Antiquities Exhibits

Just as select Spartan youth endured the krypteia, a year long trial in the wilderness to prove their worthiness to become a Spartiate, Athenian young men also took part in a training regimen known as the ephebeia.  This "college" taught them the responsibilities of citizenship and trained them as soldiers.  After admission to the college, the ephebe took the oath of allegiance, recorded in histories by Pollux and Stobaeus, in the temple of Aglaurus, and was sent to Munichia or Acte to form one of the garrison there.  At the end of the first year of training, the ephebi were reviewed, and, if their performance was satisfactory, were provided by the state with a spear and a shield, which, together with the chlamys (cloak) and petasos (broad-brimmed hat), made up their equipment. In their second year they were transferred to other garrisons in Attica, patrolled the frontiers, and on occasion took an active part in war.  During these two years they were free from taxati...

Today's featured "Antiquities Alive" virtual exhibit - The first batch of images from my friend Allan Gluck of the "Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins" exhibit at the newly reopened Getty Villa:   Head of a God, Neo-Sumerian, 2150-2000 BCE, Terracotta, now in the collections of the Louvre, courtesy of Allan Gluck Head of a Man, possibly a ruler, Sumerian, 2700-2600 BCE, Limestone, now in the collections of the Louvre, courtesy of Allan Gluck Head of a ruler, Amorite, about 1840 BCE, Gabbro, now in the collections of the Louvre, courtesy of Allan Gluck Bronze model of a chariot, Sumerian, 2900 - 2340 BCE, now in the collections of the Louvre, courtesy of Allan Gluck Plaque with King Gilgamesh killing the monster Humbaba, Amorite, 2000 - 1600 BCE, terracotta, now in the collections of the Louvre, courtesy of Allan Gluck Relief fragment with royal chariot and officers, Neo-Assyrian, 668-627 BCE, Gypsum, now in the collections of the Louvre, courtesy of Allan Gluck St...

This thinly-cast bust depicts a youth wearing a lion-skin over his head and a quiver strap across the chest. The figure has delicate features and fine hair that is drawn up in a braid with tendrils falling onto his forehead. The figure may depict a young Herakles, or an unidentifiable youth in the guise of the great hero. A third possibility is that this young man is Eros, who was often depicted with attributes associated with Herakles. Two small holes at the bottom edge may have been used to attach this bust to a piece of furniture.  While in wealthy households beds were used for sleeping in the bedrooms (lectus cubicularis), and couches for banqueting while reclining were used in the dining rooms (lectus tricliniaris), the less well off might use the same piece of furniture for both functions. The two types might be used interchangeably even in richer households, and it is not always easy to differentiate between sleeping and dining furniture. The most common type of Roman bed to...

Philip II (Latin: Marcus Julius Severus Philippus; 237 – 249CE), also known as Philip the Younger, was the son and heir of the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab by his wife Marcia Otacilia Severa. When his father became emperor in 244, young Philip was appointed caesar at the age of only seven-years-old. In 247, he became consul, and was later elevated by his father to the rank of augustus and co-ruler.  Although ancient historians claim both Philip the Arab and his son were killed in battle by Decius.   Decius was a distinguished senator who had served as suffect consul in 232, had been governor of Moesia and Germania Inferior soon afterwards, served as governor of Hispania Tarraconensis between 235 and 238, and was urban prefect of Rome during the early reign of Emperor Philip the Arab. In 248 or 249 Decius was sent to quell the revolt of Pacatianus and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia, a rebellion seen by some modern historians as emerging Balkan separatism.  After t...

Nearly every Greek and Roman city of note had an open-air theater consisting of the orchestra, the flat dancing floor of the chorus, and the theatron, the actual structure of the theater building. Vase paintings indicate the stage stood about three feet high with a flight of steps in the center. The actors entered from either side and from a central door in the skene, which also housed the ekkyklema, a wheeled platform with sets of scenes. A mechane, or crane, located at the right end of the stage, was used to hoist gods and heroes through the air onto the stage.   Theatrical performances were usually part of a seasonal festival and were accompanied by processions, sacrifices in the theater, parades, and competitions between playwrights. Almost all Greek tragedies were based on heroic myths although the dialogue between actor and chorus sometimes served an instructional purpose and reflected current debate in the public assembly. "Unlike the Greek tragedy, the comic performanc...

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors to their deaths by enchanting them with music and singing voices which resulted in their shipwreck on the rocky coast of the sirens' island. Roman poets placed them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. Later, their "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, was considered to be  Cape Pelorum or the Sirenuse, near Paestum.  Plato said there were three kinds of Sirens: the celestial, creatures of Zeus,  the generative of Poseidon, and the cathartic of Hades. Originally, Sirens were shown to be male or female, but the male Siren disappeared from art around the fifth century BCE.  In addition to their role in menacing seamen, sirens were also thought to accompany souls on the journey to the afterlife, hence their portrayal on funerary art.  Sirens were first believed to look like a combination of women and birds in various  forms in ancient Greek, Etruscan, and Roma...