Monday, May 11, 2015

Day 17- Athens National Museum

The main site for today was the National Museum in Athens. Before we got there though, we took the Metro (subway) for the first time, and found some interesting things.



Since this system was only 10 or so years old, the people digging the tunnels had some archeological knowledge. This came in handy, as they came across remains of a Christian burial ground from between the 3rd century BC through the 1st century AD. You can also see the layers of earth in the top photo, showing the different time periods, and a brief history of Athens. The bottom picture is a mosaic floor the archeologists came across, all of which is stored underground just above the train platform. Super cool!


Here are ten or so pieces that I found interesting for today's museum visit!


This bronze statue from the late Roman era (somewhere between 193-215 AD) depicts Roman empress Julia Aquilia Severa. Though her face has been deformed as a result of a fire and colapse of the building where this statue stood and her left arm seems to be missing, it is clear that the royal is holding out her right hand, possibly reaching out to the people or for an object. She is also depicted in a long flowing fabric dress, something very typical of the period (men were the only people to be shown naked). She was also the second wife of Emperor Elegabalus (218-222 AD).


This pentelic marble sarcophagus was found in a attic workshop in Patras, Greeca and is dated from between 150 and 170 AD. The long side of this burial chamber is the hunt of a wild boar by seven Greek men, with one on his backside attmepting to fend off the creature. The short side also shows two men hunting a boar, but it appears these two are having more success. By the given dates, this sculpture comes from the Roman Imperial period.


Here is another marble statue, but this one is dated earlier on in the Roman Imperial period, around 80 AD. Here, a naked man is shown with his right leg slightly in front of his left with his right hand with clothing gently resting on his hip. The lower 3/4 of this man's body are definately from the earlier Greek tradition of depicting the ideal person with broad, strong shoulders, a muscular abdomen and tree trunks for legs. However, the face does not have the same idealism, but a more realistic approach to what this man may have actually looked like. In fact, without hair and a rather small head for the rest of his body, this man's proportions are certainly not perfect.


During the Hellenistic Period between 336 BC and 31 AD, Greek sculpture made a change from depicting people as ideal as possible, though sometimes placing their bodies is awkward positions to do so. However, as shown in this marvle statue, things changed during the 3rd century BC. Here, a young boy (maybe a local God of Lalaia) is standin with his left hand on a duck's body atop a pedestal. His eyes and face seem to be full of delight too, as if he is enjoying hos time with the animal. The realism is also shown here with this boy's slightly distended belly instead of a perfectly toned one (though this could be common among sculptures of those this young, I'm not sure).


This marble statue (the last one of the day, I promise) is interesting in the fact that Greek or Roman women were almost never depicted in statues as naked or even half naked, leaving this role to the men (the male genetalia is often regarded in ancient culture as the piece that wards off all evil). Here, the Greek god of love, Aphrodite, is shown naked from the waist up, while her legs are covered by the gown she is holding in her left hand. Even though she appears calm, we can see her right hand may be covering herself, possibly showing the hesitance to reveal herself in this way.
This was originally found in the 4th century BC in Basai, Italy (near the northern border).


I may have lied a little... Here is a different kind of marble statue, sculpted durinf rhe early Archaic age, around 600 BC. This statue originally sat in front of Poseidon's temple in Sounion and stands more than ten feet tall, showing these sculptor's desire to create grand pieces of art and offer them to the gods on Olympus. However, based on the facial structure and the abdominal musculature, the artists had yet to develop the skills (or need) to make fully accurate pieces. This statue also originates during the era known as the kouros, where the young people depicted were shown with their left leg slightly forward, looking straight ahead, with his fist clenched, ready to show his power if needed.


These pieces all come from the prehistoric era, specifically around 1500 BC. All of these pieces were found in a grave, though it is unclear what the status of this person was in life. The three masks on the top are all death masksmade of gold sheet metal that had been shaped by hand (though only the middle shows the man's eyes open, possibly to show his living face. Beneath are three daggars, two of which contain scenes of men in metal body armor hunting lions (with one man dead or injured in the attack). All of these pie ea show the importance of Mycenaean burial practices to their culture and celebrating the hunt and power even after death.


This bronze statue definitely comes feom a wonderful bronze sculptor from around the year 460 BC at the beginning of the Greek Classical Period. However, the identity of this man is not known for certain; it could be either Zeus or Poseidon. The gos appears ready to fire either a lightning bolt or trident from his right hand while reaching his left arm in front of his body. Interestingly, this statue of found in the water near Cape Artemision in the Aegean, though signs of wear and tear on the Severe style statue appear minimal.


These pieces are all made of bronze and are dated between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC (better known as the Hellenistic Age). As you can see, each of these pieces are extremely detailed and each have their own function. The hair et in the center on the top shelf shows a relief of Artemis with bronze chains hanging down. The bottom belts are also quite interesting, each containing natural flowers, bees, caterpillars, and a few doves. There are also some pieces of emerald and glass mixed in here too to give the pieces a bit of color (plus it makes the animals and flowers stand out).


These four massive pitchers come from the city of Anavyssos during the late Geometic Period of pottery (around 760-700 BC. You can easily tell this dating simply bu looking at the designs painted on the sides. All of these contain some sort of relatively simple geometric shape repeated over and over again in each row, them another row is made with another shape: swastikas, checkerboard squares, straight lines and bars, ovals, dots, and triangles.


This fresco dates to around 1500 BC during the height of the Minoan civilization during the Cretan Bronze Age. This fresco was made by the artist covering the stone wall with a mixture of straw and plaster, then another layer of smooth plaster to create the painting surface. Antelopes, like the ones seen here, were used frequently in the civilization as a symbol of magesty amd peace, and a depicted in pairs or on their own. Also on display here are frescos of spring scenes and other animals of all kinds.

And now for the HIGHLIGHTS!


Big thanks to Jared for his presentation on Greek scientists and methematicians and the Antikythera Mechanism (and for scaring the birds away). Great job! And one last look at the Acropolis!


ECGT signing off!

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