Images & Art
Small ivory panel carved with figures of winged sphinxes in relief. There was an intimate connection between Egypt and Assyria during this time period. These ivory carvings are probably the work of phoenician artists.
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Bas-relief from the palace of Ashur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.c. 885 to 860, at Calah (Nimrud), sculptured with a figure of a winged mythological being carrying an ibex.
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Small block of ivory carved with a representation of a sacred tree.
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Ivory panel carved to represent a window at which is the face of an Egyptian woman. There was an intimate connection between Egypt and Assyria during this time period. These ivory carvings are probably the work of phoenician artists.
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Bas-relief sculptured with a winged and eagle-headed mythological being, from the palace of Ashir-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.c. 885 to 860.
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Portion of an ivory panel or ornament carved with the figure of a sphinx. These ivory carvings are probably the work of phoenician artists.
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Statue of Ashur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 885 to 860. The statue stands upon its original limestone pedestal. The inscription of 8 lines on the breast records the names, titles, and genealogy. This is the only extant perfect Assyrian royal statue in the round. From the small Temple of Adar.
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The "Black Obelisk," inscribed with an account of the campaigns of Shalmaneser II., king of Assyria from B.C. 860 to 825. The sculptured scenes illustrate the text, and among the vanquished princes is " Jehu, the son of Omri"
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Sennacherib, king of Assyria from B.C. 705 to 681, seated upon his throne before the city of Lachish in northern Israel, and receiving tribute.
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Ashur-bani-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 668 to 626, pouring out a libation over dead lions.
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Portion of one of the bronze bands from the gates of
Shalmaneser II., king of Assyria from B.c. 860 to 825,
representing the army on the march. On the right of
the upper register is a figure of the king; in the lower
register is a representation of chariots crossing a river by a bridge of boats.
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Fragments of baked clay tablets inscribed with the
Babylonian account of the Creation. Excavated at Nineveh.
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Fragments of baked clay tablets inscribed with the
Babylonian account of the Creation. Excavated at Nineveh.
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Portion of a tablet inscribed with the legend of the fight
between Marduk and Tiamat.
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Fragment of a baked clay tablet inscribed with the
Babylonian account of the Deluge. Excavated at Nineveh.
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Fragment of a baked clay tablet inscribed with the
Babylonian account of the Deluge. Excavated at Nineveh.
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Assyrian scribes made lists of the ancient Babylonian characters, after which they added simpler Assyrian equivalents.
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Inscribed brick or memorial tablet of Eannatum, king of
Lagash, recording the sinking of a well in the forecourt
of Ningirsu's temple at Lagash.
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Brick of Gudea, governor of Lagash about B.C. 2500.
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Stele engraved with a charter of Nebuchadnezzar I., king of Babylonia about BC. 1120
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Brick of Shalmaneser II., king of Assyria from B.C. 860 to
825.
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Stele with inscription and figure, sculptured in relief, of Ashur-bani-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 668 to 626.
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This translated Cuneiform contains the name and titles of Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon who took the hebrews out of their land into captivity.
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Bronze doorstep inscribed with the name and titles of
Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon from B.C. 604 to
561
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Translation of the inscription on the Bronze Doorstep of Nebuchadnezzar II.
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Brick inscribed with the name and titles of Nebuchadnezzar
II., king of Babylon from B.C. 604 to 561
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Bas-relief from a wall of the palace of Ashur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 885 to 860, at Calah (Nimrud), sculptured with figures of foreigners bringing apes as a present to the king.
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This map illustrates excavations in ancient Babylonia and Assyria.
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Colossal lion, inscribed with the name and titles of Ashur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 885 to 860, from the Temple of Ninib at Calah (Nimrud).
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Portion of one of the bronze bands from the gates of Shalmaneser II, king of Assyria from B.C. 860 to 825, representing the king seated in his camp; in the lower register may be seen an Assyrian battering-ram in action.
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Colossal winged and human-headed lion from the palace
of Ashur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 885 to 860,
at Calah (Nimrud).
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Bas relief sculptured with a figure of Ashur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 885 to 860, carrying a bow and
arrows, and attended by a winged mythological being.
From the North-west palace at Nimrud (Calah).
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Map of Ashurnasirpal's palace at Nimrud, revealing the palace, buildings, tombs, vaulted chambers and the Temple of Nanib or Adar. The walls encompassed an area that was 7000 feet long by 5500 feet wide.
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View of Babil, one of the principal mounds which mark the site of Babylon and contain the ruins of the palaces of the kings of the last Babylonian Empire.
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This plan shows Nineveh on the Tigris River, the palaces of sennacherib and Ashurbanipal, and their relationship to Mosul.
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View of Birs Nimrud (Borsippa), showing the remains of
the great temple of Nabu, the traditional site of the
Tower of Babel
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Shows Babylon and Borsippa including Kalat, Babil, El Kasr, Hillah, and Nebuchadnezzar's Palace along the River Euphrates.
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This map illustrates excavations in ancient Babylonia and Assyria.
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Colossal winged and human-headed bull and mythological
being, from a doorway in the palace of Sargon, king of
Assyria from B.c. 722 to 705, at Dur-Sharrukm
(Khorsabad).
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Bas-relief sculptured with two figures of Ashur-nasir-pal,
king of Assyria from B.C. 885 to 860, attended by
winged mythological beings, and worshipping Ashur, the
national god of Assyria, who appears within a winged
circle above the sacred tree
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Small inlaid ivory panel carved with representations of two Egyptian personages seated upon thrones before a cartouche. There was a definite connection between Egypt and Assyria during this time period.
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A unique resource of items of antique art that are being displayed by UK Antique Dealers.
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oil paintings and picture frames manufacturer,you can purchase our product from the distributor of your area immediacy!!
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Ancient Section. Contains many categories, including reference sites and resources. Chris Witcombe
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Until this section is finished being indexed into the main database you can click here to see a list of links including the Bible History Online general resources on this subject, although many of these links are outdated. [Images and Art]
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Collection of Images covering a wide range of subjects.
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"The North Carolina Museum of Art and Design Research Lab at North Carolina State University have brought to the web a unique on-line presentation that features over 130 works of art, a Quicktime VR tour, and Shockwave presentations of some 3D pieces."
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Art Images for College Teaching (AICT) began as a personal project dedicated to the principle of free exchange of image resources for and among members of the educational community. While the AICT site is maintained and distributed under the general auspices of the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD), this institution is not responsible for content or use thereof. All work on the AICT project has been voluntary, and MCAD-affiliated personnel have contributed innumerable hours of research, clerical, and design effort on a pro-bono basis. Use of the images displayed on this website has also been contributed on a non-royalty basis for the public good.
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"AICT is a royalty-free image exchange resource for the educational community." "Art Images for College Teaching (AICT) began as a personal project dedicated to the principle of free exchange of image resources for and among members of the educational community. While the AICT site is maintained and distributed under the general auspices of the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD), this institution is not responsible for content or use thereof. All work on the AICT project has been voluntary, and MCAD-affiliated personnel have contributed innumerable hours of research, clerical, and design effort on a pro-bono basis. Use of the images displayed on this website has also been contributed on a non-royalty basis for the public good."
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
Antefixes are placed along the bottom edges of the roof. This example retains some of its original paint. Color was an important decorative element on the Parthenon and on Greek buildings in general. All the ornamentation, except the nude figures, was heavily painted.
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Southwest corner of Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-440 B.C.
The entablature covers the area above the capital up to the pediment. At the corner between the architrave and the cornice are the channeled blocks known as triglyphs. They alternate with ninety-two sculptured metopes around the entire building. The stone pegs under the triglyphs are remnants of earlier Greek temple constructions in wood.
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South Metope
Southwest corner of Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-440 B.C.
A Lapith is held in a headlock by a centaur. The action and energy of the metope contrast and form a harmonious balance with the surrounding triglyphs.
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South Metope 30
Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-440 B.C.
British Museum, London
In this metope another centaur overcomes a fallen Lapith. Both figures are treated with deep respect by the sculptor. Originally the background of the metopes was painted bright red and the triglyphs on each side were painted bright blue.
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Parthenon, west facade
Acropolis, Athens
442-438 B.C.
Inside the outer colonnade, at the top of the outside wall of the cella, is the great frieze, a unique sculptural procession 525 feet long which is a homage to the goddess Athena and a celebration in her name. This is the first Doric frieze to go around a building. Previously such friezes were limited to Ionic constructions. Starting in the southwest, the idealized figures of Athenian men, women, children, and animals travel east and west to meet Athena at the eastern front of the temple.
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Parthenon, west facade
Acropolis, Athens
442-438 B.C.
The frieze is in low relief, about one and one half inches deep and three feet four inches high.
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Parthenon frieze
Southwest portion
Acropolis, Athens
442-438 B.C.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
The frieze is in low relief, about one and one half inches deep and three feet four inches high. In the beginning of the procession at the west end of the south side, as some men mount their horses and prepare to move, one horse rears its legs in wild fear and a man tries to control it.
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Parthenon frieze
North side
Acropolis, Athens
442-438 B.C.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
At a moment of great delicacy, young men dressed in full-length himatia walk beside these massive animals. Perhaps this relief was executed by Phidias himself.
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Parthenon frieze
East portion
Acropolis, Athens
442-438 B.C.
Louvre, Paris
Near the end of the Parthenon on the east frieze, young women stand stately and quietly beside officials.
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Parthenon frieze
East side
Acropolis, Athens
442-438 B.C.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
Perhaps also executed by Phidias or a close collaborator, the gods Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis sit on diphros, four-legged stools which originated in Egypt.
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Mnesicles (?)
From the southeast
Acropolis, Athens
421-405 B.C.
The Erechtheum is an irregularly shaped Ionic temple which was built to house several sacred objects. Standing opposite the north side of the Parthenon, it counterbalances the heavy weight of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. The Erechtheum sits on uneven ground. Very different porches on the north and south sides balance each other.
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Mnesicles (?)
From the southeast
Acropolis, Athens
421-405 B.C.
The cella floor was higher than the stylobate. Underneath was a basement. Notice the windows on the far wall which were originally covered with bronze lattices.
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Mnesicles (?)
Erechtheum
Acropolis, Athens
421-405 B.C.
Decoration throughout the Erechtheum is elaborate and formal. The carving is on a very high level. These are excellent examples of the bases of Ionic columns.
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Erechtheum
Mnesicles (?)
Acropolis, Athens
c. 413 B.C.
The famous maidens or Caryatids support the entablature of the south porch. The slim rods between the Figures are modern structural additions.
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Erechtheum
Mnesicles (?)
Acropolis, Athens
421-405 B.C.
This ornamental frieze runs along the cella wall. The pattern consists of stylized lotus blooms, palmettes, and finishing tendrils as well as egg-and-dart and leaf-and-dart carvings.
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Erechtheum
Mnesicles (?)
Acropolis, Athens
421-405 B.C.
A detail of above.
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Erechtheum
Mnesicles (?)
Acropolis, Athens
421-405 B.C.
The large door in the north porch, sixteen feet high and eight feet wide, is richly ornamented throughout its frame and cornice.
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Acropolis, Athens
The theatre of Dionysus was built into the natural hollow of the south slope of the Acropolis. Originally a place to honor the god Dionysus in dance and song, in the fifth century the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were performed on the orchestra floor for 30,000 Athenians. By the middle of the fifth century there was scenery in the background, usually in the form of a building. The theatre changed many times over the years and was largely rebuilt by the Romans.
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Theatre of Dionysus
Acropolis, Athens
c. Beginning 1st century B.C.
These marble seats of honor (proderia) were placed in the theatre between the third and the beginning of the first century B.C.
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Theatre of Dionysus
Acropolis, Athens
1st century B.C.
The carved marble seat or throne of the priest of Dionysus became a part of the theatre in the first century B.C. Notice the lion claw legs.
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by Polyclitus the Younger
Epidaurus
c. 350 B.C.
The best preserved Greek theatre is at Epidaurus.
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by Polyclitus the Younger
Epidaurus
c. 350 B.C.
Stone benches and steps of the theatre.
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Athens
334 B.C.
The earliest surviving Greek building with Corinthian columns on the exterior, the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates was built in 334 B.C. Lysicrates, a choragus at the theatre, was someone who was chosen to have the honor of paying for a chorus. The building commemorated the winning of the prize for the best play.
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The column is the basic element in Greek architecture. It is both structural and sculptural. There are three types or orders of column. The oldest, dating to about 600 B.C., is the Doric. Normally standing right on the floor, the shaft is made of a series of drums which are rounded, doweled together, tapered up--ward and fluted, usually twenty times. On top of the shaft sits a two part capital carved in a single block. The bottom is the cushion or echinus and the top is a flat square slab called the abacus. There is a natural ring where the capital and shaft meet and this is emphasized by the addition of several carved rings. The column height is four to six and one half times the diameter at the base of the shaft. These seven Doric columns, the oldest to survive intact, are from the temple of Apollo at Corinth. Each shaft, over twenty feet high, is cut from a solid limestone block which was surfaced with a stucco made of marble dust. While the columns seem simple and stumpy, the sharp ridged fluting is evidence of a high degree of mastery of stone carving. Further they are bellied slightly at the center which keeps them from seeming too dumpy. What isn't evident today as a result of the action of wind, rain, and man-made destruction is that these temples were generally brightly painted in white, gold, reds and blues.
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The column is the basic element in Greek architecture. It is both structural and sculptural. There are three types or orders of column. The oldest, dating to about 600 B.C., is the Doric. Normally standing right on the floor, the shaft is made of a series of drums which are rounded, doweled together, tapered up--ward and fluted, usually twenty times. On top of the shaft sits a two part capital carved in a single block. The bottom is the cushion or echinus and the top is a flat square slab called the abacus. There is a natural ring where the capital and shaft meet and this is emphasized by the addition of several carved rings. The column height is four to six and one half times the diameter at the base of the shaft. These seven Doric columns, the oldest to survive intact, are from the temple of Apollo at Corinth. Each shaft, over twenty feet high, is cut from a solid limestone block which was surfaced with a stucco made of marble dust. While the columns seem simple and stumpy, the sharp ridged fluting is evidence of a high degree of mastery of stone carving. Further they are bellied slightly at the center which keeps them from seeming too dumpy. What isn't evident today as a result of the action of wind, rain, and man-made destruction is that these temples were generally brightly painted in white, gold, reds and blues.
