Dive beneath the surface of the Aegean Sea and explore the tumultuous history and evolution of the beautiful sea and dazzling islands that were home to Sappho, Homer, Pythagoras, and Hippocrates and inspired fantastic mythical creatures, such as Cyclops, Circe, and the Sirens.

This exhibition, developed in Greece, made its U.S. debut on Nov. 24 at the National Hellenic Museum, 333 S. Halsted St. and will be open through August 2016. Aegean: Creation of an Archipelago is an immersive exhibition, rich with audiovisual material and tangible artifacts, including underwater findings, ancient fossils, and a massive petrified tree trunk, that explores the ways in which the Aegean Sea and its dazzling islands have been shaped by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tectonic shifts, and violent weather phenomena over 20 million years.

The exhibition, an original initiative of the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest, is presented in cooperation with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki’s Geology and Paleontology Museum and the University of Crete’s Natural History Museum.