About
myAthena is a small souvenirs shop in Plaka, the most popular and historical neighborhood in Athens. The shop is located on Lisikratous street, a vivid place for tourists and locals, which stretches between the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Acropolis, just few minutes walking from the new Acropolis Museum. A family business Thousands of people have honored our family business that dates back in the 1960s, when Petros Bellos, a tinsmith from Epirus, decided to start a bronze workshop in Attica. The story says that he attended the service on Good Friday at his village, holding a candle over his hand. Then, small drops of candle wax dripped onto his fingers. The idea flashed into his mind, that he might carve small figurines out of molds and casts. He had no official training in bronze casting, but he had foreseen the growth of tourism market, so he left his birthplace for Athens in order to learn the casting process and the whole old-school bronze technique. It took him few months to become accepted from the artisan community, so he brought his family Athens. He set up his own foundry and workshop there and started producing bronze sculptures inspired from ancient Greek myths, stories and legends. A renowned craftsman through the years, he passed his art on to his younger son, Minas. Since 1985, Minas sculptured new models and designs, perfecting the traditional technique he had learnt from his father. His bronze figures of small and medium scale became best sellers in the domestic market all over Greece. One of his sculptures, a bronze trireme—a representation of the dominant warship in the Mediterranean during the 7th to 4th centuries BC—has been given to the US President Bill Clinton as an official gift by the Greek government during his visit to Athens in 1999. From generation to generation In 2001, Minas Bellos and his wife, Kiki, opened their retail shop in Plaka, where one can find hand-made bronze statues and the complete collection of products relative to the Greek tourist market. For two decades the ‘small shop’ has become a meeting point for all those who start their journey in ancient Athens, and a sharing memory for all those who discover modern Athens with a promise; to be back. The third generation of our family, their daughters Eleni and Anna, keep alive the spirit that made our people innovative and creative. And as we keep saying from this tiny corner of a large metropolis, create memories in Athens and myAthena will make them last forever!