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Resting on the slab like abacus, the Doric entablature is made up of three parts. The lowest portion, the architrave (A) is generally a stright cut supporting member composed of blocks of stone which meet over the abacus. Above the architrave is the frieze (B). In Doric entablatures, this frieze generally is a series of sculpted metopes, separated by a carved triglyphs. Some early temples have plain metopes between the triglyphs. Above the frieze is the cornice (C) which serves to join the entablature to the overhanging eave of the roof.
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The Ionic column is distinguished by its volute or scroll capital. More slender than the Doric column, its height is eight or nine times the diameter of the shaft. Normally the Ionic column has twenty-four flutes which are separated by fillets or soft edges; some examples have as many as forty-eight flutes. There is a column base, the most notable type consisting of a torus or convex molding above, a three part concave molding, and a torus below. All the carving is on a high level. These Ionic columns from the temple of Artemis were left unfluted when work on the temple stopped. Fluting ordinarily takes place after the column is assembled.
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The Corinthian column is similar to the Ionic column in its shaft and base. Only the capital differs, with its distinctive acanthus leaf, foliage, or flower carvings.
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Museum, Epidaurus. A beautifully carved Corinthian column from the inner colonnade of the tholos. A portion of the entablature rests on the column.
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The sanctuary of the god Apollo is laid out on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, under the craggy Rocks of Phaedriades and the overlooking Pleistos Gorge. The temple is on the bottom left and diagonally above it are the theatre and stadium.
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The basic model of the Greek temple is the four sided cella. To the simplest cella was added a porch or pronaos: the simple megarons shown at the right. The extension of the cella walls are the antae. As temples grew in size, columns were added between the antae to support the roof as illustrated in the drawing of a megaron with columns. In the prostyle temple the antae do not extend to the line of columns suppoting the roof over the pronaos. While there was only one entrance to the cella, the addition of a second porch with a double antis provided a more balanced and symetrical structure when view from the side. Temples like Athena Nike are amphiprostyle in they have no antae. Eventually, a colonnade was added to the sides of the temple. While the Parthenon is more sophisticated in structure. It is of this later, peripteral style temple.
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Sanctuary of Apollo
Delphi
6th century B.C.
The sacred way passes by the supporting wall and ends at the temple entrance. The first temple was built around 600 B.C. This was replaced after a fire by a stone temple in 530-510 B.C. To the left of the picture is the theatre. Another temple was constructed on the same spot by Spintharos of Corinth about 320 B.C.
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Sanctuary of Apollo
Delphi
c. 500-485 B.C.
The sacred way leads up to the temple past statues of dedication and treasuries built by many city-states. Originally there were twenty-three treasuries. They housed the gifts donated in honor of Apollo. The Athenian treasury was re-erected in 1906.
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Sanctuary of Apollo
Delphi
Third quarter 6th century B.C.
Under the temple is a supporting terrace wall built in polygonal masonry.
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Sanctuary of Apollo
Delphi
3rd century B.C. and
4th century B.C.
The theatre is cut into the slope above the temple and overlooks the valley and the mountains beyond. The six temple columns were reconstructed.
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Sanctuary of Apollo
Delphi
c. 180 B.C.
The stadium is higher up on the slopes above the sacred precinct. Built in Roman times, the site was used by the Greeks for games.
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Sanctuary of Apollo
Delphi
Beginning 4th century B.C.
The tholos on the Mamaria or marbleyard. Its purpose unknown, it is a Doric circular temple made of marble, standing in what formerly was the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. Twenty Doric columns were on the outside and Corinthian half-columns surrounded the cella.
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Athens
Second half 5th century B.C.
The Acropolis means the highest city. Originally it was a fortress, a place of protection. During a peaceful period in the second half of the fifth century B.C., under the leadership of Pericles and the artistic supervision of Phidias,the Athenians built their sanctuary to Athena on the old acropolis site, high up on an isolated mountain cliff. In luminous Pentelic marble silhouetted against the sky, they created in a brief thirty-year period perhaps the greatest architectural achievement in the world.
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As reconstructed according to Leo von Klenze
This line drawing, from Architectual Styles by Herbert Pothorn, provides us with a more complete view of the Acropolis as it must have looked before the ravages of time and weather. The following drawing from the same source provides a plan of the major elements of the area.
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A reconstruction according to Leo von Krenze.
A: The Parthenon is the large structure in the center of the sacred area. B: The Propylaea, the entrance into the Sacred area. C: The Temple of Athena Nike, directly below the Propylaea in the drawing. D: Roman fortifications added later. E: Foundations of minor temples. F: Upper center of the sacred area, is the Erechtheion. G: Foundations of a temple predating the Persian Wars. H: Foundation of a house dating back to the Mycenaean. J: Askelpieon. K: Smaller theatre to the left of the drawing, The theatre of Herodes Atticus. L: Stoa of Eumenes. M: Larger theatre to the right, Theatre and Altar of Dionysus.
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Athens
The Acropolis is approached from the west. High on the man-made bastion at the right sits the delicate Ionic temple of Athena Nike. The center columns are surviving elements of the Propylaea
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Designed by Mnesicles
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
The propylaea, a roofed entrance structure into the sacred precincts, was designed and built between 437 and 432 B.C. A Doric facade on the west is linked to a Doric facade on the east by a passageway lined with tall Ionic columns. It had five doors, one large center door and two smaller doors on each side.
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Designed by Mnesicles
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
The eastern inner facade and porch of the propylaea. We are looking back toward Athens. A portion of the entablature and a small piece of the pediment survive. Notice that the metopes are unsculptured.
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Designed by Callicrates
Acropolis, Athens
c. 425 B.C.
The temple of Athena Nike, the goddess of victory, is built on a small ledge outside the sacred precinct. Designed by Callicrates, it has Ionic porticos of four columns on the front and back of the cella. The entire building is surrounded with a frieze. You will note that the front columns are not engaged or in line with the walls of the cella. Also one can clearly see one of the rear columns of the rear porch. It is a wonderful example of a amphiprostyle temple.
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Balustrade relief
Temple of Athena Nike
c. 410-407 B.C.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
This beautiful relief figure of Athena is from the balustrade surrounding three sides of the temple.
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By Ictinus and Callicrates
From the northwest
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
Dedicated to the virgin Athena Parthenos, the great Parthenon was designed by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates and built over the years 447-432 B.C. Basically it is a simple rectangular building, 237 feet long by 110 1/2 feet wide, with Doric columns around its four sides, supporting an architrave, frieze, and cornice. A pediment on each end rises to a slanting roof. With the exception of the roof frame and parts of the ceiling, the entire temple is constructed in marble. To this day the Parthenon remains the masterpiece of consummate proportions.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The substructure is made of finely cut unpolished marble blocks.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The stylobate is the three-step base on which the Parthenon stands. In order to correct the distortions naturally made by the eye, the stylobate is curved upward toward the center of the colonnades on each side of the temple. The architrave also is similarly curved.
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Rome
109 B.C.
The Milvian Bridge (Pons Mulvius) was the crossing for two of the most important roads in Rome. Still used today, its arches are set over massive piers.
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Roman bridge
Alcántara, Spain
106
Built of square hewn granite stones, this handsome bridge uses six arches to cross the river. The two central arches are 157 feet high and almost 100 feet across. A triumphal arch is over the central pillar.
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Rome
390 B.C.
Part of the ancient sixth century wall which surrounded Rome at the foot of the Aventine Hill, this section was erected in 390 B.C. The arch, a later addition, is from the second or first century B.C.
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On the Tiber
Rome
2nd century B.C.
While the Greek temple is a sculptural building on all sides, Roman rectangular temples are built to be seen from the front. Normally they sit high on a raised platform, with a long stairway leading up to the portico. The side walls have attached half-columns which are called pseudo-peripteral. Primarily used as a treasury, the celIa is the width of the building. In general Roman, architecture employs columns for decoration instead of support.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
205
The circular temple of Vesta was founded in 715 B.C. and rebuilt many times over the centuries. It was last rebuilt in 205 by Septimius Severus. A ten foot high podium supported a circular celIa thirty feet across, which was surrounded by Corinthian columns. One ring of columns is engaged to the wall and an outer ring supports the entablature.
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Tivoli
c. 100 B.C.
The cement cella of this circular temple has two windows. Corinthian capitals are handsomely carved and the entablature is elegantly decorated.
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On the Tiber
Rome
1st century B.C.
More directly influenced by Greek architecture, this circular temple has marble Corinthian columns nearly thirty-five feet high. Originally the roof was probably covered with bronze tiles.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
Early 4th century
Like many other buildings, the marble facing over the brick of this octagonal temple was removed long ago. This temple has many elements which are brought to fruition in the Pantheon. The octagonal nature of the space will be an influence in the Early Christian and Romanesque temples.
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Temple of Romulus
Forum Romanum
Rome
Early 4th century
The bronze doors are original. They are framed by two columns and a decorated lintel. Notice the partial columns sitting on pedestals. This is typical throughout Roman architecture.
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Cori
Late 2nd century B.C.
A small Doric temple with columns fluted on the upper two-thirds. The bottom part was probably stuccoed red, a common feature in Pompeian columns. The depth of the porch is equal to its width. Notice the platform made of cement and stone.
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Forum of Augustus
Rome
2 B.C.
Dedicated by Augustus to Mars the Avenger for the death of Caesar's assassins, the Temple of Mars Ultor was a very large temple with Corinthian columns fifty-eight feet high. The marble-faced steps and three large columns survive.
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Nîmes
c. 19 B.C.
The Maison Carrée is the best-preserved Roman temple. It has a high podium and six Corinthian columns support the entablature. Also typical is the height of the porch, in this case: 16 steps high.
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TEMPLE OF VENUS
AND ROME
Forum Romanum
Rome
123-135
Designed by Hadrian, the barrel-vaulted Temple of Venus and Rome is one of the most significant architectural achievements of the age. It was an immense temple with a platform 540 by 340 feet. Workmen from Asia Minor did most of the construction and their decorative contribution influenced subsequent buildings. This is one of the two back-to-back cellas. It was extensively restored by Maxentius in 307-312, when it was given rich flooring and columns.
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Rome
c. 118-128
The Pantheon is one of the most important buildings in architectural history. Built by Hadrian, the greatness of this temple to the gods is difficult to appreciate from the exterior. A large Corinthian portico, 110 feet wide by 60 feet deep, is attached to a circular drum, with a small section of a dome appearing above. In fact the mass of the building was even more concealed in its original state, when a spacious colonnaded forecourt jutted out into the street.
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Rome
c. 118-128
Its interior space is awesome. Proportioned like a circle within a square, a hemispherical dome sits on a cylindrical drum. The diameter of the dome is 141 feet and it rises 141 feet from the floor to the top of the ceiling.
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Pantheon
Rome
c. 118-128
Cut into the twenty foot thick walls and screened with columns are semicircular and rectangular niches. The niches held statues of the heavenly gods. This is the main niche at the end of the central axis, the only niche to stand out.
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Pantheon
Rome
c. 118-128
The coffered dome rises to a twenty-seven foot circular opening called the oculus. It is the one light source for the interior. In five steps, and recessed four times, the coffering diminishes in size. This lightens the load on the dome and enhances its appearance of height. Originally the coffers were decorated, possibly with gold stars against a blue background.
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PANTHEON
c. 1750
National Gallery of Art, Washington
This eighteenth century painting captures the full magnificence of the Pantheon's interior space, the first such open interior in architectural history. The sun lights up the space and as it travels across the sky casts an intense glow on the walls. Notice how the building's simple design of circle within a square is reflected in the same pattern on the floor.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
312-327
The Roman barrel vault reaches its highest expression in the Basilica of Constantine. Begun by Maxentius in 306-310, the building was completed by Constantine in 312-337. Three huge vaults on the north side remain. Each is pierced by six large windows which bring light into the building (though the center bay was closed off by Constantine and made into an apse with a huge statue of himself). The original entrance was from the arcade on the right. An apse was at the far end. A 1 20 foot groined vault supported by the aisle vaults covered the central nave. Constantine moved the entrance and shifted the axis to the center of the south wall, opposite his statue. A simple rectangular structure given monumentality through its vaulting and supporting piers, the basilica later became a model for Christian architecture. For the Romans it was a center of justice and civic affairs.
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Basilica of Constantine
Forum Romanum
Rome
312-327
The northern aisle with coffering in two vaults. Marble originally covered the walls.
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Trier
c. 310
The basilica at Trier, the capital of Constantius in northern Gaul, is a plain rectangular hall, approximately 95 by 190 feet, with a sizable projecting semicircular apse, which held the emperor's throne. A narthex was in the front of the building and porticoed courtyards were on the sides. Two rows of windows bring in light from the sides and around the apse. The apse is emphasized by all aspects of the design. The exterior walls, once faced with stucco, are broken up by tall sup porting Greek columns which end in arches. Originally a wooden gallery ran along the building under each row of windows, breaking up the vertical thrust of the arches.
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Baths of Caracalla
Rome
212-216
The thermae or baths were a social center of Roman life. Used daily as a place to bathe and refresh the body, they also contained swimming pools, parks, stadiums for sports, libraries, lecture rooms, and occasionally small theatres. This is part of the frigidarium, the largest space in the bath and probably unroofed. It is the room for cooling off and swimming. The two other main areas were the calidarium, the hot room, and the tepidarium, the warm room. The baths of Caracalla could accommodate 3,000 bathers.
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Baths of Caracalla
Rome
212-216
The palaestra is a large circular room for wrestling and other gymnastic activities.
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Rome
212-216
Massive cement and brick structures support a roof with a semicircular intersecting vault. The frigidarium is in this area.
