/Who we are
Hannibal Publications is a well-renowned publishing house which is quite active in the archaeology publishing market and is approved by the Ministry of Culture.
The company was founded by the late Hannibal Stamatopoulos on 17/03/1978 . He started as a photographer employee in the Archaeological Resources Management Service (A.R.M.S.) on 24/05/1956. During his service in A.R.M.S., he photographed thousands of exhibits and sculptures in the largest museums of our country such as the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Olympia Museum, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum etc.
In 1961, in a photography contest in Thessaloniki, he won the first place for his photograph of Saint Catherine from the Byzantine museum.
Some of his photos are included in the first short guide of the Acropolis Museum, which was issued by the Service of Antiquities and Restoration in Athens. The first edition was published in 1965 and the second in 1970. Proofreading and editing was done by archaeologist Mr. John Miliadis.
In a random event that happened in 1958, the photos of Hannibal Stamatopoulos thwarted the sale of small Cycladic figurines that had been stolen by an official of the National Archeological Museum, who indented to sale them to an English collector and lover of our ancient civilization. The leading archaeologists and tireless protectors of our cultural heritage of the Archaeological Service back then, such were Mr. Marinatos, Mr. Papadimitriou, Mr. Karouzos, Mr. Konstantinou, Mr. Miliadis, Mr. Roman, Mr. Orlandos, Mr. Sotiriou , Mr Hatzidakis, Mr. Plato, Mr. Verdelis, Mr. Mitsos etc., provided free or at a nominal fee, licenses of taking photos in Hannibal Stamatopoulos and other conscripted photographers such Mr. Meletzis, Mr. Stournaras, Mr. Papachatzidakis etc., opening even at night the museums in winter months in order to photograph the exhibits.
These licenses provided the chance to the photographers to formally ignore the forced Law no. 1947.1939 / GG / AR.366 / 06.09.1939, that prohibits the individuals to hold their photographs with themes of our ancient culture.
Firstly, the main objective of our company was the publication of archaeological guides, with photos from the archive of the late Hannibal Stamatopoulos and texts of prominent archaeologists of the time back then such were Ch.Ntouma, P. Themeli, K.Davara, I.Konstantinou, P.Lazaridi etc. in order to make them available in major museums and archaeological attractions of our country for the convenience and the edification of visitors and tourists.
These guides were approved by the Ministry of Culture and were available through the Archeological Receipts Fund of Greece on consignment.
Furthermore, our company's activity extends to printing tourist cards, albums, leaflets in various sizes, sets of cards, posters and slides.
Today, the company is run by the daughters of Hannibal Stamatopoulos, Maria and Catherine Stamatopoulos following the steps of their father and maintaining his brand name the same. Given the remarkable technological evolution and the new market trend, the company now grants electronic versions of their publishing with excellence in quality and price.
The company is located in 46 Kiffisodotos St., Athens, Greece.