Is it possible to “sharpen” the spirit of the city in 500 square meters of the museum, with the help of 300 exhibits? Is it possible to present “slices of her soul” and offer the public a rich understanding of her history and people that will captivate everyone in their own way? And if so – if the city can be presented as an “exhibit” and even unpretentious, “raw” – it will be able to “tickle the curiosity and interest of all of us – those who have never been, those who have passed for any reason and those who is native and thinks he knows it, so that they can learn it when they visit in person”?

He described her with words like above exhibition “Mystery_29: Elefsina – museum of raw materials” its curator, Erato Koutsudaki, at his presentation yesterday at the Benaki Museum – Piraeus, where the project will run from 13 October to 27 November with free admission. This is a project that marks the program of the institution “European Capital of Culture Elefsina 2023” and is a journey through Elefsina from ancient times to modern times, from its traditions to its industrialization and its long-suffering working reality, but also from its relation of art and Aeschylus to its more late inhabitants and their communities.

Eleusis means the arrival of an outstanding person, object or event,” Michael Marmarinos, artistic director of the Capital of Culture, said yesterday, while Despina Gerulanou, chairman of the organization’s board of directors, expressed confidence that now the world will want to visit the city, and he will not “take away eye,” as Philippos Koutsaftis, director of the documentary “Agelastos Petra,” said.

The exhibition marks the start of the European Capital of Culture program, which will start in a few months.

But how exactly does the exhibition present the visible and invisible history of Elefsina? The first axis runs through the logic of the “Kunstkameras” of the Renaissance: among the exhibits presented in special showcases, there is an Attic red-figure jug of the 5th century BC. BC. centuries to the early 20th century wedding shoguny, the statutes of the Elefsina Pastor’s Association of 1907, cinema tickets and the personal diaries of Philippos Koutsaftis.

Further, in the “talking portraits” of modern Elefites, you can watch videos with the famous archaeologist Elefsina Kalliopi Papageli, with the president of the Labor Center “Elefsina-Western Attica” Vangelis Ligos, or with Evangelia Nodara, especially beloved in the city. , which leads the Facebook page “Corner of our old Elefsina”. The exhibition space is surrounded by lithographs, photographs (including by Nikolaos Topazis from Eleusis in 1955 and some by Giorgis Gerolimpos from his industrial casings in 2014), as well as literary passages with reference to Eleusis and signed by Satovryandos and Gustave Flaubert. In the mysterious “portico” with the hidden secrets of the city, rising above the center, one can find from European publications of the 17th century with a reference to Eleusis to the records of Stelios Kazantzidis, who was buried in the city. Also noteworthy is the sculpture of Yannis Pappas “Woman with Jewels” (1968), which was associated with the goddess Demeter.

At the same time, preparations for the launch of the institution are in full swing in the city itself. Some indoor areas of the Old Olive Mill, which was to be reconstructed, will be ready within a year, and in 2023 the reconstruction of the Iris paint factory and the old Elefsis cinema will be completed. But what did writer Henry Miller say? “In reality, Eleusis is still intact, and it is we who are torn apart, scattered and erased into dust.”

The exhibition is organized by Elefsina 2023 in association with the Benaki Museum and will also be on display at the old town hall of Elefsina from December to February.