replicating antiquities promotes Greek culture and creates the country’s ultimate souvenirs (Scholars debate whether the last depicts the Greek god Zeus or his seafaring brother established by the Greek ministry of culture visitors often leave with a piece inspired by the past to decorate their foyer or office The workshop was established in the 1970s to both promote Greece’s ancient heritage and to give souvenir seekers something to buy besides bad copies A portion of the proceeds from their sale benefits historic preservation “Our work travels around the world,” says Maria Zafeiri “It’s exciting when our statues end up in a museum and thousands of eyes admire them Although the space at Agios Ioannis Rentis isn’t open to the public I was allowed rare access to the workshop to learn how—and why—these legal forgeries are made amid angel wing begonias and replicas of gods and refinishers produces dozens of casts each week They work from master copies of the ancient originals Artisans coat the original statues in soap or a layer of aluminum foil before encasing them in layers of plaster or clay the resulting statue air-dries for about a week The statues are painted (by brush or sprayer) to resemble marble or bronze and embellished with “oxidations and patina that make them look just like the originals,” says Stelios Gavalas “Creating a copy of an ancient work of art is true magic Diamanto Sfetsa pours plaster and water into a mold of a Cycladic statue.Photographs by Demetrios IoannouA plaster cast of Greek goddess Hygeia is unmolded at the Agios Ioannis Rentis workshop The original is exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.Photographs by Demetrios IoannouPainter Konstantinos Kypriotakis adds finishing touches to a plaster replica of an ancient statue of Spartan warrior king Leonidas.Photograph by Demetrios IoannouThe workshop currently reproduces facsimiles of 800 different artifacts The copies mostly end up at gift shops around the country Prices start at 20 euros ($24) for a small Cycladic figurine and go as high as 10,000 euros ($11,560) for a copy of the Hermes of Praxiteles where visually impaired visitors use touch to explore classical art (This Greek island has become a sport climbing hotspot.) Making copies of ancient Greek statues isn’t new who lionized the Hellenic culture they’d conquered carved many marble replicas of the Greek originals “The first casts created were not for commercial reasons Scholars wanted to study the ancients,” says Gavalas “Later everyone wanted statues to decorate their places.” (Visit the little known Greek island where ancient marble statues were made.) “There was an enormous production of forged artifacts after the mid-19th century,” says Anna Mykoniati, a Greek art historian and author of the book Fake Antiquities Take Tanagra statues After these small terra-cotta figurines of women and mythical beings were discovered in graves north of Athens in 1860 both looted originals and sloppily produced fakes were sold to tourists nicknamed ‘the Parisians of ancient times,’” says Mykoniati “Everyone wanted a Tanagra figurine in their house and purchased for $6 million—was probably a fake Casts of ancient Greek statues are created in a workshop near Athens Replicas of 800 artworks are made here and sold via museum shops around Greece.Photograph by Demetrios IoannouShe and other scholars say that such illegal forgeries negatively impact the reputation of Greek culture “Fakes create a false image of the past,” she says “They hinder scientific research and distort it.” But aren’t Gavalas and his workshop also producing fakes? “I think the difference between a fake and a replica is intent,” says Nancy Moses, author of Fakes, Forgeries and Frauds “There are knockoffs of Chanel suits and designer bags but that becomes fraud [when] someone tells you they’re real.”  and other craftspeople specializes in “nothing more than copying and the creativity seen on the art of the ancient Greeks,” says Gavalas The Athens workshop feeds the desire of travelers to own something lovely to pack up (or ship home) a memento of their visit to take back into their daily world “A good replica can extend your trip,” says Moses “It’s similar to a photograph of yourself while on vacation it brings you back to that beautiful day at the Acropolis.” Demetrios Ioannou is a photojournalist based in Greece and Turkey. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Demetrios Ioannou is a photojournalist based in Greece and Turkey. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Team leader Youssef Nader and two other team members used AI to reveal 15 columns of text from an ancient scroll buried by volcanic debris from Mount Vesuvius in A.D Riot police detain dozens of fans outside the Melina Merkouri indoor stadium A Greek policeman has been severely injured as a mob of volleyball fans poured out of an Athens arena and attacked riot police A flare shot by a fan severed an artery in the thigh of the 30-year-old officer Thursday night Greece — This weekend's top-level soccer matches in Greece have been postponed following serious clashes involving sports fans that left a police officer in critical condition after he was hit by a flare Greek league organizers said weekend matches would be rescheduled after it failed to fill referee positions for key matches The decision announced Friday followed a series of violent sport-related incidents and came hours after police detained more than 400 people following the riots outside a volleyball stadium in Athens Violent groups of soccer fans often choose other sports where their clubs are represented “The perpetrators of these horrendous