Antiquities Exhibits

This block originally formed part of a screen wall that connected the four front columns and the sidewalls of the temple of Harendotes ("Horus the Avenger") on the island of Philae. The relief represents the "Baptism of Pharaoh," a purification ritual that was part of Egyptian coronation ceremonies. The gods Horus (not preserved) and the ibis-headed Thoth, god of wisdom, pours water, represented by streams of the hieroglyphs ankh (life) and was (dominion), over the head of the king. The pharaoh whose head is partially preserved is a Claudian emperor, most probably either Claudius or Nero as defined in the strip of hieroglyphs along the top of the relief. As Pharaoh of Egypt, Nero adopted the royal titulary Autokrator Neron Heqaheqau Meryasetptah Tjemaahuikhasut Wernakhtubaqet Heqaheqau Setepennenu Merur ('Emperor Nero, Ruler of rulers, chosen by Ptah, beloved of Isis, the sturdy-armed one who struck the foreign lands, victorious for Egypt, ruler of rulers, chose...

Claudius Imperator: Messalina, Agrippina and the Shadows of a Dynasty through October 27, 2019 at the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, Italy. The story of Claudius's life and works, told in an innovative setting enriched with images and a sprinkling of audio and visual excerpts, lies at the heart of the exhibition, but other characters that pepper the narrative – introduced through valuable works of art - are the protagonists of installations that will help to make visitor’s experience even more engaging. Enhanced by the updated work of historians and archaeologists, the exhibition trail at the Ara Pacis Museum, reveals an image of Claudius that is a little different from the dark and unflattering impression of him provided by those who wrote about him in ancient times. What emerges is the sense of an emperor able to take care of his people, to champion useful economic reforms and great public works, who also introduced legislation that contributed to the administrative development of ...

Claudius, an emperor with a singular destiny. Through March 4, 2019 at the Musee Des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, France. The bronze plates known as the Claudian Table, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Claudius still suffers from the unflattering portrait transmitted by ancient literature and taken up in the modern popular imagination. Described as a weak, influential, physically and intellectually diminished being, his image also suffers from the "sulphurous" fame of his third and fourth wives, Messaline and Agrippi na, and the tragic fate of his son Britannicus. Recently, however, researchers and historians have restored the figure of a cultured man, a good manager, promoter of effective administrative reforms for the empire and concerned about his people. His most famous law is undoubtedly that relative to the admission of the Gauls to the Roman senate, celebrated by the speech he uttered, in 48 in Rome, engraved on bronze plates, known as the Claudian Table. Personal N...