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Baia
Early 1st century
This is a portion of the baths at Baia, a famous resort near Naples.
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Trier
c. 300
Natural light from windows is a primary element in Roman architecture. This is especially so of the buildings which house the baths, where sunlight is that much more desirable. These arched windows almost filling up the wall are from the southern apse of the Imperial Baths at Trier.
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Ostia
2nd century
In the baths at Ostia an entire wall is used for windows. The Romans invented an inexpensive way to manufacture glass.
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Ostia
2nd century
This view of the baths at Ostia shows the black and white mosaic floor. The color and figure pattern is typical of the second century.
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Rome
11 or 13
The one ancient theatre to survive in Rome, the Theatre of Marcellus, was started by Caesar and completed by Augustus in the year 11 or 13. It stands on level ground and is supported by radiating walls and concrete vaulting. An arcade with attached half-columns runs around the building. The columns are Doric and Ionic.
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c. 50
In the Roman theatre the orchestra is a place to sit, instead of a performing area as the Greeks had used it. The stage grows in importance and is brought into direct contact with the audience. The auditorium is a semicircle, often partially supported by a hill underneath as well as concrete vaulting. Corridors under the tiers were used in case of rain. This is the best-preserved Roman theatre.
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Sicily
Built on a hillside by the Greeks in the third century B.C., the theatre at Taormina was remodeled and decorated by the Romans. New entrances were added, also a scaenae frons and the versurae or side buildings which connected the stage to the auditorium.
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Theatre at Taormina
Sicily
The scaenae frons, one of the best preserved, was richly decorated with groups of four columns on a high podium which separate the regia or central royal door from the hospitalia or side doors. Behind the columns are niches for statues.
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Tripolitana
c. 200
The theatre of Sabratha has a three-story scaenae frons with ninety-six columns decreasing in height from the first to the third story. The scaenae frons is divided into seven sections, which gave the actors many entrances. This was the largest Roman theatre in Africa.
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Rome
70-82
The Coliseum is an elliptical building made to hold 50,000 spectators for sporting and theatrical events. It is four stories high with rings of arcades on the first three levels. The arches have attached three-quarter columns, Doric on the first level, Ionic on the second, and Corinthian on the third. The top story has Corinthian pilasters. From here a large awning, the vlarium, could be stretched across the entire amphitheatre. The Coliseum was constructed under three Flavian em perors, Vespasian, Titus, and Dominitan. More than any other single building, its construction details, engineering, and sense of power and authority speak to the Roman culture.
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Rome
70-82
A detail of the facade. Originally statues stood in the arches on the second and third stories. People entered through the ground floor arches according to where they sat.
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Rome
70-82
In the center is the substructure beneath the arena floor. Almost forty feet deep, it contained a system of corridors for slaves, caged animals, and machinery for performances. It also held the plumbing to flood the arena for water events. The tiers of seats were strictly divided by social strata. The emperor and his family and court sat in the first tier; patricians and gentry were in the second tier; ladies were in the third tier; and common people sat on the top. Barrel vaults were the main supports of the heavy tiers.
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Rome
70-82
The main corridor of the substructure.
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Colosseum Substructure
Rome
70-82
Horizontal lintel arches supported the heavy amphitheatre columns which were underground. These arches were made with wedge-shaped blocks or voussoirs.
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Colosseum
Rome
70-82
The large cross-vaulted ambulatory on the second level. Covered stairways and ramps also were used to get to seats.
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Via Appia
Rome
c. 30 B.C.
A development of the tumulus, the tomb of Caecilia Metella is a travertine-faced cylinder which stands on a square podium. A small inner chamber has a high-vaulted roof in the center. The entrance into the chamber is a small passage cut into the cylinder. On top there was a planted mound. The present top is an addition from the Middle Ages.
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Athens
150 B.C.
Modern Reconstruction
This stoa was originally built along the Athenian Agora, a marketplace in 150 B.C., as a place of business and a shelter for well-to-do Athenians. The two-story colonnaded facade has a Doric order on the ground level and the Ionic order above. This stoa is a modern reconstruction.
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From the sanctuary at Delphi
c. 560 B.C.
Museum, Delphi
The sphinx of the Naxians, a wealthy Cyc1adic island people, sits on an elegant Ionic column which stood not far from the temple of Apollo at Delphi. This was the Naxians' gift to the sanctuary.
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by Aristokles
c. 510 B.C.
National Archaeological
Museum, Athens
A stele is a gravestone. This example is one of the finest from the archaic period. It is much more of a silhouette, shallow freize. Well defined but lacking the motion to be found in later sculpture.
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From the Temple of Artemis Ephesus
c. 350 B.C.
British Museum, London
Figures are sculptured into the bottom drum of the shaft of the large Ionic columns from the temple of Artemis.
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From the theatre of Dionysus, Athens
c. After 150 B.C.
A round base carved with a satyr's mask and garlands.
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From the necropolis at Sidion
After 330 B.C.
Archaeological Museum
Istanbul
Notice the classical Greek ornamentation surrounding this battle scene from the life of Alexander. The bright painted colors have faded.
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Athens
150 B.C.
Modern Reconstruction
Small shops along the right hand wall were rented by the state to businessmen. The large promenade offered space both for business and relaxation.
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From Sabucina
Early 6th century B.C.
National Archaeological
Museum, Gela
An early sixth century clay model of an archaic temple.
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Archaic Shrine
Molino a Vento
From L. Bernabo-Brea
L'Athenaion de Gela
Rome, 1952
Modern Reconstruction
A reconstruction of terra-cotta pediment decoration on an archaic late sixth century shrine at Molino a Vento, Gela.
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From Tarentum
Mid-4th century B.C.
Martin von Wagner Museum
Wurzberg
Acroderia or ornamental figures adorn the roof above the center and the two ends of the pediment. Mask like faces cover the tile ends along the gutter of the roof. A dentil ornament is above the architrave. The porch ceiling is coffered. This shard of pottery gives a clear indication of the amount of painted decoration which was to be found on all of the buildings.
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by Polyclitus the Younger
Tholos, Epidaurus
c. 360 B.C.
Museum, Epidaurus
Greek ceilings are typically coffered. Less common is this coffered ceiling from the tholos at Epidaurus which has delicate flowers growing out of the center of each panel.
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Mid-6th century B.C.
National Archaeological
Museum, Athens
During the mid-sixth century the figure is erect, poised, and yet immobile, an image of energy at rest. One leg stands slightly in front of the other. The arms are attached to the body. The kouros often stood in a sanctuary or marked a grave. Like the Stele of Aristion it lacks motion.
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by Kritios
c. 485 B.C.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
By the 5th century B.C., sculpture moves into the classical age. With the slight bend in the right knee of the Kritios Boy, the figure is liberated from the formal, flat plane.
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by Myron
460-450 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Rome
Created about a decade or so before work started on the Acropolis, Myron's Discus Thrower was revolutionary. The figure still retains an inner poise and an overall balance. But the energy has opened up, moving with a new sense of the world. This is a marble copy of the bronze original.
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by Praxiteles
From the temple of Hera, Olympia
c. 330 B.C.
Museum, Olympia
This Hermes of Praxiteles captures the contained and thoughtful spirit of the fourth century.
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Vase painting
550-525 B.C.
British Museum, London
In this sixth century B.C. chair there is a slight curve in the legs and back. The back turns and ends in the head of a swan. The legs retain the earlier clawed feet. Between the seat and stretcher is an ornamental carved animal. There is a low arm-rail and a seat cushion.
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White-ground cup
Lyandros Painter
c. 460 B.C.
Museo Archeologico
Florence
The straight legs are decorated with volutes at the seat and smaller volutes near the floor. The angular back ends in volutes too. Probably the seat was woven.
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Vase painting
475-450 B.C.
Torno Collection, Milan
In the klismos, the classic chair, the legs swing outward and the back swings upward in a continuous line. Early in the fifth century the leg has no foot. A broad horizontal slat is added to the top of the back which encircles the shoulders. The three legs of the small table curve in the same line as the chair.
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Funerary Stele from the Eridanos cemetary, Hegeso
c. 400 B.C.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
A klismos of perfect proportions. Undecorated, it is simple, graceful, and elegant. Notice the low footstool.
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Detail, white lekythoi
Achilles Painter
c. 440 B.C.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
On this klismos the back is fairly straight. There are many variations of the style.
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Terra-cotta statue from Granmichele
c. 470 B.C.
Museum of Syracuse
The dignified thrones are for gods, heroes, and important people. Influenced by the Egyptian throne, the Greek throne develops many variations over the years. They have animal legs, turned legs, and rectangular legs. This example has a straight back, an arm-rail with a knob, and lion-paw feet. (see also C. 52 and C.53 in the Theatre of Dionysus.)
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Interior, White kylix
c. 470 B.C.
Museum, Delphi
A folding stool or diphros okladias with crossed, turned-in lion's legs and paws. Seats are made of leather or cloth.
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Corinthian column-krater
End of 7th century B.C.
Louvre, Paris
The couch or kline serves as both bed and sofa and is commonly used during meals. These couches or beds from the archaic period have turned legs, mattresses, covers, and pillows. Next to the beds are simple serving tables with turned clawed feet and stretchers.
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Bilingual amphora
Andokides Painter
c. 525 B.C.
Antikensammlungen, Munich
Herakles greets Athena from his beautifully decorated couch, mattress, and pillows. The couch is higher on the sides of the pillow. The rectangular legs rest on bases. After the meal, tables were stored under the bed.
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Campanian bell-krater
C.A. Painter
Symposion
c. 350 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
The Greek table has a limited use, primarily holding food and dishes during meals. Consequently they are small and light. The circular table on the left has three plain legs with stretchers. The simple rectangular table on the right also has three legs.
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Found at Luxor
2nd or 3rd century B.C.
Musees Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels
A Hellenistic three-legged table, one of the four pieces of Greek furniture to survive. It has carved antelope legs, ending with the heads of swans as they come out of acanthus leaves.
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From the west
Rome
The forum is the meeting place for Romans, the center of political, religious, business, and social life. Built up over many years on an ancient site, the Forum Romanum is the oldest and most important forum. It is laid out on an axial plan and everything is organized within defined boundaries. At its peak during the days of the Republic and the Empire, the forum held the main public buildings, temples, basilicas, shops, colonnades, triumphal arches, pillars and statues.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
Restored 320
One of the oldest sacred buildings, the Temple of Saturn in the foreground was rebuilt many times after its dedication around 500 B.C. These eight surviving Ionic columns are from the temple facade, restored in 320 A.D. Romans frequently omitted the fluting from the column shaft. Other temples are in the background. The Coliseum is across the forum in the distance.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
The monumental character of Roman architecture is apparent in three columns from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, rebuilt between 7 B.C. and 6 A.D. They are over forty-eight feet high and the entablature is nearly thirteen feet. Beyond is the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, built in 203 A.D., with its three passageways.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
81
At the eastern end of the forum is the Arch of Titus, built to commemorate the capture of Jerusalem. It is the oldest extant triumphal archway in Rome with a single passage. To the right in the distance one can see a potion of the walls of the Coliseum.
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from "Empires Ascendant"
Time frame 400 BC - AD 200
Time Life Books
To support the tremendous weight of the arches, it was necessary to provide a way of transmitting the force to massive piers to the foundation of the arch. The Romans achieved this feat through the use of the Keystone block. The force was directed down onto the top of the keystone. Because of its shape the force was translated to the voussoir blocks of the arch which in turn translated the force through the impost to the piers. During construction, the voussoir's were supported by a temporary wooden frame until the keystone was inserted.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
78 B.C.
The Tabularium or Hall of Records on the west end of the forum housed the state archives. The side of the building has an arcade with tall arches which are framed by pilasters. This type of facade became common by the first century B.C.
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From Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
Early 2nd century
The Romans discovered concrete and with this material developed entirely new ways of building. Concrete is sturdy, inexpensive, and quick and easy to use. Invariably the concrete is faced. In this example it is faced with opus reticulatum. Stones are pounded into the cement and at the joints they run in diagonal lines forming a diamond-shaped net.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
In opus testaceum the cement is faced with triangular bricks, about one and one-half inches thick. There are other much used facings.
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Terracina
c. 80 B.C.
The arch is the central revolutionary concept of Roman architecture. With its development the Romans bypass the earlier building concept of verticals and horizontals, support and load. The arch makes possible a new idea of space. It becomes the basis of Roman monumentality. Above these powerful supporting arches is a terrace which held the Temple of Jupiter Anxur. The arches are constructed of opus incertum, concrete faced with irregular-shaped stones.
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Palatine Hill
Rome
2nd century
Arches in the Via Nova supported a street above. Notice how the thin bricks are put into the cement at an angle. This adds strength to the arch.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
Battered and chipped over the centuries, these columns from the west facade still retain their strength and elegance.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
The pediments are the triangular areas above the architrave on the east and west ends of the temple. Devoted to Athena, the goddess of the temple, the east pediment represented her birth and the west pediment her peaceful contest with Poseidon over who would be god of Athens. A few magnificent parts of the pediment sculpture survive. In this southern corner of the east pediment are the reclining figure of Dionysus and the heads of horses that pulled the chariot of the sun-god Helios.
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Parthenon, East Pediment
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
British Museum, London
This intense head of the horse of the moon-god Selene is in the northern corner of the east pediment. It counterbalances the horse of Helios on the southern corner.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The inner room of the temple is called the cella. It housed the great statue of Athena which was lit by the sun rising in the east. Behind the sanctuary wall was a much smaller room used as a treasury. Only the western portion of the cella wall has survived with two small segments of the north and south walls. The great west doorway is in the center.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
In spite of the heavy damage to the cella wall, it is still possible to imagine what the original marble looked like, with the carefully cut and polished blocks. The entire temple was polished to catch the light. Notice the large lintel block over the doorway. The statue of Athena stood on the platform on the bottom right.
