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Velletri Sarcophagus
The Velletri Sarcophagus is a Roman sarcophagus from 140–150 CE, displaying Greek and possible Asiatic influence. It features Hercules and other pagan deities framed by columned registers of classic spiral-fluted Doric and Ionic columnar styles, creating a theatrical border around the figures. It was created shortly after the Roman conversion to burial practice when Romans went from using cremation to burying their dead, due to new ideas of an afterlife. Form The Velletri Sarcophagus was made from marble (even though the marble sarcophagi would not become popular until the 3rd century) and decorated in a high relief. It is long, high, and wide. Most of the sarcophagus has kept its fine detail, however there has been some erosion in figures, leaving them to be more mysterious, and the right side panel of the roof is gone. Content At first glance the sarcophagus is filled with characterless, vaguely faced figures dancing and acting a narrative amongst the theatrical set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), Roman Republic (509–27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually dominated the Italian Peninsula, assimilated the Greek culture of southern Italy ( Magna Grecia) and the Etruscan culture and acquired an Empire that took in much of Europe and the lands and peoples surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It was among the largest empires in the ancient world, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Admetus
In Greek mythology, Admetus (; Ancient Greek: ''Admetos'' means 'untamed, untameable') was a king of Pherae in Thessaly. Biography Admetus succeeded his father Pheres after whom the city was named. His mother was identified as Periclymene or Clymene. He was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. Admetus' wife Alcestis offered to substitute her own death for his. The most famous of Admetus's children was Eumelus, who led a contingent from Pherae to fight in the Trojan War. He also had a daughter Perimele. Mythology Divine herdsman Admetus was famed for his hospitality and justice. When Apollo was sentenced to a year of servitude to a mortal as punishment for killing Delphyne, or as later tradition has it, the Cyclopes, the god was sent to Admetus' home to serve as his herdsman. Apollo in recompense for Admetus' treatment made all the cows bear twins while he served as his cowherd. The romantic nature of their relationship was first described by C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippolyta
In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt." Some traditional English translations have preferred the more feminine-sounding " girdle." Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are varied enough that they may therefore be about several different women. The name ''Hippolyta'' comes from Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose." Legends Ninth Labor of Heracles In the myth of Heracles, Hippolyta's belt (ζωστὴρ Ἱππολύτης) was the object of his ninth labour. He was sent to retrieve it for Admete, the daughter of King Eurystheus.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 Most versions of the myth indicate that Hippolyta was so impressed with Heracles that she gave him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tauroctony
''Tauroctony'' is a modern name given to the central cult reliefs of the Roman Mithraic Mysteries. The imagery depicts Mithras killing a bull, hence the name ''tauroctony'' after the Greek word (, "bull killing"). A ''tauroctony'' is distinct from the sacrifice of a bull in ancient Rome called a ; the was mainly part of the unrelated cult of Cybele. Despite the name, the scene is symbolic, and to date there is no known physical evidence that patrons of the Roman cult ever performed such a rite. Like all Greco-Roman mysteries, the Mithraic Mysteries was limited to initiates, and there is very little known about the cult's beliefs or practices. However, several images of the bull include a ribbon or blanket, which was a Roman convention to identify a sacrificial animal, so it is fairly certain that the killing of the bull represents a sacrificial act. And, because the main bull-killing scene is often accompanied by explicit depictions of the sun, moon, and stars, it is also fai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithraism
Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linked to a new and distinctive imagery, with the level of continuity between Persian and Greco-Roman practice debated. The mysteries were popular among the Imperial Roman army from about the 1st to the 4th-century CE. Worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation and communal ritual meals. Initiates called themselves ''syndexioi'', those "united by the handshake". They met in underground temples, now called ''mithraea'' (singular ''mithraeum''), which survive in large numbers. The cult appears to have had its center in Rome, and was popular throughout the western half of the empire, as far south as Roman Africa and Numidia, as far as Roman Dacia, as far north as Roman Britain, and to a lesser extent in Roman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurystheus
