The first national archaeological museum in Greece was established by the governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias in Aigina in 1829.
The archaeological collection was relocated to several exhibition places until 1858. The current location was proposed and the construction of the museum’s building began in 1866 and was completed in 1889 using funds from the Greek Government, the Greek Archaeological Society, and the Society of Mycenae.
Major benefactors were Eleni Tositsa who donated the land for the building of the museum, and Demetrios and Nikolaos Vernardakis from Saint Petersburg who donated a large amount for the completion of the museum.