Antiquities Exhibits

In celebration of th 2500-year anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Naval Battle of Salamis, this exhibit presents 105 ancient works along with a model of an Athenian trireme of the 5th century BCE, assembled from the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the archaeological museums of Astros, Thebes, and Olympia, as well as the Konstantinos Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology.  A Roman copy of a 5th century BCE Greek bust of Themistocles has also been contributed by the Archaeological Museum of Ostia. Displays show the military attire of the Greek hoplites and Persian warriors and votive offerings made in the large sanctuaries of antiquity following the battles, including the helmet of Miltiades, the arrowheads from the battlefield of Thermopylae, and fragments of vases with traces of fire from the burning of Athens by the Persians. Figures of gods and mythical heroes are used to represent  the subsequent legends developed over later centuries that r...

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...

Although we often see Eros, Roman Cupid, depicted as a chubby little winged child, he was also prominently portrayed in ancient literature as the adult husband of Psyche.  The longstanding folktale, codified in Apuleius' Latin novel, The Golden Ass, relates a quest for love and trust between Eros and Psyche. Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of the mortal princess Psyche, as men were leaving her altars barren to worship a mere human woman instead, and so Aphrodite commanded her son Eros, the god of love, to cause Psyche to fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. But instead, Eros falls in love with Psyche himself and spirits her away to his home. Their fragile peace is ruined by a visit from Psyche's jealous sisters, who cause Psyche to betray the trust of her husband. Wounded, Eros leaves his wife, and Psyche wanders the Earth, looking for her lost love. Eventually, she approaches Aphrodite and asks for her help. Aphrodite imposes a series of difficult tasks on Psy...

Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed into the engraved lines or shapes in the metal. It hardens and blackens when cool, and the niello on the flat surface is polished off to show the filled lines in black, contrasting with the polished metal (usually silver) around it. The metal where niello is to be placed is often roughened to promote adhesion. Niello was used on a variety of objects including sword hilts, chalices, plates, horns, adornment for horses, jewelry such as bracelets, rings, pendants, and small fittings such as strap-ends, purse-bars, buttons, and belt buckles and was also used to fill in the letters in inscriptions engraved on metal. Though historically most common in Europe, it is also known from many parts of Asia and the Near East. The earliest claimed use of ni...

For These We Fought: Antiquities and the Greek Revolution opened February 11, 2020 at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. This exhibit takes its title from a quote attributed to General Yiannis Makrygiannis, a leading historical figure who admonished Greek fighters not to sell or give away any priceless Greek antiquities. It consists of five sections and presents a total of 26 ancient artifacts juxtaposed with  26 modern works, mainly by European painters showing Greek landscapes of the time, linking Greece to Europe. The objects reflect philhellenism, as illustrated by iconography taken from antiquity, while references will be also made to the loss of antiquities and the contemplation of monumental architecture throughout Greece — from the Acropolis to the Epicurean Apollo Temple at Bassae — that contributed to the Greek people’s understanding of the role antiquities played in forming their collective identity. The show will be supported by digital projection...