Archaeological Museum of Astypalaia

The Archaeological Museum of Astypalaia is a regional museum on the island of Astypalaia in the Dodecanese, Greece. Opened in September 1998, it presents archaeological finds from the island spanning from prehistory through medieval times. The museum serves as the principal repository for local excavated material and offers a chronological survey of human activity on Astypalaia across several millennia.

The museum was established through a collaboration between local ecclesiastical authorities and the Hellenic state. In 1994, the Ecclesiastical Charity Fund of Astypalaia granted a ground-floor hall to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture for this purpose. The exhibition was organized during 1995 and 1996, and in subsequent years it was improved and enriched with a special audio-visual program called Echorama. These developments culminated in the museum's opening in September 1998.

The collection covers a wide chronological range from the prehistoric period down to medieval times. Prehistoric material includes stone and bronze tools, jewelry, and pottery from Mycenaean tombs. Classical and Hellenistic periods are represented by coin hoards, votive inscriptions naming deities such as Apollo, Artemis, Eileithyia, Asclepius, and Aphrodite, administrative and funerary inscriptions, relief stelae, figurines, and architectural elements. A separate ceramic collection spans from the Geometric period through Roman times. Early Christian material includes architectural components from basilicas, and the medieval period is represented by Venetian-era sculpture.

Among the signature pieces are a silver coin treasure from the classical era and a votive inscribed base of Apollo bearing the footprints of a monumental statue, dated to the 4th century BC. An inscribed column preserves a sacred law regarding conditions for entering a sanctuary, dating to the 3rd century BC. Another inscribed stone column carries a letter from Emperor Hadrian to the lords and parliament of Cnidia. The collection also includes part of a golden wreath with leaves and fruits, marble shields and capitals from early Christian basilicas, and a marble coat of arms of the Querini family, governors of the island, from the local Venetian castle.

The museum occupies a ground-floor hall granted by the Ecclesiastical Charity Fund of Astypalaia. The building is located in Astypalaia, within the Kalymnos Regional Unit of the Dodecanese. The museum's website is maintained by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.

The Archaeological Museum of Astypalaia is located on the island of Astypalaia in the Dodecanese archipelago, Greece. It operates under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. Further information on visiting hours and access is available through the ministry's Odysseus portal at odysseus.culture.gr.