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Roman copy after Phidias' Athena Parthenos
National Museum, Athens
This is an inadequate Roman miniature of Phidias's immense and extravagantly rich statue of the goddess Athena. The cost of building the Parthenon, the propylaea and other buildings on the Acropolis was 2,012 talents. The statue of Athena alone cost 700 talents. About fifty feet tall, she was made out of ivory and gold. The statue was dedicated in 438 B.C.
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From the southwest corner
Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The walk space between the exterior columns on the left and the walled-in columns on the right is called the pteroma.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
Notice how the marble blocks sit in perfect balance on the abacus of the Doric columns. The masonry throughout the temple is so refined that no mortar is required at all. In this case the frieze has been stripped of both the finely sculptured marble metopes as well as the triglyphs.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The workmanship in the carving of these Doric columns, like everything else, is at a very high level. There are twenty flutes, each brought to a precisely pointed line. This emphasizes the height and thrust of the columns.
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Parthenon
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The Doric columns sits directly on the floor.
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From the east
Acropolis, Athens
447-432 B.C.
The principal temple entrance is at the east end.
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From the West Pediment
Parthenon,
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
British Museum, London
This supple figure from the northwest corner of the west pediment represents the god of the river Ilissos which flows through the Attica plains. These are all part of that fine collection of sculptured marbles referred to as the Elgin Marbles. They were "collected" by Lord Elgin to preserve them from the heathen. Although there have been years of negotiations between Greece and England, their return has still not been resolved.
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Parthenon, West pediment
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
British Museum, London
The divine winged messenger Iris stood by Athena's side on the west pediment. Her wings gone, the wind still blows through and against the fabric of her tunic. Her energy, expansive yet in balance, typifies the classic Greek ideal and the standard maintained throughout the temple.
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Parthenon, East Pediment
Acropolis, Athens
437-432 B.C.
British Museum, London
Two of the three so-called Fates. These breathtaking female figures are sometimes identified as Dione and Aphrodite, the goddesses.
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Great Hypostyle Hall
Temple of Amon, Karnak
Dynasty XIX, 1318-1237 B.C.
The central aisle of the great hypostyle hall at Karnak. It is lined on each side with six enormous columns seventy-eight feet high with lotus-blossom capitals. The passageway continues directly along the east-west axis.
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Great Hypostyle Hall
Temple of Amon, Karnak
Dynasty XIX, 1318-1237 B.C.
There are side columns with lotus-bud capitals south and north of the central passage. They are shorter than the main columns and set at closer intervals. Light comes in through windows above the taller columns.
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Great Hypostyle Hall
Temple of Amon, Karnak
Dynasty XIX, 1318-l237 B.C.
The windows are covered with stone grilles which severely limit the amount of light, leaving much of the columned hall in darkness.
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Great Hypostyle Hall
Temple of Amon, Karnak
Dynasty XIX, 1318-1237 B.C.
Only narrow rays of light can enter through these little openings cut into the seventy-eight foot high ceiling at Karnak. It is typically Egyptian to place windows high on the wall or to make them overhead slits like this in order to keep the buildings in near-darkness.
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Festival Hall of Tuthmosis III
Dynasty XVIII, 1504-1450 B.C.
The festival hall of Tuthmosis III also has light-slits high up in the wall which control and limit the entering light.
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Temple of Amon, Karnak
Dynasty XVIII, 1503-1482 B.C.
The rose granite obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut is more than ninety-seven feet high. It is one of two built in front of Pylon V. Normally obelisks stand in pairs at the entrance to a temple. The top part which slopes to a point is called a pyramidion.
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Temple of Amon, Karnak
Dynasty XVIII, 1504-1450 B.C.
These two pillars stand outside the sanctuary of Amon. The papyrus decoration on the left pillar symbolizes Lower Egypt and the lotus on the right symbolizes Upper Egypt.
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Temple of Amon, Luxor
Dynasty XXX, 380-363 B.C.
This avenue of sphinxes connects the temple at Karnak with the temple at Luxor. Ahead is the pylon of Ramesses II.
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Temple of Amon, Luxor
Dynasty XIX, c. 1250 B.C.
One of the original two obelisks in front of the pylon (the second was taken in the nineteenth century to the Place de la Concorde, Paris). Colossal statues of Ramesses II flank the entrance. The reliefs and hieroglyphics have mostly worn away.
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Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III
Medinet Habu
Dynasty XX, c. 1175 B.C.
These brilliant pylon reliefs portray Ramesses III on a chariot drawn by horses as he and his archers hunt bulls at the edge of the river. Notice the contrasting scales between the king and his men and the fish carved at the bottom right.
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From "Description de l'Æ'gypte"
Paris, 1809-22
This aquatint from a twentieth dynasty relief shows the tall flagpoles which ordinarily stand in front of the pylon. They are wrapped in colorful cloth. The flagpoles next to the obelisks and statues constitute the third essential symbolic element at the entrance to the sacred precinct.
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Temple of Amon, Luxor
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1400-1360 B.C.
The central colonnade of the long and narrow hypostyle of the temple at Luxor. It was started by Amenhotep III fifty years before the Karnak hypostyle and completed by Tutankhamon.
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Temple of Amon, Luxor
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1400-1360 B.C.
There are seven papyrus-bundle columns fifty-two feet high on each side of the passage.
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Temple of Amon, Luxor
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1400-1360 B.C.
The hypostyle leads into a large court which is surrounded by columned halls open on the inner courtyard. In the distance is the pylon of Ramesses II. The columns on the left are bundled papyrus columns
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Dynasty XVIII, c. 1400-1360 B.C.
On three sides of the court the columns are in rows of two. On the fourth (the south side) is a vestibule which leads on to the sanctuary. Where the light begins to be cut off again the columns are in rows of four. Originally there was a roof over the columns and an enclosing wall on the outside.
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Temple of Amon, Luxor
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1400-1360 B.C.
These columns are among the finest achievements of Egyptian architecture. Known as papyrus-bundle columns, they represent bound stalks of the sacred papyrus plant which are capped with a cluster of papyrus buds.
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Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1360 B.C.
Egyptian sculpture is as monumental as its architecture. These two sculptures, each carved out of a single block of stone, are about seventy feet high. They represent Amenhotep III and were placed at the entrance to his mortuary temple. Notice the small figure of his wife on the left-hand statue; his mother has a similar place on the right-hand statue. The juxtaposition of different scales is a common practice in Egyptian art.
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Formerly at Abu Simbel
Dynasty XIX, 1304-1237 B.C.
Ramesses II cuts this temple out of the rock mountain at Abu Simbel. Four huge sixty-five foot statues of the king overpower the facade. Little statues of his family are cut between the legs.
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Rock Temple of Ramesses II
Formerly at Abu Simbel
Dynasty XIX, 1304-1237 B.C.
Inside the unique temple are the usual complex of rooms. These are two of eight large Osiris sculptures lined up four by four against the pillars in the hypostyle hall. They are placed to catch the morning sunlight coming through the main entrance. The great hall is fifty-eight feet long by fifty-four feet wide. Deeper into the rock is a pillared hall, a transverse hall, and the sanctuary. To the side of these main rooms are the eight small ones used primarily to store ceremonial articles.
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Formerly at Abu Simbel
Dynasty XIX, 1304-1237 B.C.
The smaller temple at Abu Simbel is dedicated to Nefertari, Ramesses' wife and the goddess Hathor. Sculptures of the king and queen as Hathor alternate between incised pilasters in the form of buttresses. The carved areas of the facade were originally covered with painted stucco.
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Rome
c. 270
A defensive brick wall built around 270 A.D.
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Horrea Epagathiana
Ostia
c. 145-150
This lovely niche with decorative brickwork held a small statue of a god.
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Temple of Bel
Palmyra
32
A high relief pattern on a ceiling.
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Ara Pacis Augustae
Rome
9 B.C.
The processional frieze and ornamental pattern on the southern side of the Ara Pacis Augustae, the Altar of Peace.
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Temple of Apollo
Sosianus
Rome
c. 20 B.C.
An elaborately carved scene and leaf pattern from the interior cella wall.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
Decorative relief.
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Rome
312 B.C.
Original stone work on the famous Appian Way.
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Museo Archeologico
Venice
1st century B.C.
Known as the Grimini Altar, mythological figures decorate the four sides and the borders are ornamented with abstract designs. A Greek artist probably created these scenes of satyrs and maenads.
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Temple of Minerva
Forum of Nerva
Rome
c. 100
Roman architectural emphasis is structural. Decorative motifs are largely influenced by the Greeks, but the Romans developed some of their own decorative forms. This frieze depicts stories from the life of Minerva.
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Horrea Epagathiana
Ostia
c. 145-150
A composite capital in stucco and brick on a warehouse in Ostia.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
285-305
A column base which supported the statue of the Tetrarchy. The relief represents the sacrifice on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Diocletian's rise to power.
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Provenance unknown
4th century (?)
Cornice ornamentation.
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Rome
40-30 B.C.
For this baker's tomb, the cylinders are typical bread ovens and the frieze depicts stages in bread making. Plebeian art was typical at the close of the Republic and at the beginning of the Empire.
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From the sepulcher of
the Scipio family
Appian Way
Early 3rd century B.C.
Vatican Museum, Rome
A sarcophagus ornamented with triglyphs and rosettes and other carvings.
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4th century
Louvre, Paris
A late Roman sarcophagus with the Good Shepherd, lions' heads, and feet. The waving line pattern is fairly common.
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First half of
1st century BC.
Museo Torlonia, Rome
Realism is the hallmark of Roman sculpture though it goes through many phases. This aging and dignified patrician bears the lines of a long hard life.
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End of 1st century B.C.
Vatican Museum, Rome
Husband and wife are united in this funerary monument.
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From Prima Porta
Early 1st century
Vatican Museum, Rome
Based on a classical sculpture of Polykleitos, Augustus is in military dress and represented in an idealized manner, both godlike and human. The idealized portrait came into fashion in the time of Augustus and lasted many years. This statue was copied from a bronze original and was gilded and painted.
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Piazza del Campidoglio
Rome
c. 104
In this great equestrian statue, Marcus Aurelius is portrayed as an emperor and a military leader more concerned about peace than war.
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by Hagesandro, Polydoros
and Athanodoros
c. 80
Vatican Museum, Rome
The Laocoon is one of the most well-known works of Roman art. It presents Laocoon, the priest of Apollo, and his two sons being overcome by two large snakes. The sculpture is a work of brilliant and frightening energy.
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From a wall painting in a Villa
at Boscoreale
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York
Roman furniture is largely based on Greek models. In many instances, it is hard to tell if a piece is Roman or Hellenistic. But there are variations and some original forms. In this throne of a woman playing the kithara, the form is predominantly Greek, though the more elaborate leg turnings, arm-rails, and paneled back are Roman. The painted pattern on the back of the throne is also a typical Roman embellishment. Notice the cushion embroidered in gold.
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Mars and Venus
From a wall painting
in Pompeii
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Another throne with heavy-set turned legs. A carved figure at the top of the leg supports the arm rest. The straight back ends in a small filial volute. Soft fabric hangs over the back and arms.
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Girl Decanting Perfume
From a wall painting in Villa
Farnesina, Rome
c. 20 B.C.
Museo dell Terme, Rome
A copy of a Greek diphros of the fourth or third century B.C., this stool with four perpendicular legs has been changed by cutting down the lower portion of the leg and by elaborating the turnings. There are heavier, almost throne like versions of this stool.
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Detail, Centaur with
Apollo and Aesculapius
From a wall painting
in Pompeii
Museo Nazionale, Naples
This folding stool, probably in bronze, has thin, curving, unadorned legs. It is based on a Hellenistic model.
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Detail, wall painting
from Herculaneum
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Another variation of a folding stool with double cushions.
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From a villa at
Boscoreale
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Most Roman couches have turned legs. This bronze example from Boscoreale is typical of the late Republican and early Imperial couch. A simple carved headboard ends in a swan's head; a rosette medallion is at the lower end. The legs have a variety of turnings and are supported by stretchers.
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From a villa at
Boscoreale
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York
This more elaborate couch is made of bone and glass inlay. Notice the matching footstool.
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Detail, The Aldobrandini Wedding
From a villa in Rome
Vatican Library, Rome
The bride and Venus sit on this high bed which requires a footstool. It has a mattress and tasseled coverlet.
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Courtship of Venus and Mars
House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto
Pompeii
c. 30
Venus sits on a covered klismos with curved legs, her feet on a footstool. The high couch dominates the picture. Mattress and pillow are covered. The pillow is supported by a scrolled headpiece.
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From a house in Pompeii
1st century
The Roman table, unlike the Greek, is used as a permanent piece of furniture. This traditional marble table or cartibulum stands in the atrium of a house in Pompeii. The thick marble top is precisely shaped as a rectangle and supported by four legs. The tapered legs are elegantly carved with volutes at the top. Three flutes run down the side to a lion's paw which rests on a high base. The grain of the marble is employed throughout for its decorative value.
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From the House of Cornelius Rufus
Pompeii
The rectangular table with highly decorated slabs at each end is an original Roman table form. Typical are the two winged monsters (lions with rams' horns) carved in the table support. The uncovered table was also found in an atrium in Pompeii.
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From the House of Julia Flex Pompeii
National Museum
Naples
The round-top table with three animal legs is a form the Romans adopted from the Greeks. This elaborate example in bronze has clawed feet and animal legs which are connected with fancy scroll braces. Winged sphinxes support the decorated top.
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Dynasty III, 2780-2680 B.C.
The step pyramid of King Zoser was built by Inhotep, chancellor of the king, high priest, healer, and architect. This is the first pyramid and the first building in stone. In six stages or steps, it rises to a height of 204 feet. The original limestone facing is gone. Zoser's burial chamber is at the bottom of a shaft more than ninety feet under the base of the pyramid. Even in this initial form the pyramid reaches out to link man with eternity.
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Saqqara
Dynasty III, 2780-2680 B.C.
