The Athanassakeio Archaeological Museum of Volos was built in 1909 and was donated to the Greek State by Alexios Athanassakis, a benefactor from Portaria of Mt. Pelion, in order to exhibit the painted funerary stelae of ancient Demetrias found in re-use as a building material in the city’s wall towers. In 2004 the Museum was renovated. The exhibition of the old wing was renewed and expanded to a new wing as an additional exhibiting space, which was inaugurated in 2009. The Museum’s galleries display finds from archaeological excavations in Thessaly since the beginning of the 20th century. The archaeological collections are represented thematically according to contemporary museological perceptions and practices.