The successful exhibition «Myrtis: Face to face with the past» can now be seen in Sparta. Now with new installations for the visually and hearing impaired.
The exhibition has become widely known after touring throughout Greece and to foreign cities. In Athens, as many as 48 000 people visited it. The exhibition has now moved southwards, and you can find it at the Museum of the Olive and the Greek Olive Oil of Sparta.
An educational program accompanies the exhibition, with stories written specially for Myrtis. The stories speak to us about the universal need for peaceful solutions and the fight against poverty and disease.
New additions have been made for people with vision or hearing impairments. These include:
• A specially designed route that includes touchable exhibits and an audio tour
• communication in Braille and large print
• descriptions in the Greek and the international sign language.
An old skull has been recreated as Myrtis, with the help from the University of Bergen. Photo: www.myrtis.grMyrtis: A voice from the past
Myrtis is the central person of the exhibition. At the age of 11 she died of typhoid fever during the plague which hit Athens in the middle of the 5th Century BC. One third of Athens' population lost their lives to the disease at that time. The remains of 11 year old Myrtis were found in a mass grave amongst the skeletons of 150 men, women and children.
The most sensational finding was the skull of Myrtis. It was in such a good condition that the orthodontic research team managed to reconstruct the face of Myrtis. That is why we can see her today – representing the appearance of people living in another age.
• Visit the website of Myrtis
Norwegian and Greek competence
The fact that Myrtis skull was discovered intact, and complete with her jaw and teeth (a mixture of both adult and milk teeth), made it possible for professor Papagrigorakis and his team to recreate her face. Papagrigorakis is a Greek citizen, but has spent several years studying in Norway and Bergen.
– The Department of Orthodontics at The University of Bergen was one of the best in the world, Papagrigorakis says.