A thirty-five acre mortuary complex contains the pyramid, a small temple, courtyards, a palace, shrines, altars, storehouses, and tombs. The complex is surrounded by an enclosing or perimeter wall. There is one entrance, a simple doorway.
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Mortuary Complex of King Zoser
Saqqara
Dynasty III, 2780-2680 B.C.
The entrance to the complex. Like the pyramid, the enclosing wall is made of small stones and the surface is broken up and textured.
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Mortuary Complex of King Zoser
Saqqara
Dynasty III, 2780-2680 B.C.
The processional way through the large stone hall is lined with engaged columns. The great court lies ahead.
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Rome
c. 28
The monumental Mausoleum of Augustus was built by the emperor for himself and his family. It is 220 feet in diameter and over 150 feet high. A cylinder rose through the center, with the ashes of the emperor at the bottom and the emperor's statue standing out on top. Most of the upper part is now missing.
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Rome
c. 135
The culmination of the development of the tumulus, Hadrian's grand mausoleum followed the model of the tomb of Caecilia Metella. In its day it was elaborately ornamented. Later it was altered and changed into the Castle of S. Angelo.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
81
Roman soldiers marched through the triumphal archway and entered the forum on their way back from war. This ritual procession cleansed them of the blood of the enemy. Beautifully proportioned to minimize its weight, the Arch of Titus has many Greek details. The outside columns are the earliest examples of the Composite order.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
l
The ceiling of the arch is coffered and the famous reliefs of the victory in Jerusalem line the inside of the passages.
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Athens
Shortly after 138
This unusual commemorative arch, built shortly after the death of Hadrian, combines Roman elements on the bottom with Greek elements on the top. Missing are the original sculptures which helped tie the arch together.
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Rome
315
The Arch of Constantine, like several arches before it, has three passageways. It is unusually large and highly decorated. Much of the sculpture was taken from earlier monuments.
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Arch of Constantine
Rome
315
The tondi or circular reliefs are from the time of Hadrian. This relief depicts a sacrifice to Diana.
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Verona
Probably third quarter of the 1st century
This simple city gate with two entrances is decorated in an elaborate Baroque manner. The levels are contrasted and the details alternate throughout. Originally the gate had projecting towers at each end.
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Trier
Probably early 4th century
Part of the city wall, the arches of the imposing gateway were usually closed by portcullises. The corner tower, over ninety-five feet high, overlooks the countryside. Tuscan orders line the walls.
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Rome
Porta San Sebastiano was built into the Aurelian walls in Rome. Notice the large keystone in the arch.
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Rome
114
The pillar of victory is a memorial for military triumphs. Trajan's column, based on the Doric order, illustrates Trajan's war with the Dacians. The 116-foot shaft contains a spiral staircase.
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Trajan's Column
Rome
114
The continuous three and a half foot spiral band of reliefs is more than 600 feet long. Carved on it are over 2,500 figures.
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Rome
c. 100-112
The market of Trajan (Mercatus Traiani) was a shopping center integrated into the flow of city life. The building had six levels, with entrances from the street below and from roadways above. Built onto a hill, the first two stories form a semicircle right next to the Forum of Trajan. Up to the nineteenth century, the market was a unique commercial space.
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Rome
c. 100-112
On the third level is the Via Biberatica which had shops on both sides of the street.
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Market of Trajan
Rome
c. 100-112
Shops on the Via Biberatica. Above was a large market hall.
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Market of Trajan
Rome
c. 100-112
On the second level, facing the forum, is an arcade of shops.
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Market of Trajan
Rome
c. 100-112
The largest market space is the aula coperta on the Via Biberatica. Two stories high and cross vaulted, it is lit by windows and large openings above. Throughout the market there were many windows to light the shops, stairways, and arcades.
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Palatine, Rome
81-92
The emperors built great palaces in the center of Rome. By the time of Domitian the sumptuous public and more modest private rooms were separated. These are the remains of the courtyard of the private quarters on the lower level, opening on to a large water basin.
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Palatine, Rome
81-96
Four-story arches on the side of Domitian's private garden court. A passage behind its arches leads to the private quarters.
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Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
118-125
The Maritime Theatre (Teatro Marittimo) was Hadrian's circular island retreat. It was surrounded by a canal and a colonnaded portico and a high wall screened it off from the rest of the villa. The land was connected to the villa by two drawbridges. In the Theatre full scale miltary battles could be faught as a form of entertainment.
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Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
After 130
Hadrian's immense country house was laid out over seven square miles. This small part of the Canopus, the long water basin in the public section of the villa, indicates the Greek sources for the architecture. Hadrian had a great affinity for Greek art and he had copies made of Greek statues to line the canal.
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Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
118-134
At the far end of the Canopus is the Serapeum, a semicircular half dome. Water ran through a long central corridor, curved in front of dining couches under the dome, then passed into the main canal. From the time of the late Republic, water is a regular part of Roman domestic architecture.
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North gate of the palace of Diocletian
Split
c. 300
Diocletian's palace at Split looks like a fortress on the outside. The so-called golden gateway on the north end of the palace is the entrance for official visitors. Its facade was richly decorated. Statues originally stood in the niches. Also missing are the columns between the arches.
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Palace of Diocletian
Split
c. 300
The peristyle is a ceremonial courtyard in front of the main residential entrance. The arches lead directly to the entrance-way. This is in the form of a triumphal arch capped with a temple pediment. The entire design enhances the lofty and solemn powers of the imperial throne.
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Pompeii
77-79
A suburban villa outside of Pompeii, originally situated next to the sea. Almost modern in appearance, it has six large windows in the projecting bay of its dining rooms. Dining close to nature is a Roman ideal.
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Ostia
4th century
Located at the mouth of the Tiber, Ostia was the port of Rome and an important commercial center. In the third century, its economy failed and it became a resort for the well-to-do. These are remains from the House of the Fish. The marble wall facing is gone. Notice the checkerboard floor pattern.
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Ostia
4th century
This is another residence known as the Grotto of Love.
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Ostia
c. 300
A statue of Amour and Psyche in a cubiculum or bedroom with a rich beautiful marble pattern. The house triclinium (dining room) was centrally heated.
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Ostia
c. 120
The black and white mosaic dominates through the first and second centuries. In the second century compositions are freer and more lively, such as this marine mosaic.
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Corinth Museum
1st or 2nd century
Mosaics with geometric patterns are typical in the first and second centuries.
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Baths of Caracalla
212-217
This interesting floor mosaic of the early third century is from the Baths of Caracalla.
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Nîmes
Late 1st century B.C.
The familiar aqueduct provided water throughout the Empire. The three-tiered Pont du Gard transported water in its upper channel or specus for more than twenty-five miles. In building the 160-foot high aqueduct, no mortar was used in the masonry.
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Segovia
Early 1st to early 2nd century
The double-arched aqueduct in Segovia is constructed of large shaped stones. Notice the way the arch is laid.
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Campagna
222-235
The Acqua Alexandriana, set in the Campagna, has one high arch. This is one of eleven great aqueducts which supplied the many hundreds of millions of gallons of water consumed daily in Rome.
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From the tomb of Yuis and Thuiu
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1400 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Similar to the preceding Old Kingdom chair, this New Kingdom chair has significant features of its own. The backrest is slanted and shaped, forming an open triangle with the straight back and the seat. The curved shape of the arms, leg stretchers, woven seat, an the elaborate gold decorations and carving are all distinctive. (This particular chair is a copy of the original.)
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From Giza
Dynasty IV, C. 2590 B.C.
Museum of Anthropology
University of California, Berkeley
The stool with animal legs and a papyrus flower terminal is common in the Old Kingdom and earlier. This seat has a cushion.
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From the tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1400 B.C.
The three stools on the left are made with straight wooden legs and are supported by straight and diagonal braces. The folding stool on the right has animal legs and a seat covered with hide.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1352 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
This ornate stool has a deep double cove seat and intertwined grillwork between the legs.
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From the Mastaba of Vizier Mereruka
Saqqara
Dynasty VI, C. 2325 B.C.
An early bed with heavy lion-claw legs, a high board at one end and a foot-board and cushion at the other, and with a thick mattress. Underneath the bed are tables and vases.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Covered in a heavy sheet of gold, this bed has a slightly curved frame with woven mesh. The legs are shaped like the fore and hind legs of a lion. The footboard (which is away from us) is carved with papyrus and lotus patterns. It is divided into three panels by binding rods which are also designed based on the papyrus.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
A lioness couch with carved heads and long curving tails.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1352 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The golden throne of Tutankhamon. Sheet gold is worked around a wooden base and inlaid with faience, colored glass, lapis lazuli and calcite. The king and queen are sensitively portrayed on the shaped back. The arms are filled with winged cobras.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1352 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The back panel has beautiful open carving. The seat curves up at the edges and down in the center. This is called a double cove. The lion's claws are carved in ivory.
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From the tomb of Nefertari
Valley of the Queens
Western Thebes
Dynasty XIX, 1298-1235 B.C.
The profile of this chair shows the shape of the lion leg and the straight outer back and curved inner backrest. The top of the back ends with a turn. The queen plays senmut, a game somewhat like chess, on a low table.
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From the tomb of Sennedjem
Deir el M?dineh
Western Thebes
Dynasty XIX, C. 1250 B.C.
This chair is painted all over. The craftsmanship is crude.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
This headrest is made of turquoise blue glass. The engraved gold band covers the joint between the top and bottom pieces. Its height is seven and one-quarter inches.
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From Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1450
British Museum, London
A three-legged table. The most common Egyptian table has four legs and is low and lightweight.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
A game table of ebony and ivory. The game played is called senmut. When not in use, the pieces are stored inside the table.
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Dynasty IV, C. 2590 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Turin
This wooden casket held a woman's toiletries. It is decorated with ivory and blue and black enamel. The height is eleven inches.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
This simple chest on four short legs is elaborately painted, showing Tutankhamon in victorious battle against the Syrians. It was made to hold the king's sandals.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
An ebony and cedar chest on long slender legs. The form is emphasized by the gilded hieroglyphics.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The purpose of this carved alabaster box and boat is uncertain; perhaps it was used to hold perfume. Its value to us is that it is probably a replica of the funerary barge. It is inlaid with colored glass-paste and semiprecious stones and highlighted with gold leaf. Notice the columns with double capitals which support the awning or canopy over the cabin on the boat. The height is fourteen inches.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The golden shrine held golden statues of the king and queen. The panels show the king and queen at different moments of intimacy.
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Provenance unknown
Dynasty XVIII
British Museum, London
Perfume jars made of colored glass less than four inches high.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The graceful design of this lamp is based on the lotus plant and rendered in transparent alabaster. In use each vase held oil and had a wick.
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From the tomb of Tutankhamon
Valley of the Kings
Western Thebes Dynasty XVIII, c. 1350 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Tutankhamon's inner coffin highlights many qualities found throughout Egyptian art. A remarkably simple and sophisticated form is realized in very rich and refined materials. In this combination of form and materials, the Egyptian spirit strives to face the eternal world with dignity and peace.
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From the Middle Kingdom
Found in Benihasan
Horizontal section is also given
(Lepsius, Tagebuch.)
Like all lotus columns, this one has neither foliage nor entasis. From the stone base, on which the column is raised, rise 4 main stalks. These, and the 4 intermediate stalks, are held together by means of 5 chaplets. The capital is made up of 4 lotus-buds with longitudinal convex bands. The abacus is small and square.
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Dating from the Ancient Egyptian Kingdom
Found by de Morgan in the tomb of the Ptah-schep-ses near Aboukir
Horizontal section of the column is also given
Revue arch. 1894.
The column consists of 6 principal and 6 intermediate stalks, held together by 5 neck-bands. The capital consists of very sharp-pointed buds. The Intermediate stalks end above in open lotus-flowers. The whole column is painted over in a naturalistic manner.
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Dating from the New Kingdom
Found in the sanctuary in Karnak
(Lepsius, Tagebuch)
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Dating from the Middle Kingdom
(Borchardt)
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From the granite pilasters in front of the Sanctuary in Karnac
(Lepsius)
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Dating from the Middle Kingdom
(Prisse)
Pictures and inscriptions are worked in between the painted flower stalks.
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Saqqara
Dynasty III, c. 2660 B.C.
From the earliest dynasties Egyptian interiors are decorated with great care for content, design, and beauty. In the second Southern tomb in King Zoser's complex at Saggara, a relief depicts the king as he runs a ritual course during his Heb-Sed festival or jubilee. Blue faience tiles imitate reed matting around the low-relief panel and throughout the tomb. The delicate hieroglyphics symbolize eternal duration.
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Sheikh Abd 1 Gurna, Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1448-1422, B.C.
A detail of the vine. The painting is on plaster.
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From Tell el Amarna
Dynasty XVIII, 1379-1362 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
This is a portion of a floor painting with ducks, papyrus, and lotus flowers from the palace at Tell el Amarna. It was intended to be walked on.
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Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1320 B.C.
Detail of a painted ceiling in the tomb of the painter May. A funerary text is inscribed on the center yellow band.
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Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1345-1320 B.C.
A richly decorative painted ceiling.
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Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes
Dynasty XIX, 1320-1318 B.C.
Ramesses I is surrounded by gods on the walls of his tomb.
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Saqqara
Dynasty V, c. 2350 B.C.
The oldest known Egyptian religious text is meticulously cut into the walls of King Unas's tomb. The pyramid which stood above the tombs no longer exists.
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Saqqara
Dynasty V, c. 2500 B.C.
The mastaba is a tomb for court functionaries. Ordinarily a burial chamber is cut into rock below ground level. Built above the chamber is a simple rectangular flat-topped brick structure with sloping sides. By the fifth dynasty the tomb chamber develops into a network of corridors and rooms. In the chapel of the Mastaba of Mereruka, a statue of the nobleman stands in a false door. He also is represented in the painted wall reliefs.
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Saqqara
Dynasty V, c. 2500 B.C.
Scenes from daily life are portrayed throughout the tombs. Here a herdsman leads his cattle through a canal. The calf being carried in the front looks anxiously at its mother.
