Antiquities Exhibits

An Attis cult began around 1250 BCE in Dindymon (today's Murat Dağı of Gediz, Kütahya, Turkey). He was originally a local semi-deity of Phrygia identified as a god of vegetation, associated with the great Phrygian trading city of Pessinos, which lay under the lee of Mount Agdistis. The mountain was actually a deity (daemon) who, in human form, initially bore both male and female attributes. The Olympian gods, fearing Agdistis, cut off the male organ and cast it away whereby Agdistis transformed into the Great Mother Cybele. An almond tree sprouted from the discarded organ, and when its fruit was ripe, Nana, who was a daughter of the river-god Sangarius, picked an almond from it and laid it on her bosom. The almond disappeared, and she became pregnant. As frequently happens in Greek myths, Nana abandoned the baby (Attis), who was subsequently tended by a he-goat. As Attis grew, his long-haired beauty was godlike, and his original progenitor Agdistis as Cybele, then fell in love with...

According to Jeremy McInerney, the iconography of the bull permeates Minoan culture. The cult of the bull was also prominent in southwestern Anatolia. Bernard Clive Dietrich notes that the most important animal in the Neolithic shrines at Çatalhöyük was the bull. The bull was a chthonic animal associated with fertility and vegetation. It figured in cave cults connected with rites for the dead.   According to Greek myth, to confirm his right to rule, King Minos of Crete prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull as a sign. Poseidon sent Minos the bull, with the understanding that bull would be sacrificed to the god. Deciding that Poseidon's bull was too fine of a specimen to kill, Minos sent the bull to his herds and substituted another, inferior bull for sacrifice. Enraged, Poseidon had Aphrodite cause Pasiphaë, wife of Minos, to fall in love with the bull. She subsequently gave birth to the half-man, half-bull, Minotaur. Poseidon passed on his rage to the bull, causing ...

I was searching for additional Etruscan metalwork that incorporated the gorgon motif and came across this rather troubling Etruscan cista handle described by the National Etruscan Museum in the Villa Giulia as a Greek grasping an Amazon by the hair. I'm not sure why the female is described as an Amazon because she does not appear to be wearing any armor. The male figure was apparently holding something, perhaps a spear and that may be the reason it is thought to be a battle scene between the Greeks and the Amazons since one figure is obviously female.  To my 21st century eyes, however, it just appears to be a scene of domestic violence which I find sharply in contrast to the many forms of Etruscan art in which the relationship of men and women appears to be amicable and egalitarian. In his treatise, "Etruscan Art", professor Richard De Puma of the University of Iowa points out , "The subject matter may have been adapted from Greek mythology, but the treatment, both i...

Silver panel, perhaps from a parade chariot or piece of furniture, overlaid with electrum and decorated in repoussé relief with two riders, perhaps taking part in a horse-race, with a fallen comrade below, Etruscan, 540-520 BCE, found in the Castel San Mariano near the city of Perugia. Perguia, first called Perusia in the ancient sources, was one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria.  The league was mostly an economic and religious league, or a loose confederation, similar to the Greek states.  The historical Etruscans had achieved a state system of society, with only remnants of the chiefdom and tribal forms used by surrounding Italics. The government was viewed as being a central authority, ruling over all tribal and clan organizations and wielding the power of life and death. The gorgon was revered as an ancient symbol of that power, and frequently appeared as a motif in Etruscan decoration. The individual referred to as a "fallen comrade" in this Archaic period relief ...

The Mildenhall Treasure is a large hoard of 34 masterpieces of Roman silver tableware from the fourth century CE, and by far the most valuable Roman objects artistically and by weight of bullion in Britain. It was found at West Row, near Mildenhall, Suffolk, in 1942.  The treasure consists of silver tableware of types current in the 4th century, and was probably concealed at some time in that century. Most of the objects are comparatively large, and all are of very high-quality workmanship. The hoard consists of two large serving platters, two small decorated serving plates, a deep fluted bowl, a set of four large decorated bowls, two small decorated bowls, two small pedestalled dishes, a deep flanged bowl with a deep, domed cover, five small round ladles with dolphin-shaped handles, and eight long-handled spoons (cochlearia).   The Great Dish (also known as the Oceanus Dish or as the Neptune Dish, from the face of a sea-god at its centre), which was worked by chasing fro...

The worship of Epona, "the sole Celtic divinity ultimately worshipped in Rome itself",  was the patroness of cavalry and widespread in the Roman Empire between the first and third centuries CE.  This is unusual for a Celtic deity, most of whom were associated with specific localities.  Evidence of her worship was first found in the Danubian provinces and scholar Fernand Benoît asserted that she had been introduced in the limes of Gaul by horsemen from the east.  However, although the name is Gaulish, dedicatory inscriptions to Epona are in Latin or, rarely, Greek. They were made not only by Celts, but also by Germans, Romans, and other inhabitants of the Roman Empire. An inscription to Epona from Mainz, Germany, identifies the dedicator as Syrian. Epona's feast day in the Roman calendar was given as December 18 on a rustic calendar from Guidizzolo, Italy. She was incorporated into the imperial cult by being invoked on behalf of the Emperor, as Epona Augusta or Epona ...

The Esquiline Treasure is an ancient Roman silver treasure that was found in 1793 on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. The hoard is considered an important example of late antique silver work from the 4th century CE, probably about 380 for the major pieces. Since 1866, 57 objects, representing the great majority of the treasure, have been in the British Museum. Two of the most important objects in the treasure are the ornate silver-gilt engraved boxes known as the Projecta Casket and the Muse Casket. The treasure was part of the belongings of a wealthy Roman household of high social status. The collection includes 8 plates (4 circular and 4 rectangular), a fluted dish, a ewer inscribed for "Pelegrina", a flask with embossed scenes, an amphora, 6 sets of horse trappings, with furniture fittings including 4 Tyche figures representing the 4 main cities of the Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria, two hands clenching bannisters, and an assortment of jewelry. The ...