Antiquities Exhibits

Winged male figures that are distinct from Hermes appear quite frequently in Attic art of the mid-sixth century B.C.E. Without inscriptions they are difficult to identify. In all of Greek art, the distinction between the human and the divine, the tangible and intangible, is elusive. Although we do not know all of their names, these figures surely move between various orders of reality.  - Metropolitan Museum of Art Besides Hermes, one of the best known of these winged deities is Morpheus, the son of sleep and associated with sleep and dreams.   In Ovid's Metamorphoses, he is one of the thousand sons of Somnus and he appears in dreams in human form.   According to Ovid "no other is more skilled than he in representing the gait, the features, and the speech of men. The clothing also and the accustomed words of each he represents." Ovid gives names to two more of these sons of Sleep. One called Icelos ('Like'), by the gods, but Phobetor ('Frightener') by men,...

Gold earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. This beautifully detailed earring dates from 350 - 325 BCE. Wearing a belted chiton (tunic), a full-length skirt, and several items of jewelry, Nike, the granddaughter of Poseidon, leans forward, her left hand pulling on the reins of the horses, whose front legs rear sharply. In Greek mythology, Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the vi ctors with glory and fame, symbolized by a wreath of laurel leaves. When Zeus was assembling allies for the Titanomachy against the older deities, Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer, in which she is often portrayed in Classical Greek art like this exquisite piece of jewelry. The features on the goddess's face are crisp and her expression resolute, while the animals appear startled and tense. Raised as if in flight, Nike's elaborate, feathery, and finely chased wings provide an elegant counterbalance to the dynamic composition. The ornament ...

Canosa vase, Greek, 3rd century BCE Terracotta with white slip said to have been discovered near Canosa di Puglia, Italy at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA. A type of Apulian vase, Canosa vases were produced exclusively for funerary use between 350 and 300 BCE. Their distinguishing feature is their three-dimensional decorations depicting Nike, chariots, battle scenes, naiskoi and winged female figures painted i n a variety of water-soluble pigments (blue, red/pink, yellow, pale purple, brown) on a white background. Preferred vessel forms are the volute-krater, cantharus, oinochoe, and askos. The main find locations of such vessels are Canosa (after which the vases are now named), Arpi and Ordona. Image: Canosa vase, Greek, 3rd century BCE Terracotta with white slip said to have been discovered near Canosa di Puglia, Italy at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA. This vase was originally purchased from a Naples antiquities dealer for 150 lire on...