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From Temple of Hatshepsut
Deir el Bahari
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1480 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
A variety of painted borders in orange, gold, and blue surround and enhance the large pictorial areas. The chapel roof is covered with a flat barrel vault, an unusual feature in Egyptian architecture, which is painted to look like a night teeming with stars.
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Sheikh Abd el Gurna, Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1448-1422 B.C.
The normal effects of the unfinished and unsquared walls of this tomb are minimized by the painting. Notice the beautiful patterns juxtaposed on the ceiling.
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Tomb of Sety I
Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes
Dynasty XIX, 1318-1304 B.C.
A pillar in the hall of six pillars in the tomb of Sety I. It is painted on all sides. This side shows the king facing Osiris in the shape of a mummy.
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TO A SIDE CHAMBER
Tomb of Nefetari
Valley of the Queens, Western Thebes
Dynasty XIX, 1304-1237 B.C.
The decoration is elaborate, elegant, and mysterious. Prior to painting, the walls in the rock tomb are prepared with a thick coat of plaster and slightly modeled in relief.
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Zoser Mortuary Complex
Saqqara
Dynasty IV, C. 2667-2648 B.C.
Egyptian sculpture is closely tied to its architectural surroundings. This is the first known portrait statue. It was buried in the ground at the foot of the kings step pyramid. Two holes were cut into the wall at eye level, linking the king with the outside world. Zoser is portrayed in the ritual garments of the Heb-Sed festival.
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Dynasty IV,
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
One of the statues of King Chephren which stood in the hall of his valley temple at Giza. The pose is formal and the features are abstracted. He is protected by the falcon Horus. Originally the rich diorite stone was painted. Egyptian sculpture was not meant to be seen in the round. It stood up against a wall almost as if it were part of the wall.
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From the Valley Temple of Mycerinus
Giza
Dynasty IV, 2680-2565 B.C.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Regal and human, the hard-stone sculpture of Mycerinus and his wife is the first known work of a couple. It stood in the valley temple of the king's pyramid at Giza.
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Dynasty XI, 2060-2010 B.C.
Egyptian Museum Cairo
A massive painted sandstone statue from a funerary niche in the king's mortuary temple at Dier el Bahari.
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Dynasty XVIII, C. 1500 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The architect Senmut and Neferu-ra, daughter of Queen Hatshepsut, cut in granite.
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From the Mastaba of Itel, Meidum Early
Dynasty IV, C. 2700 B.C.
Cairo Museum
Painted in sharp flat colors, these geese stand out against a neutral ground. In formal symmetry they face another group of three geese. They are a small part of a panel which is five feet long and only nine inches high. This is the oldest Egyptian painting to survive.
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From the Mastaba of Mereruka
Saqqara
Dynasty VI, C. 2300 B.C.
Another small scene from nature on the walls of a mastaba. Originally this strong relief was brightly painted.
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From the tomb of Antefoker
Thebes
Dynasty XII, C. 1950 B.C.
In this Middle Kingdom painting the figures are rigid and symmetrical. Everything is simplified, including the dress.
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From the tomb of an unknown person
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1500 B.C.
Scenes from daily life are painted one on top of another and can be read like a comic book, although in Egyptian scenes, it is generally one "reads" it from the bottom up.
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Bas-relief from the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Deir el Bahari
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1500 B.C.
Painters and sculptors work hand in hand. During the eighteenth dynasty this collaboration achieves some of the great masterpieces of Egyptian art. The paint has faded on this small portion of a bas-relief of Queen Ahmose, mother of Hatshepsut. But the portrait that survives is delicate, moving and powerful.
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From the tomb of Neferronpet
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1450-1425 B.C.
Four formal figures move in a musical rhythm. This is achieved through color as well as line.
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From the tomb of Thanuny
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1422-1411 B.C.
In this small hieroglyphic section of a wall the two main portions are balanced through subtle variations. Notice how some brush strokes have been applied quickly, almost casually.
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From the tomb of Nebamun
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1417-1379 B.C.
The hunt is frequently represented on tomb walls. This exquisite example presents the hunt in a magical way. While retaining the typical formalities, it overflows with energy.
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From the tomb of Menna
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1422-1411 B.C.
Depth in space is two-dimensional. Objects in the distance are kept the same size as those nearby and placed on top of them.
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From the tomb of Ramose
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1411-1374 B.C.
The mourners are controlled. Their gestures are calculated and impassive. These restrained qualities are typical of Egyptian art at this time.
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From the tomb of Ramose
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1411-1375 B.C.
In the same tomb is this classical limestone relief.
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From Tell el Amarna
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1375-1358 B.C.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
The Amarna style developed briefly under the rule of King Akhenaten. One example of the style is this painting of orange-brown casual figures against a brightly decorated orange ground. While the heads seem unnatural in shape there is speculation that this is a realistic portrait of the two sisters who suffered from a genetic deformation of the skull.
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From a chapel dedicated to Osiris
Temple of Sety I
Abydos
Dynasty XIX, C. 1304-1290 B.C.
Some of the warm subtle color tones remain on this painted tomb relief of King Sety I.
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From the tomb of Userhet
Thebes
Dynasty XIX, C. 1298-1235 B.C.
Typical of the nineteenth dynasty, this painting is elegant, precise, rich and elaborate.
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From the tomb of Ramose
Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, C. 1411-1375 B.C.
In the funeral procession the furniture-bearers carry most of the key pieces of Egyptian furniture: stools, a chair, boxes, a bed, and headrest. What one requires in the present world is necessary in the afterlife.
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From the tomb of Queen Hetepheres
Giza
Dynasty IV, C. 2600 B.C.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
This low chair of Queen Hetepheres has a wide seat that slopes toward the back. In the side panels of the high arms are three carved papyrus flowers bound together. The front and back legs are shaped like the legs of a lion. They are supported by beaded drums. The oldest existing chair, it was carefully reconstructed with parts of the original.
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Mortuary Complex of King Zoser
Saqqara
Dynasty III, 2780-2680 B.C.
This beautiful form is introduced in Zoser's complex and lasts in variations throughout Egyptian architecture.
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Giza
Dynasty IV, c. 2540 B.C.
The sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of a man. It reclines next to the causeway between the pyramid or mortuary temple and the valley temple of Chephren. Its meaning remains a mystery.
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Giza
Dynasty IV, 2680-2565 B.C.
In the valley temple the priests purify the body of the dead king on its way from the earth to eternity. The temple is a square building of massive limestone blocks which are faced with polished red granite. Light filters through small openings at the top of the wall. A flat roof is made of granite, the floors of alabaster. Against the walls stand statues of King Chephren (see A56).
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Karnak
Dynasty XII, c. 1940 B.C.
This shrine or repository chapel is a resting place for the sacred barge which contains the figure of the god Amon as it moves along the processional journey in celebration of the king's jubilee. There are ramps at both ends of the shrine.
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Karnak
Dynasty XII, c. 1940 B.C.
The limestone pillars are decorated with relief and hieroglyphics.
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TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT
Deir el Bahari, Thebes
Dynasty XVII, c. 1480 B.C.
The Unique temple of Queen Hatshep is built upward in three stage against the towering mountain cliffs. It is dedicated to the God Amon with parts also dedicated to the goddess Hathor and the god Anubis. In spite of the temple's setting and its very different open feeling, it follows the ancient sequence. There is a valley temple, a causeway, a mortuary temple and, cut deep into the mountain rock, a funerary chapel. The Architect was Sen-mut, who was also chancellor to the queen.
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Dahshur
Dynasty IV, 2680-2565 B.C.
The bent pyramid is transitional.
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Dahshur
Dynasty IV, 2680-2565 B.C.
The casing gives a polished solid surface to the pyramid
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This diagram, while not of any specific funerary complex, shows the basic parts found at most of the sites. The body of the king was brought to the valley temple for the beginning of the burial process. In the valley temple it was "mummyfied" and prepared for burial over a period of two to three months. Next it was moved in a wooden coffin on a ceremonial barge, which was moved up the causeway to the mortuary temple. There after prayers and rituals it was placed on a more ceremonial barge which was moved by priests up a temporary ramp to the entrance of the pyramid. There it was carried to the tomb within the pyramid where it was placed into the sarchophagus, which was sealed with a heavy granite cover. After placing food and other objects for the use of the kings spirit within the tomb chamber, it was then closed and the pyramid sealed.
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Dynasty IV, 2680-2565 B.C.
The three great pyramids at Giza. The largest, the pyramid of King Cheops, is in the rear. To build it required over two million large limestone blocks. The pyramid of King Chephren is in the center and the pyramid of King Mycerinus is in front. The three small pyramids are of Mycerinus's queens. These monumental pyramids are precisely oriented to the four cardinal points. Cheops' pyramid is a square, 756 feet on each side. Its height is over 481 feet and the slope of the sides is 552'.
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Temple of Hatshepsut
Deir el Bahari, Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1480 B.C.
This colonnade is on the south side of the second terrace. Like all the colonnades throughout the temple complex, it is decorated with reliefs.
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Deir el Bahari, Thebes
Dynasty XVIII, c. 1480 B.C.
The goddess Hathor, protectress of the city of the dead, is carved on this pillar from the Hathor shrine on the south side of the first terrace. She is portrayed as a beautiful woman with the ears of a cow.
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Temple of Amon, Karnak
Beyond the sacred lake, a significant part of the temple complex, is the hypostyle hall and to the left Pylon I. Pylon VII is on the far left, part of the processional avenue between the temple of Amon and the temple of Mut. On the far right are the obelisks of Tuthmosis I and Queen Hatshepsut.
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Karnak
Dynasty XIX, c. 1275 B.C.
Ram-headed sphinxes line the processional way from the river to the entrance of the temple of Amon-Ra. The route is laid out on a direct east-west axis.
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Temple of Amon, Karnak
Ptolomaic Dynasty
The pylon functions both as barricade and entrance to the sacred precincts. Beyond Pylon I, which was started during the Ptolomaic Period (304-30 B.C.) but never completed, is a series of pylons along the sacred way leading to the sanctuary.
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Pompeii
The wide Via di Mercurio passed through the most well-to-do residential area and was open only to pedestrians.
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Pompeii
2nd Century B.C.
Based on drawing of Sir Banister Fletcher
Redrawn by Douglas A. Russell
The floor plan of a typical upper-class home of the Roman Republic. Showing the rather sophisticated living arrangements of the period. Shops surround the house with separate entrances to the surrounding streets. The main entrance leads into the atrium, the most public area of the house, which has a number of small cubiculla. In the center is the impluvium which collected rain which entered through an opening in the roof above. At the inner-most end of the atrium was the tabliunum in which family busts and statuary were kept. This area could be closed off or left open to the more private peristyle, or colonnaded courtyard. Off of the peristyle were the families' private appartments, the triclinium (dinning room), a reception room (the Oecus), which lead to a portico and the ususal kitchen garden.
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Pompeii
2nd century
This sectional view through a tradesman's home in Pompeii shows a cellar beneath the peristyle. The inwardly sloped roof and the roof opening (compluvium) can be clearly seen above the impluvium of the atrium.
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House of the Silver Wedding
Pompeii
End of 2nd century B.C.
This large atrium or central hall is from a house of the Samnite era. Four Corinthian columns support the open roof which is sloped inward to collect the rain below. The opening is called the compluvium. Behind the atrium is the peristyle.
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House of the Silver Wedding
Pompeii
End of 2nd century B.C.
The impluvium or shallow pool which caught the rain falling through the compluvium. The walls were altered and redecorated in a later period.
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House of the Faun
Pompeii
2nd century B.C.
The famous House of the Faun was named after this little dancing figure in the square impluvium. Nothing else of the atrium remains. A second atrium was adjacent to this one and beyond the two atriums were the columns of the peristyle.
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from Professor Barbette Spaeth, Tulane University
This artist's impression gives us an indication of the Atrium with the Impluvium and statue of Faun as it might have looked. The Peristyle is visible through in the rear.
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Pompeii
2nd Century
Courtesy of Professor Barbette Spaeth, Tulane University
(Excerpted from Professor Spaeth's accompanying text) This house was among the largest and most elegant of the houses of Pompeii. It took up an entire city block (c. 80 m. long by 35 m. wide or 315 by 115 ft.) and was filled with beautiful works of art, including the famous mosaic depicting Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus, and wall paintings of the First, Second and Fourth Styles. The decoration of the house is heavily influenced by Hellenistic models. The House of the Faun was originally built in the early second century. In this period, the house was focused around two atria, one a large Tuscan atrium (3), and the other a smaller tetrastyle atrium (10), while the back of the house had a large kitchen garden. The two-atria plan represented an attempt to separate the formal functions of the atrium, i.e., the reception of clients and conduct of business by the patron of the house, from its private functions, i.e., the course of everyday family life. This type of plan is an intermediate step between the simple atrium house, with a single atrium complex, and the atrium and peristyle house. Apparently, the two-atria plan did not prove ultimately satisfactory for the owners of the House of the Faun. In the late second century B.C. they added a peristyle (8) to the north of the original two-atria nucleus, along with a service quarter to the eastern side (12-16), and reception rooms to the north. The rear of the house contained the kitchen garden. To this later period of the house belong its wall decorations in First Style and its famous mosaics. Finally, another peristyle was added around the time of the Early Roman Colony (20), that is, in the early first century B.C. This peristyle included more reception rooms along the south side (17 & 18), and smaller rooms, perhaps for servants, to the north (22) . The center of the new peristyle was occupied by the kitchen garden (19). With these renovations, the house acquired a new focus around the peristyles. The peristyles represented a private retreat for the family, a place where they could relax and entertain special guests. The front part of the house was kept for more formal occasions. The addition of service quarters reflects a further differentiation of function in the house, again separating the daily life of the family from the more public reception areas. The House of the Faun, with its elaborate decoration and extensive plan, represents one of the most important examples of Roman domus architecture of the second to first century B.C.
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House of Pansa
Pompeii
2nd century B.C.
Large columns from an early peristyle or inner colonnaded garden court. The peristyle is a private area in the house.