In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos. Family Eurystheus was the son of King Sthenelus and Nicippe (also called Antibia or Archippe), and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus.Apollodorus, 2.4.5 His sisters were Alcyone and Medusa, and he married Antimache, daughter of Amphidamas of Arcadia. Their children were Admete, Alexander, Iphimedon, Eurybius, Mentor, Perimedes and Eurypylus.Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophistae'4.158(p. 219) Mythology Labours of Heracles In the contest of wills between Hera and Zeus over whose candidate would be hero, fated to defeat the remaining creatures representing an old order and bring about the reign of the Twelve Olympians, Eurystheus was Hera's candidate and Heracles—though his name implies that at one archaic stage of myth-making he had carrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erymanthian Boar
In Greek mythology, the Erymanthian boar (Greek: ὁ Ἐρυμάνθιος κάπρος; Latin: ''aper Erymanthius'') was a mythical creature that took the form of a "shaggy and wild" "tameless" "boar" "of vast weight" "and foaming jaws". It was a Tegeaean, Maenalusian or Erymanthian boar that lived in the "glens of Lampeia" beside the "vast marsh of Erymanthus". It would sally from the "thick-wooded", "cypress-bearing" "heights of Erymanthus" to "harry the groves of Arcady" and "abuse the land of Psophis". The fourth labour of Heracles was to bring the Erymanthian boar alive to Eurystheus in Mycenae. To capture the boar, Heracles first "chased the boar with shouts" and thereby routed it from a "certain thicket" and then "drove the exhausted animal into deep snow." He then "trapped it", bound it in chains, and lifted it, still "breathing from the dust", and returning with the boar on "his left shoulder", "staining his back with blood from the stricken wound", he cast it down ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Labours Of Hercules
The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, οἱ Ἡρακλέους ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished at the service of King Eurystheus. The episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative. The establishment of a fixed cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an epic poem, now lost, written by Peisander, dated about 600 BC. Having tried to kill Heracles ever since he was born, Hera induced a madness in him that made him kill his wife and children. Afterwards, Heracles went to the Oracle of Delphi to atone, where he prayed to the god Apollo for guidance. Heracles was told to serve Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, for ten years. During this time, he was sent to perform a series of difficult feats, called labours. History Driven mad by Hera (queen of the gods), Heracles slew his sons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. Minerva is one of the three Roman deities in the Capitoline Triad, along with Jupiter and Juno. She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, and the crafts. She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the "owl of Minerva", which symbolised her association with wisdom and knowledge as well as, less frequently, the snake and the olive tree. Minerva is commonly depicted as tall with an athletic and muscular build, as well as wearing armour and carrying a spear. As the most important Roman goddess, she is highly revered, honored, and respected. Marcus Teren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rape Of Persephone
The Rape of Persephone, or Abduction of Persephone, is a classical mythological subject in Western art, depicting the abduction of Persephone by Hades. This then resulted in the myth surrounding the creation of the seasons, as Demeter mourned the time that Persephone spent in the Underworld with her husband. In the context of the subject, the word "Rape" refers to the traditional translation of the Latin raptus, "seized" or "carried off", and not to sexual violence. Mythological background Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Hades wished to make her his wife, so he got permission from her father Zeus and help from Gaia to abduct her into the Underworld. When Persephone was picking flowers in a field, Hades emerged on his chariot from a crack on the earth, and carried off the unwilling Persephone; only Hecate and Helios witnessed the abduction, and later told Demeter. Rubens Created in 1636 and 1637, Peter Paul Rubens depicted the abduction of Persephone in a pie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laodamas
Laodamas (; Ancient Greek: Λᾱοδάμᾱς, ''Lāodámās'', literally "tamer of the people") refers to five different people in Greek mythology. * Laodamas, son of Eteocles, inherited Thebes from his father.Pausanias, 9.5.13 In one version of the myth (different from the one recounted in Sophocles' ''Antigone''), he was responsible for the deaths of his aunts Antigone and Ismene, whom he prosecuted for having buried Polynices. They sought refuge in the temple of Hera, but Laodamas set fire to it and thus killed them. During the battle of the Epigoni, he was killed by Alcmaeon after he killed Aegialeus. Other sources state that he survived and fled to the Encheleans in Illyria, and subsequently led an expedition to Thessaly. * Laodamas, son of Antenor and Theano, thus brother of Crino, and numerous sons, including Acamas, Agenor, Antheus, Archelochus, Coön, Demoleon, Eurymachus, Glaucus, Helicaon, Iphidamas, Laodocus, Medon,Virgil, ''Aeneid'' 6.484 Polybus and Thersilochus. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