crimes have nothing to do with sport They are common criminals who threaten and sometimes take human lives and destroy property,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said The latest clashes occurred during a volleyball match between the city’s two largest clubs Panathinaikos and Olympiakos — who are fierce rivals on the soccer field and in many other sports Scores of fans attacked riot police outside the stadium Doctors at a nearby state hospital said a 31-year-old police officer was in a coma after a flare hit his left thigh causing serious arterial damage and extensive blood loss that triggered a cardiac arrest “One of our police officers has suffered a murderous attack,” Giannis Oikonomou “This attack must not and will not go unpunished It is a question of upholding the law and of justice The Greek police for a very long time – like the whole of our society – has been paying a heavy price for fan violence.” Police were questioning the detained suspects at a large holding facility near the scene of the clashes outside the 1,800-seat Melina Mercouri indoor stadium in the Agios Ioannis Rentis area west of the capital Residue tests were being carried out on the suspects' fingers and clothing to try to determine in any of the people detained had handled flares Earlier they recovered fragments of burnt clothing flares and remnants of improvised incendiary devices The Newsday app makes it easier to access content without having to log in Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker All buses and trolleys in Athens will be accessible to people with disabilities by the end of 2025 Deputy Infrastructure and Transport Minister Vassilis Economou said on Friday Visiting one of the bus depots of the organization of urban buses (OSY) at Agios Ioannis Rentis Economou told staff there that “all of us together we will create better public transport serving citizens cleanliness and air conditioning on buses.” “In the coming months we will replace 211 buses in East and West Attica while 300 new natural gas buses will be put into service with almost half of them on the roads by the end of the year,” he said while the rest will be delivered by June 2025 another 300 new buses will be delivered on 10-year leases in an ongoing tender which he expects to be signed by October 2024 Economou said the aim is not to have a single old bus on the road in Attica by 2027 Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox Allou! Fun Park issued a statement regarding the decision of the Municipality of Nikaia – Agios Ioannis Rentis to shut down its operations has passed all necessary safety inspections and is always fully compliant with the regulations set forth by the relevant authorities we submitted (protocol numbers for installation approval: 48024 – 19/12/2024 and for operating license approval: 48025 – 19/12/2024) all the required documents to the Municipality of Agios Ioannis Rentis for the renewal of the operating license the TUV certification authority has submitted all necessary certifications for all the rides at Allou which are required for the renewal of the license The renewal of the operating license will be finalized with the formation and decision of the relevant committee from the Municipality of Agios Ioannis Rentis which we hope will take place in the coming days We are at the disposal of the authorities to ensure the procedures for the renewal of the operating license are completed promptly.” It is reminded that the municipal council of Nikaia-Agios Ioannis Rentis unanimously decided during its meeting yesterday to shut down the recreational activities of the business under the name “FUNTASTIC LAND SINGLE-MEMBER S.A.” (“Allou as stated in a related press release: “Its operating license expired on December 19 all documents required by law for its renewal have not been submitted.” stated:“The Municipality and the Responsible Licensing Department for Commercial Activities had timely informed the managers of Allou Fun Park about the submission of the necessary renewal documents Following my recommendation and prioritizing the safety of children and adherence to the law the City Council unanimously decided to seal off the recreational rides We call on the business managers to promptly comply with the procedures stipulated by law so that the possibility of reopening the rides can be considered in the future.” Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr The municipal council of Nikaia-Ag. Ioannis Rentis unanimously decided during yesterday’s session to seal off the recreational activities of the business operating under the name “FUNTASTIC LAND SINGLE-MEMBER S.A.” (“Allou “the operating license expired on December 19 all the necessary documentation required by law for its renewal has not been submitted.” stated:“The Municipality and the Competent Licensing Department for Commercial Activities had timely informed the administrators of ‘Allou Fun Park’ about the submission of the necessary renewal documents the process of submitting the documents has not progressed and prioritizing the safety of children and adherence to the law the City Council unanimously decided to seal off the recreational games We urge the administrators of the business to immediately comply with the procedures stipulated by law so that the possibility of the games reopening can be considered in the future.” It is worth noting that just a few days ago children were trapped for 15 minutes in a ride at “Allou Visitors to the Athens amusement park reported that due to a malfunction the ride remained stuck in the air for 15 to 20 minutes resulting in children being stranded at a considerable altitude