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House of the Samnite
Herculaneum
2nd century B.C.
Four styles are generally used to designate the major periods in Pompeian and Roman painting and decoration. The first style covers the period from about 175 B.C. to 80 B.C. The second style dates from about 80 B.C. until 1 A.D. The third style begins around 1 A.D. or somewhat earlier and lasts until the earthquake in 62. And the fourth style develops after 62 up to the end of the city in 79. This vestibule from the House of the Samnite is in the first style, also referred to as the incrustation style. Decoration attempts to be costly. These stucco-covered columns are an imitation of marble. Notice the beautiful stone wall which originally was covered and painted too.
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House of the Samnite
Herculaneum
2nd century B.C.
Typical of the first style is the wall panel painted in different colors to look like different kinds of marble.
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House of Sallust
Pompeii
Another wall panel in the first style. The tablinum, originally the main bedroom, is the central room at the far end of the atrium.
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Pompeii
c. 200 B.C.
The Villa of the Mysteries was a suburban house on the edge of Pompeii. Originally a simple farm building, around 200 B.C. it began to develop into a fifty-five room elegant patrician villa. This is a restored section at the entrance. In the foreground is the top of the arched basis villae or platform on which the villa is built.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 70 B.C.
The atrium is reached through a central axis from the entrance. Two corner doors lead to the tablinum. Beyond the main opening is the peristyle corridor.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 60 B.C.
A room painted in an early and simple version of the second style. In general the second style divides a wall into three horizontal areas: a base at the foot of the wall; a middle area of broad and narrow fields; and a narrow top area. Painted columns divide the wall vertically. Rooms are made to appear larger than their size.
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After 80 B.C.
Pompeii lay undisturbed under volcanic ash until the middle of the 18th century. It was discovered by accident in 1748. We are looking at a panorama of the city after it was excavated. Like so many Roman cities, it has organized main streets stretching through the city. Note the archway in the distance.
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After 80 B.C.
The Forum of Pompeii has a central rectangular space, 466 feet long by 124 feet wide, surrounded by the most important public buildings in the city. Like other forums, it is set up on an axial plan. A colonnade lines three sides. In the center of the fourth side, visible in the distance, is the Temple of Jupiter, known as the Capitolium. The forum was paved with travertine stone and only pedestrians were permitted in its precinct. Situated on an old site, it was largely rebuilt after 80 B.C. when Pompeii became a Roman colony. The forum was again in the process of rebuilding after the earthquake of 62 AD. It was buried under the eruption of Vesuvius seen in the distance in 79.
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Forum of Pompeii
After 80 B.C.
One of the two arches originally covered with marble which flank the Temple of Jupiter and are the main entrances to the forum. The temple was built under the Samnites in the second century B.C.
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Forum of Pompeii
After 80 B.C.
The two-tiered colonnade has columns in the Doric style on the bottom and slender Ionic columns on top of a cross beam. In Pompeii many columns were made of brick and covered with stucco.
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Forum of Pompeii
c. 120 B.C.
These more massive columns are from the basilica, the most important public building in Pompeii. Constructed prior to the Roman period, the basilica had three aisles and five entrance doors onto the forum. In the rear we see a two-tiered colonnade which has columns in the Doric style on the bottom and slender Ionic columns on top of a cross beam. In Pompeii many columns were made of brick and covered with stucco.
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Forum of Pompeii
After 80 B.C.
A corner entrance to the forum. The marble-covered arch was dedicated to Tiberius and the niches held statues of Nero and Drusus. The columns faced the macellum, the meat and fish market.
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Forum of Pompeii
Under reconstruction in 79
Headquarters of the guild of fabric washers and dyers, known as fullones. Fabrics also were sold and stored here. To be located on the forum the guild had clearly achieved a prominence in city life. Here we see the brick columns faced with stucco. The doorway in the rear is decorated with spiral acanthus leaves. The building was badly damaged in 62 and was still not rebuilt in 79.
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Forum of Pompeii
120 B.C.
The temple sits on a platform built on ground sacred since the sixth century B.C.
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Temple of Vespasian
Forum of Pompeii
69-79
A marble altar with a relief of a sacrifice.
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Triangular Forum
Pompeii
Rebuilt after 62
The Temple of Isis, influenced by Egyptian beliefs, sits on the triangular forum constructed during the Samnite period. The temple cella held images of the gods and sacred water from the Nile. It too was rebuilt after the earthquake of 62.
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FOURTH STYLE ROOM
Golden House of Nero
Rome
c. 66
Famulus is credited with creating the fourth style in his decoration of the Golden House of Nero in Rome. The house was built after 64. In this elegantly painted early example of the style, large panels in the middle area contain landscapes and waterscapes; adjacent painted windows open onto simple but in-depth architectural views; and the top area introduces architectural fantasy.
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House of Fabius Rufus
Pompeii
c. 70
The large hall has a black ground and the architectural forms break through the middle area into the top area. The large panel of Apollo, Bacchus, and Venus floats out from the wall, while small figures shimmer in space behind them. Space recedes even further through the rectangular boxlike shapes. The overall effect is an opening into the infinite.
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House with Large Portal
Herculaneum
The grisaille creates another beautiful example of dimensional space in the fourth style.
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House of Poseidon and Amphitrite
Herculaneum
c. 70
The wall mosiac, known as opus musivum, became popular in the first century A.D. and primarily decorates grottoes and fountains. The brilliant mosaic of Poseidon and Amphitrite is on the wall of the nymphaeum. A formal architectural setting surrounds the figures.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 60 B.C.
A more elaborate example of the second style with molding and arches in perspective. The architectural perspectives of the second style create illusions of space. By extending the wall surface beyond a single plane, the style radically changes the nature and feeling of the room.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 50 B.C.
The great Dionysiac frieze in a living room or parlor. This monumental work, the largest to survive from antiquity, is in a simplified second style. The figures are framed on top and bottom of the frieze, with vertical framing panels which are broken in two. The flat red background limits the sense of depth.
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Villa Oplontis
Pompeii
Mid-lst century B.C.
A cubiculum or bedroom next to the atrium. This is decorated in a fully developed second style. The wall and ceiling are divided by cornices of stucco.
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Villa Oplontis
Pompeii
Mid-lst century B.C.
An elegant second style wall painting in the triclinium or dining room. The architectural painting creates an entirely new space out of the wall.
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Villa Oplontis
Pompeii
c. 1 A.D.
This is the caldarium or hot room in the villa's private bath. It is painted in the flat early third style.
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Villa Oplontis
Pompeii
62-79
A beautifully painted ceiling typical of early Imperial times. The space is divided geometrically and delicately decorated.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
1st century A.D.
The peristyle or inner colonnaded garden court in the House of the Vettii. The peristyle is at the center of the house with the private quarters built around it. Typically the garden has bronze and marble statues, busts, and water fountains. The entire arrangement indicates the Roman love of nature.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
c. 60
The ala is a small room normally next to a large room. This ala has transitional decoration between the third and fourth styles.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 50 B.C.
Near the end of the frieze the initiate kneels for the ritual flagellation. The beautiful nude figure of Bacchante dances willy.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 50 B.C.
The villa opens up to the countryside. In contrast to the enclosed city home or domus, this balcony is attached to one of the two central buildings. Notice the decorative brickwork in the exterior columns.
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Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii
c. 50 B.C.
Notice the decorative brickwork in these columns.
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Villa Oplontis
Pompeii
Mid-lst century B.C.
A handsome portico surrounds this large villa which was built in the mid-first century B.C. The garden entrance to the great salon is supported by two large columns.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
After 62
This early fourth style oecus or small dining room has a predominantly white ground. Its architectural space is not as deep or as complicated as the more developed fourth style. Attention is focused on the delicate ornamentation.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
c. 62
The large garden hall off the peristyle contains some of the most refined painting of the early fourth style. Black bands break up the large red areas and these bands are delicately decorated. For the first time figures are introduced to the band at the base of the wall. In the upper area above the middle zone, a more complicated architectural space is enriched with mythological figures.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
c. 62
A small portion of the black band elegantly ornamented.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
After 70
This complicated fourth style dining room, possibly a reception room, has large mythological paintings set within the middle panels as well as small mythological figures dancing within white panels with delicate ornamentation. Alternating window scenes create another dimenion. The base is made to appear like marble. The upper portion contains architectural fantasies and figures of the gods.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
c. 70
These side panels have airy architectural scenes set into elaborately painted borders. The dining room is named after a large painting of Pentheus as he is being torn apart by maenads. Other mythological scenes are in panels adjacent to architectural views.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
The lararium is a shrine to the spirits of the house, also associated with ancestors, household gods, and the emperor. The serpent, frequently represented, approaches a small altar as three young men drink and dance above.
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House of the Vettii
Pompeii
In the entrance hall fresco the fertility god Priapus, protector of the household, weighs his enormous phallus, a symbol of good fortune.
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House of Menander
Pompeii
A portion of the rectangular exedra in the House of Menander. The hall or waiting room was furnished with seats.
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House of the Ara Maxima
Pompeii
47
On the left are the atrium and triclinium. Beautiful remnants of the fourth style painting still enrich and transform the architectural space.
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House of Menander
Pompeii
After 62
An elegant small private bath. The painting is fourth style. The mosaic floors are from earlier Republican times.
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House of Julia Flex
Pompeii
The portico along this garden consists of unusual rectangular and fluted marble pillars.
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House of Venus
Pompeii
After 62
This peristyle was built after the earthquake in 62. Decoration is in the fourth style.
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House of Venus
Pompeii
After 62
In this garden fresco, the goddess Venus floats on a shell and two Cupids ride dolphins. Combined with other paintings of garden scenes, the garden is made to appear larger.
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House of Venus
Pompeii
After 62
Painted garden scenes with a statue of Mars.
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House of the Golden Cupids
Pompeii
c. 64
The elegant peristyle of the House of the Golden Cupids, built during the reign of Nero.
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House of the Mosaic of
Neptune and Amphitrite
Herculaneum
After 62
An open court for summer dining and cooling by a fountain. The sunken floor with marble facing is used as dining couches. This also serves as a pool for the small fountain. The partially visible mosaic on the right gives the house its name.
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House of Aulus
Trebius Valens
Pompeii
c. 70
This summer triclinium with stone couches and a round table is beside a garden and fountain. Behind is a beautiful checkered mural.
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House of Lorelus
Tiburinus
Pompeii
After 62
A great outdoor nymphaeum with water channels, pools, fountains, overhanging vines, and decorative murals.
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House of the
Great Fountain
Pompeii
After 62
Based on Oriental designs, the fountain niche is covered with a vivid and elaborate mosaic. Water came out of the center slit and flowed down the six steps.
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House of the
Small Fountain
Pompeii
Another fountain with mosaic decorations, including abstract and geometric designs, fish, shells, and other sea life.
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House of the Griffins
Palatine, Rome
c. 80 B.C.
This is one of the first known paintings in the second style. The column bases are rendered in perspective, giving depth to the wall and added size to the room. In this early example the wall is divided horizontally into three areas, a characteristic element lasting throughout the style.
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Villa of P. Fannius
Synistor
Boscoreale
c. 60 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
There are three visual planes here: the colonnade in front of the door; the wall and door; and the world beyond the door. The masks are guardians of the beyond. The style creates a mysterious world, where tangible and intangible elements live side by side and yet blend into each other.
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Villa of P. Fannius
Synistor
Boscoreale
c. 60 B.C.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A painting of comic scenery for the stage uses the theme of the closed door but penetrates deep into an architecturally sound space.
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House of the Ceii
Pompeii
The wall surface is closed in the third style. A balanced and refined geometric pattern like this one is a major characteristic of the style. Efforts to achieve depth are abandoned in favor of pure ornament and finally soft amorphous and airy architectural form.
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From the Red Cubiculum
Villa of Boscotrecase
c. 11 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
This red which encloses and gives weight to the wall is a favorite color of the third style. The other dominant color is black. Typically the landscape panel is incoporated into the wall as a separate composition. It is delicate and dreamy and not as prominant as the large flat areas. The thin columns are a common feature of the style.
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From a Cubiculum
House of the Fruit
Orchard Pompeii
First quarter of 1st century
The cool green-blue is another frequently used color of the third style. The delicacy of the bottom portion of the wall is more in keeping with the style than the garden trees between the slender columns of the large middle area.
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Forum of Pompeii
63-79
The public baths in the forum were a central part of Pompeian life. This is the calidarium or hot room with a hot bath in the men's section. The room was heated by hot air which passed through an opening between double walls and floors. The marble basin held cold water for sponging. The windows were for light. Notice the decorative fluting on the stucco vault.
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Forum of Pompeii
63-79
The tepidarium or warm lounge in the bath. The elaborate stucco wall decoration was added in the last years before the catastrophe of 79.
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Via dell'Abbondanza
Pompeii
The interior of the small food and wine shop with a wall painting of its guardian deities.
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Strada Stabiana
Pompeii
These are some mill-wheels which ground the flour in the bakery or pistrinum. The top part rotates around the bottom stationary stone.
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Fresco from the
House of the Baker
c. 70
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Freshly baked breads are sold from a counter on the baker's stand.
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Pompeii
Food supplies were often stored in large terra-cotta jars buried in the ground. This system provided a way of keeping the stored foodstuffs at a relatively constant temperature.
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Pompeii
The largest laundry in Pompeii. The pressorium in the center was used for ironing. Living quarters were on the upper floor.
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Herculaneum
The apodyterium or dressing room in the women's section of the baths in Herculaneum.
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Pompeii
The Via dell'Abbondanza was the most important street in Pompeii. It held the commercial shops and private homes of merchants. A long street, it began at the forum and stretched to the Porta Sarno at the edge of the city. The stepping stones are for pedestrians in bad weather.
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Via dell'Abbondanza
Pompeii
The thermopolium was a shop selling wine and warm food. At this busy corner on the Via dell'Abbondanza, the food was kept in terra-cotta pots sunk in the serving counter. It could be eaten at the shop or taken out.
