The Milies Museum aims to present the history of the village and the traditional life of its people with photographs, relevant texts and objects chosen to capture the visitor’s further interest.
At the entrance one finds a replica of the banner of the Pelion Revolution against the Ottoman occupation hoisted in Milies on the 7th of May 1821, two local costumes and a copy of the chart of Greece printed in Vienna in late 18thc.
Inside the Museum, lack of space has imposed the use of panels that remind one of pages in a richly illustrated gigantic book with relative texts, a great number of photographs and objects that provide a wider range of information on each subject.
One of the first panels refers to the myths of Mount Pelion, to Jason and the Argonauts, to the wise centaur Chiron who taught Theseus and young Achilles in a cave near by. Then one finds information on the temple of god Apollo located in the vicinity of Milies whose oracle was already well known in the 5th century b.C.
Visitors follow the development of the village during the Turkish occupation. Panels show churches and monasteries with their richly decorated interiors, 18th c. fountains and traditional mansions built in the early 19th c.
A panel is dedicated to the famous School of Milies founded in 1814 by three of the greatest scholars of pre-independence Greece and next to that there is reference to the naive painter Theophilos who spent some time in the village.
Visitors also find data on the early 20th c. flourishing period in Milies and on the local train that reached the village in 1903 connenting the village to the near by city port of Volos.
Panels present aspects of daily life, local crafts, customs and traditions. The icon painter, the tinker and the blacksmith, the farrier and packsaddler, the stone and wood carver, each have a panel of their own.
Details on making olives and olive oil, wine and tsipouro, women baking bread, preparing trachana and fresh tomato preserve, making baklava and walnut liqueur are also recorded.
Tools used by the craftsmen and objects created in their workshops, handmade weavings and embroideries, curtains and rugs capture the visitor’s attention offering a wider range of information.
Opening Hours:
15 June - 15 September Daily 10.00 am - 2.30 pmand 6.00 pm. - 9.00 pm
16 September - 14 June Wendsday - Friday 10.00 am - 2.00.pm Saturday and Sunday 10.00 am. - 3.00 pm.
Source and for more information about the Local Folklore Museum at www.miliesmuseum.gr