An accredited program on the History of Western Jewelry that runs every June. It is organized through the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum Educational Center in collaboration with esteemed Greek and International academics, archaeologists and jewelry experts. Participants will explore jewelry history in the heart of western civilization. Please visit our site www.jss.gr

Hephaistos Summer School – Archaeology, History and Technology of western jewelry under the light of the Acropolis

Join the Athens experience at one of the world’s leading institutions for jewelry in a two week long summer school program. The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum based in Athens, Greece challenges participants to discover the fascinating world of Ancient Greece and the history of western jewelry through its most spectacular artifacts.

The program is offered as part of the Hellenic American University’s General Education program, www.haec.gr/en/ and provides 3 US college credits or 6 ECTS credits for participants who meet the University’s criteria for undergraduate admission. The program includes 45 hours of instruction that consist of classes, lectures and study visits.

Classes cover the history of jewelry from glorious Classical Greece to amazing contemporary artistic productions.  Lectures are presented by academics that will draw on issues such as illicit trafficking of cultural artifacts, architectural changes in growing cities and challenges of artistic production over fashion design. Teaching combines study visits to selected Athenian archaeological sites, museum collections and hands on tours to traditional and contemporary jewelry workshops where special access has been granted.

A number of extracurricular activities are offered as part of the program. The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum curators will guide the participants daily to tours of the historical center of Athens and to open air summer events.

Participants to the Summer Program may apply for internship programs at the ILJMuseum. Applicants may inquire placements in the JaIR Artist in Residence Program, or/and an Internship at the Museum Curatorial Department, before or after their participation to the Summer School Program. Successful admission to the Hephaistos Summer School grants a priority to Internship programs.