NEW YORK (AMNA / P. Panagiotou)
Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos on Wednesday addressed the formal opening of the exhibition entitled “Transition to Christianity: Art of Late Antiquity, 3rd-7th Century AD” hosted at the Onassis Cultural Centre in Manhattan.

Avramopoulos referred to the notable contribution of Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) to the promotion of ancient and contemporary Greek culture, underlining that “our cultural heritage is the best weapon that can be used for Greece’s defence.”
He stressed that the specific initiative undertaken by the Onassis Foundation proves again that “we can escape from misery and introversion by highlighting Greece’s real image.”
The minister of defence also stressed that through the exhibition an optimistic message is sent that “Greece will be able to make it”, underlining that the contribution of the Greek diaspora is unfailing.

The exhibition will be on view until May 21, 2012, bringing together more than 170 exceptional objects on loan from Greek museums, as well as museums in Cyprus and the United States. Incorporating many outstanding works of art that have never before been seen outside Greece, as well as recently discovered works that are being exhibited for the first time anywhere, Transition to Christianity reveals a period of extraordinary and perhaps unexpected creativity in the Greek world of Late Antiquity.

The extraordinary objects in the exhibition represent a wide range of media and functions: mosaics, paintings, sculptures, architectural elements, inscriptions, coins, liturgical objects, jewelry and domestic furnishings. Together, they reveal the creative ferment of the world of Late Antiquity, when a new society, religion and material culture were gradually replacing the old.

Source: Athens News Agency

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