Hellenic Maritime Museum

The first attempt to establish the Hellenic Maritime Museum was made in the newly founded Greek state in 1867. That year, Gerasimos Zochios, a captain in the Hellenic Navy and founder of the Naval Pension Fund, proposed that the Fund undertake the task of collecting and preserving objects related to Greek maritime history. However, due to the turbulent historical circumstances of the time, the idea was not pursued further.
Nevertheless, his vision was eventually realised as a private initiative, 82 years later. On 7 April 1949, a group of distinguished citizens of Piraeus, together with officers of the Hellenic Navy and Merchant Marine, united by their love for the sea and ships, gathered at the office of the then Minister of Naval Affairs, Gerasimos Vasileiadis, and signed the founding charter of the association under the name “Society for the Maritime Museum and the Collection of Relics from the Nation’s Naval Struggles.”
This marked the birth of the Hellenic Maritime Museum, with shipowner Georgios Stringos serving as its first President.

The “Athinoula A. Martinos” Library operates within the Museum. Today, it constitutes the largest maritime library in Greece, with more than 17,000 titles, including monographs, journals, encyclopaedias, conference proceedings, yearbooks, and other material, in both Greek and foreign languages.

DONATION OF THE NON-PROFIT CIVIL COMPANY AEGEAS

• Support for the operation and activities of the Museum and its Library.
• Procurement of equipment.