ATHENS – The National Archaeological Museum has planned exhibits to commemorate Greek historical events like the battle of Thermopylae, the naval battle of Salamina (both 2,500 years ago) and the start of the Greek War of Independence (1821), all of which have milestone anniversaries this year, Museum Director Maria Lagogianni said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Reviewing the museum’s work in 2019 and plans for 2020, Lagogianni said that underlying exhibits will be the theme of the ancient Greek goddess Nike (“Victory”), with statues from the Temple of Artemis at Epidaurus.

Lagogianni said museum visitors increased by 27.7 percent in the five years since 2015. The recently completed exhibit of “The Countless Aspects of Beauty”, along with two previous and related exhibits – “A dream among splendid ruins… – Strolling through the Athens of travelers 17th-19th century” in 2016 and “Odysseys” in 2017 – were seen by a collective 950,000 visitors and would travel to Beijing and the National Museum of China.

Also speaking at the event, where the traditional New Year’s cake (vassilopita) was cut, was Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.