Mycenaeans in Messenia: Princes of Pylos, from Kalamata to Los Angeles and Athens

New discoveries from Mycenaean Pylos in southwest Greece were the focus of an exhibition inaugurated in early 2025 at the Archaeological Museum of Messenia (Kalamata). This exhibition traveled to the J. Paul Getty Museum Villa in Los Angeles in June of the same year for an expanded display, before returning to Greece in 2026 to be on view at the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The exhibition was unusual for its generous display of recently excavated material from tombs near the Palace of Nestor at Pylos. These tombs complemented selections from 10 Bronze Age sites in Messenia that preceded and were absorbed into Nestor’s kingdom. Together with a catalogue of essays and illustrations, the exhibition integrated archaeological excavation with digital documentation, historical and art historical interpretation, and scientific analysis of human remains. The results offer lasting lessons on the prehistoric Aegean (Bronze Age Greece).