While Greece’s famous Trojan War and the exploits of its heroes were fictional, the nation has nonetheless gone through several millennia of wars. Its illustrious military history and accomplishments are summarised in the Athens War Museum, which covers all of Greece’s recorded military exploits, from ancient times to modern-day.

Upon entering the museum, you will be greeted by relatively modern weapons and uniforms from Greece’s 20th century conflicts. Here, you can get a close-up look at WW2-era machine guns and uniforms, or watch a 1940s propaganda video against the Italian dictator Mussolini. The upper floor houses daggers, helmets and uniforms dating back to the Bronze Age, held by warriors not unlike the legendary Achilles and Odysseus. At the heart of the museum is an exhibition dedicated to the 400-year struggle for independence from the Ottomans. Here, paintings and sculptures depict the key moments in the struggle, and weapons ranging from oriental scimitars to European long-barrelled guns are on display, showing the vast technological developments that had taken place over the course of the Greeks’ fight for liberation.

The Athens War Museum accomplishes the impressive feat of containing Greece’s long history into one building, and is definitely worth a visit!