This unit includes recreations of garments of the Minoan, Ancient Greek, and Byzantine eras, created at the Lykeion ton Ellinidon during the first decades of the 20th century in the spirit of the timeless overview and the unbroken continuity of Hellenic culture, as expressed in the work History of the Greek Nation by K. Paparrigopoulos.

These costumes draw their inspiration from the murals of Knossos, Tiryns, and Thebes, Minoan figurines, the Korai of the Acropolis, ancient bas-reliefs, statues, vase-paintings, Byzantine saint icons, etc. Their creation is directly linked to the “Stadium Festivals” of the Lykeion ton Ellinidon, which took place annually from 1914 and whose programme included Greek dances and tableaux vivants inspired by antiquity, the Byzantine age, and the modern era.

The garments were created under the supervision of artistic and intellectual figures, including Eva Sikelianos; philologist and member of the Hellenic Folklore Society, Anna Apostolaki; the director of the Byzantine Museum, Giorgos Sotiriou; and his wife Maria, also a Byzantinologist. In 1929, a donation of 2,000 drachmas from Antonis Benakis covered the cost of creating the Byzantine costumes.