marine (Navy Retirement Fund) and the Ministry of Culture. Several private individuals have also made contributions to the Museum. Their names are mentioned next to the exhibits they have donated.
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