The Pergamon Altar,also called the Zeus Altar, in Pergamon Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island, is a must see for anyone serious about understanding the ancient world. The scenes of the ‘Gigantomachy’, depicting the battle of the Greek gods against the giants is one of the most spectacular examples of Hellenic art and is presented in an impressive quasi-reconstruction. The backstory of how the the Pergamon Altar is even in Berlin is also a great drama – a drama that bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Elgin Marbles. The Pergamon Altar was originally from Bergama, Turkey, where remains of…
-
-
Take an image which is interesting enough as it is, showing great craftsmanship and attention to detail as in the construction of the Treasury of Atreus – a domed tomb (also known as a tholos tomb). Probably the most impressive of the tombs in the Mycenae region, Greece, the Treasury of Atreus’s ceiling has been beautifully photographed by Dave Wheatley, who has then made the image even more interesting by switching it to a Negative effect. This creates the effect that this is no longer a mosaic of bricks, but an image which sparkles to life with a shimmering of…
-
A hat-trick of victories have been won around the world this week in the global fight against the theft and sale of archaeological artefacts a multi-million dollar international industry. The arrest of three men in Bulgaria in connection with their possession of a number of precious Roman coins and other items is particularly heartening, since it offers some sign that the tide might be turning in the struggle against a black-market industry that has been destroying the countrys rich ancient heritage. In the US on Wednesday, the former head of Long Island Universitys Hillwood Museum Barry Stern, was arrested and…
-
About 30 kilometres directly south of Haifa, Israel, lies a very large tel (an earth mound containing ancient architectural and artefact remains) that tells a story crossing at least eight civilizations. It is there – at Tel Dor – that a rare and surprising archaeological discovery has been made:an engraved gemstone carrying a portrait of Alexander the Great was uncovered at an excavation area in the southwestern part of Tel Dor. It is surprising that a work of art such as this would be found in Israel, on the periphery of the Hellenistic world. It is generally assumed that the…
-
Three Roman-era figurines of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, have been unearthed at an archaeological site east of the sea of Galilee in Israel. Sussita, known as Hippos to the Greeks on account of the horse’s head-shaped hill on which it was built, was a Greco-Roman town that became one of the 10 cities (the Decapolis) in Coele-Syria that were granted some independence when Pompey conquered in 63 BC. (Other Decapolis cities include Qanawat and Jerash.) It is thought that the figurines, measuring 23cm high, date from the fourth century AD a time when Constantine the Great laid out the…
-
Named after the Greek goddess of love and fertility, Aphrodisias was named in 2BC century, and the Temple of Aphrodite was built in the 1st Century AD. Captured in this photograph by balavenise, we can see the beauty in the relic of it’s glowing stone against the dusk purple sky. In Roman times, Aphrodisias flourished thanks to the benefit of investment in the area, and a town was built with the temple as a focal point. The town became famous for its marble crafting skills (partly due to the copious amounts of marble found in the area), and sculptures produced…
-
Lord Byron has been described as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know”, but there is an other reason – besides his regular escapades – why the British may have deemed this famous poet to be ‘wicked’. Byron was a bitter opponent of Lord Elgin’s removal of the Parthenon marbles from Greece, and “reacted with fury” when Elgin’s agent gave him a tour of the Parthenon, during which he saw the missing friezes and metopes. He penned a poem, the Curse of Minerva, to denounce Elgin’s actions. Although Byron never intended to publish this poem, a copy was stolen from him…
-
Easily the most recognisable heritage site in Greece, the Acropolis spans 3 hectares on a site which sits 150 metres above sea level. Much of this fascinating site remains today, albeit a little bit spread out! Roy Filou’s fantastic capture of this stunning site at dusk creates a shadowy and relaxed feel which portrays a warm feel. The Older Parthenon was originally pillaged and burnt to the ground in 480BC after a Persian atatck on Athens. In the aftermath, the whole site was rebuilt during the Golden Age of Athens, overseen by Emperor Pericles and two prominent architects – Ictinus…
-
In 1972, the U.S. signed the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention, which banned the “development, production and stockpiling of microbes or their poisonous products except in amounts necessary for protective and peaceful research.” By 1996, 137 countries had signed the treaty. But was this this the first attempt at establishing rules for ‘humane warfare’? No, antiquity beat us to it, although they – also – often did not adhere to their own rules. The Brahmanic Laws of Manu, a Hindu treatise on statecraft dating back to the 5th Century BC, forbids the use of arrows tipped with fire or poison,…
-
Mad Honey, more scientifically known as grayanotoxin, is a toxic substance humans have been dealing with for thousands of years. The way how it is created is quite simple. A bee takes nectar from a toxic rhododendron plant (available in Turkey, the United States, British Columbia and the UK). The toxic substance is then deposited at a beehive. The odds of getting any ill-effects from this substance, from the honey at your local grocery store, are pretty much nill. By the time commercial honey is diluted the amount of material from a rhododendron is extremely low or non-existent. However, if…