The Kore of Thira is a monumental marble statue dating to the 7th century BCE, discovered in 2000 during a rescue excavation at the ancient cemetery of Sellada on the island of Santorini (ancient Thira). Carved from fine Naxian marble and standing at 2.48 meters high, the statue represents a young woman in a frontal pose, dressed in a long Doric peplos and exhibiting the characteristic Archaic smile. The Kore is believed to have been a funerary monument, highlighting the wealth and social status of the elite in Archaic Thira. Its exceptional preservation and scale make it one of the most significant examples of early Greek sculpture. The statue was first exhibited in 2022 at the Archaeological Museum of Thira and later featured in the international exhibition “The Moment and Eternity” in Rome, under the auspices of the Greek and Italian Ministries of Culture. Currently, the Kore is displayed in the exhibition “Cycladic Women: Unknown Stories from the Aegean” at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens (December 2024 – May 2025). The exhibition explores female identities in the Cyclades from the Neolithic era to the 19th century, and the Kore of Thira stands as a powerful symbol of feminine presence, ritual significance, and cultural memory in the Aegean world.
