Ierapetra Archaeological Museum

The Museum was formed during the Turkish colonization of Greece at the end of the nineteenth century, and after numerous moves, it is presently situated in the building of the Commercial Ottoman School in Konoupaki Square, next to the Town Hall.

The following items are included in the collection:

The art of the Minoans.
The archaeological finds from this period all originate from outside the existing city limits.
The most notable of them is a clay larnax (no. 822) discovered in Episkopi in the fall of 1946 by professor N. Platon in a Late Minoan III era horse-shoe shaped hewn tomb that also held two other larnakes.

Geometric Art is a type of art that is based on geometric
Because there are so few geometric sites in the neighborhood, there is relatively little in the collection that represents geometric art. Figurines and vases from the 9th to 8th centuries B.C. are the most common findings.

Art from the Middle Ages.
There aren’t many Archaic art displays either. Mostly relief figures and terracotta votive plaques.
Despite the entrance of mass manufacturing, it is clear from the era’s forms that a significant advancement in the handling of miniature figurine modeling has occurred since the previous time; this is the start of the subsequent amazing growth of the plastic arts.

Art from the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
These two periods are presented together because, on the one hand, Doric Hierapytna developed and arose in the region independently of the direct political and cultural influences that influenced the rest of the Helladic world outside of Crete, and on the other hand, these finds have yet to be properly evaluated, despite their importance to the collection.
The majority of the exhibits, including as figurines and vases, are from Hierapytna in ancient times.

Art from the Graeco-Roman period.
The term Graeco-Roman is used to describe the work of local artists and craftspeople who were influenced by the Romans. The shape of a group of lights is less important than the chosen themes for discus decoration.

Statues and Sculpture
The Viglia region, where the old city was located, has yielded a huge number of sculptures. The majority of them from the Roman era are decapitated. There are life-size statues and statuettes, as well as sculptures that are larger than life-size.

Inscriptions Inscriptions are possibly the most valuable source of ancient information since they represent a direct current testimony of events; we gain so many details about the history, language, public affairs, and private life of each place through them.

The honorary decree of Klaudios Aristagoras is inscribed.

Only two of the numerous major treaties of the Hierapytnians’ multi-dimensional policies are now in the collection. The first is a record of the Hierapytnians’ alliance with Antigonos of Macedonia, and the second is a pact of civil rights equality with the Arcadians.
There are also two interest-related honorary decrees. One of them is number 53, which was created to commemorate the city’s recognition of Titos Claudios Aristagoras as a patron and protector.

Hierapytna minted several different coins as an autonomous state, and samples from 44 issues have been discovered; the majority are silver, and some are true masterpieces of coin engraving.