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Pompeii
A small winding street. The house on the left with its jutting upper floor balcony was a brothel.
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Pompeii
Doorways to the cubicles in the brothel. Above are remnants of frescoes.
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Pompeii
Fresco of a man and woman in bed.
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Pompeii
This decorative brickwork is from a house in Pompeii. The phallus was a common symbol which was believed to give protection against evil.
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Pompeii
89-75
The oldest known amphitheatre, this arena was built in 89-75 B.C. and held 20,000 spectators, almost the entire population of the city. Tall supporting arches surround the amphitheatre and a large two-sided staircase leads to the third level. It had no underground facilities.
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Pompeii
89-75 B.C.
The shape of the amphitheatre is oval. Large stone sockets above the highest gallery were used to support the awning or velum (also velarium).
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59
Museo Nazionale, Naples
This third style painting gives a bird's eye view of the amphitheatre on the day of a bloody riot.
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Pompeii
c. 80-20 B.C.
The covered theatre or odeon is an excellent example of a Hellenistic theatre.
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Pompeii
2nd century B.C.
The rear portico of the Great Theatre, later used as barracks for gladiators.
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Pompeii
2nd century B.C.
The palestra or gymnasium at the Stabian baths. A portico surrounded the area on three sides. Young athletes exercised in the center, swam and relaxed under the shady trees.
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Pompeii
After 80 B.C.
This is a typical intersection. Wheeled traffic passed over and around the pedestrian stepping stones.
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From the triclinium
House of Sacerdos Amandus
Pompeii
The mythological scene of the chained Andromeda being freed by Perseus tends to emphasize the landscape and cool atmosphere instead of the people. This characteristic is also typical of the third style.
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From a house in Herculaneum
c. 70
Museo Nazionale, Naples
The eye travels in and around, over and under, and further and further into the indefinable distance.
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Portrait of a Young Woman
From a House in Pompeii
c. 50
Museo Nazionale, Naples
A wall painting less than a foot in diameter, this delicate portrait (probably of the lady or daughter of the house) was worked into the wall decoration.
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Dioskourides of Samos
Villa of Cicero
Pompeii
c. 100 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Mosaic has an important decorative role in the Roman household as well as in public buildings. This floor mosaic of street musicians, apparently based on a well-known third century B.C. painting, was made by a Greek artist, Dioskourides of Samos.
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From the House of the Faun
Pompeii
c. 80 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
One of the most famous pictures from the ancient world, probably a copy of a late classical painting, this mosaic of Alexander conquering Darius was laid into the floor of an open exedra between two peristyles in the House of the Faun. The floor mosaic was called tessallatum and is composed of tiny stones. This mosaic measures about nine by seventeen feet.
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From the House of the Faun
Pompeii
c. 80 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Alexander is portrayed realistically and all the details of his costume are carefully in place.
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The House of the Faun
Pompeii
c. 80 B.C.
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Darius on his chariot.
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From the tablinum
House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto
Pompeii
Between 50 and 60
In this late third style wall the once restrained decorative elements are becoming excessive and architectural depth is reintroduced.
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Identified first as Lachish by Albright in 1929, the tell was excavated by James Leslie Starkey 1932-38 and by Tel Aviv University 1973-87.
Lachish is generally regarded as the second most important city in the southern kingdom of Judah. It enters the biblical narrative in the battle accounts of Joshua, Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar.
[Bible Places]
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160 feet above sea level and 1307 feet above Dead Sea.
1950 feet long, 650 feet wide at widest place, 4250 feet in circumference.
Snake path climb: 900 feet.
From west, difference in height is 225 feet.
[Bible Places]
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At Timna Park, 20 miles north of Eilat in the Arabah, a lifesize replica of the biblical tabernacle has been constructed. While no original materials (e.g., gold, silver, bronze) have been used, the model is accurate in every other way based upon the biblical description.
The model is located at the base of Solomon's Pillars but will be moved soon.[Bible Places]
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Tons and Tons of pictures including Temples, theater, palaces and much, much more...[Bible Places]
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Gerasa architrave stones, Gerasa Cardo from theater, Gerasa Cardo manhole ...[Bible Places]
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Ajlun castle, Fields near Ramoth Gilead, Gilead flowers, Gilead goats...[Bible Places]
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Fords of Jabbok from Penuel, Jabbok Fords and Penuel from Mahanaim, Jabbok Fords from Penuel...[Bible Places]
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Acacia trees in wadi in Aravah near Petra, Bab edh Dhra Early Bronze shaft tomb entrance, Bab edh Dhra Early Bronze tombs...[Bible Places]
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Dead Sea area, Jerusalem and Dead Sea, Jerusalem area... [Bible Places]
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Mt Nebo church, Mt Nebo looking at Jordan Rift, Mt Nebo looking northwest at Jordan Rift...[Bible Places]
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Aqaba Turkish Fort Arched Entry, Aqaba Turkish Fort, Bozrah from north...[Bible Places]
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Bronze coins of Nabatean king Aretas IV, Bronze statue of Artemis from 2nd c Petra, Camel at Petra...[Bible Places]
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Abu Simbel temples on edge of Lake Nasser, Abu Simbel temples on edge of Lake Nasser, Queen Nefertiti temple on edge of Lake Nasser...[Bible Places]
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Aswan High Dam with Lake Nasser, Aswan High Dam with view of Nile looking north, Aswan market at night...[Bible Places]
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Bent Pyramid casing, Bent Pyramid closeup of outer casing, Bent Pyramid closeup...[Bible Places]
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Cairo stables at base of pyramids, Cairo stables at base of pyramids, Causeway from Chefren's Pyramid...[Bible Places]
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Church of the Holy Trinity atop Jebel Musa, Elijah's Hollow from above, Elijah's Hollow with Jebel Musa behind...[Bible Places]
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Bird in Botanical Garden of Thutmose III, Botanical Garden of Thutmose III, Botanical Garden of Thutmose III...[Bible Places]
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Avenue of Sphinxes with Luxor Temple, Luxor Temple and Avenue of Sphinxes at night, Luxor Temple at night from west...[Bible Places]
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Counting tongues at Medinet Habu, Medinet Habu colonnade, Medinet Habu colored columns...[Bible Places]
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Philae Island, now submerged, Philae outer temple court and first pylon, Philae outer temple court to south...[Bible Places]
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Amphipolis Byzantine basilica mosaics, Amphipolis Byzantine basilica, Amphipolis Byzantine basilica2...[Bible Places]
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Most scholars believe that Paul traveled to Athens by boat from Berea and thus it is likely that he entered the city through its large port of Piraeus.
The port was originally built in the 5th c. B.C. and still thrives today. In ancient times Piraeus was connected to Athens (6 mi. distant) by the Long Walls, two parallel walls 600 feet apart.
[Bible Places]
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One of the great crossroads of the ancient world because of its location on the isthmus linking the Peloponnese to mainland Greece, Corinth was a thriving Roman colony from the time of Julius Caesar. The city is always described as "wealthy" in the ancient sources and this prosperity was due in part to the city's taxation of the north-south and east-west trade routes.[Bible Places]
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Philippi apparently had only a small number of Jewish inhabitants and no synagogue. Consequently Shabbat worship was held outside the city on the Gangitis River. Here Paul met a group of women to whom he preached the gospel. Lydia, a merchant trading purple cloth, believed Paul's message and was baptized with members of her household. Subsequently Paul went and lived at her home.
[Bible Places]
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Thessalonica Church of St Demetrios Roman street, Thessalonica Church of St Demetrios, Thessalonica Church of St Demetrios2...[Bible Places][Greece]
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The northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee is a fertile plain where the feeding of the 5,000 likely took place. There is good reason to doubt the current belief that et-Tell is Bethsaida, and a better candidate for the fishing village may be el-Araj near the shoreline. [Bible Places]
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Situated 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and at the base of Mt. Hermon, Caesarea Philippi is the location of one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River.
This abundant water supply has made the area very fertile and attractive for religious worship. Numerous temples were built at this city in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. [Bible Places]
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In existence from the 2nd c. B.C. to the 7th c. A.D., Capernaum was built along the edge of the Sea of Galilee and had up to 1500 residents.
Today the ruins are owned by two churches: the Franciscans control the western portion with the synagogue and the Greek Orthodox's property is marked by the white church with red domes. [Bible Places]
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Located mid-way between Capernaum and Tabgha, major centers of Jesus' ministry, this cove has been noted for its acoustical properties.
Mark 4 records a time when Jesus was teaching to a large crowd and pushed out in a boat in order to teach them. Some suggest this cove is an ideal location for teaching the crowds. [Bible Places]
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One of the "Galilean" type of synagogues with typical characteristics:
Basilica shape - three hallways separated by two rows of pillars
Three doorways; central one is largest
Benches around side; not much remains of the benches here.
Stylobate - to support weight of arches
[Bible Places]
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The largest of four sources of the Jordan River, the Dan Spring emerges at the base of Mt. Hermon next to Tel Dan. It flows for four miles before joining the second largest source of the Jordan River, the Banias Spring. Together the four sources (also the Iyon and Hasbani) of the Jordan River drain a total area of more than 2700 sq. kilometers.
[Bible Places]
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Known sometimes as the "Masada of the North," Gamla is most famous for its strong defense against the Romans in the Jewish Revolt in 66 A.D. The site is bordered on all sides by deep wadis of the Golan Heights and is approachable by only one footpath from the northeast. The earliest settlement was in the Early Bronze Age and the site was reinhabited by returning exiles from Babylon. Herod the Great settled Jews here to populate his border cities.[Bible Places]
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Known in Joshua's day as "the head of all those kingdoms," the tell of Hazor is today the largest in Israel at 200 acres.
At its height in the Canaanite period, the city encompassed the entire tell. Later when it was inhabited by Israelites, the fortified city included only the Upper City.
[Bible Places]
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Mt. Hermon is the southern tip of the anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its highest peak is 9230 feet and the highest point inside Israel's borders today is Mizpe Shelagim at 7295 feet.
The mountain is the only place with snow skiing in the country.
[Bible Places]
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The so-called "Sermon on the Mount" is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. The alleged discrepancy between Matthew's version being on a hill and Luke's being on a level place is easily reconciled with observation of many level places on the Galilean hillsides. Scripture gives no indication of the exact location of this event, but the Byzantines built a church to commemorate it at the bottom of the hill. Some of Napoleon's men placed it on the nearby Arbel mountain.
[Bible Places]
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Situated inside a bowl atop the Nazareth ridge north of the Jezreel valley, Nazareth was a relatively isolated village in the time of Jesus with a population less than two hundred.
Today Nazareth is home to more than 60,000 Israeli Arabs, and Upper Nazareth is home to thousands more Jewish residents.
[Bible Places]
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The Plain of Gennesaret spreads out below the Arbel cliffs. About five miles long and two miles wide, this stretch of land alongside Galilee's northwest shore was renowned for its fertility. Josephus wrote that it was "wonderful in its characteristics and in its beauty. Thanks to the rich soil there is not a plant that does not flourish there, and the inhabitants grow everything: the air is so temperate that it suits the most diverse species."
[Bible Places]
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Two miles west of Capernaum is what Josephus referred to as the "well of Capernaum." Undoubtedly a popular fishing spot of the locals because of its famous "seven springs," Heptapegon (today the name has been corrupted to Tabgha) is the traditional location for several episodes in Jesus' ministry.
[Bible Places]
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The site of et-Tell is a prominent ruin that is usually identified as biblical Ai. Archaeological excavations though have shown that Ai was inhabited from 3000-2400 B.C. and again after 1200 B.C., but not during the time of Joshua's Conquest (1400 B.C.). Resorting to a "late date" theory of the Conquest does not solve the problem.
[Bible Places]
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One mile due west of traditional Ai (et-Tell) is Kh. el-Maqatir, an alternate location for Ai. Its location fits the approximate area one would expect to find the city that Joshua destroyed in the Conquest. Furthermore, the absence of any evidence of inhabitation at et-Tell should compel the honest historian to look elsewhere for Ai.[Bible Places]
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The Arab village of el-Jib sits on the north side of the hill and preserves the biblical name of the city inhabited by the Gibeonites. These people tricked Joshua into making a treaty with them; later the Israelites would be forced to defend their ill-made ally and in the process would defeat a five-king Canaanite coalition. The city of Gibeon sits on the west side of the Central Benjamin Plateau.[Bible Places]
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The "City of Palms" spreads out on the west side of the Jordan River at 825 feet below sea level.
The Old Testament site of Tell es-Sultan is in the distance and is the city Joshua destroyed. In Jesus' day a new center had been constructed on the wadi banks in the foreground by the Hasmonean rulers and Herod the Great.[Bible Places]
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Inhabited from the Chalcolithic period, Megiddo has approximately 26 levels of occupation. American excavators from the Oriental Institute worked from 1925 with the ambitious goal of excavating every level in its entirety. The made it through the first three levels before concentrating the work on certain areas.
[Bible Places]
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Though its name identifies it as the home of the prophet Samuel and the tomb of Samuel is here venerated by Muslims and Jews, scholars are agreed that Samuel's home and place of burial are at Ramah, about five miles away. Excavations around the modern building which houses a mosque and a synagogue have revealed significant remains from the Crusader period.
[Bible Places]
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10 miles south of Jericho, Qumran was on a "dead-end street" and provided a perfect location for the isolationist sect of the Essenes to live.
The site was excavated by Catholic priest Roland deVaux from 1953-56. More recent excavations of the site have taken place under the direction of Hanan Eshel.
[Bible Places]
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Allegedly discovered by a Bedouin shepherd chasing a stray, the initial Dead Sea Scrolls found here changed the study of the Old Testament.
The seven scrolls were the Manual of Discipline, War of Sons of Light, Thanksgiving Scroll, Isaiah A and B, Genesis Apocryphon and Habakkuk Commentary.
[Bible Places]
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Located between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal Shechem is preeminent in the biblical record, beginning with God's promise of the land to Abraham.
Later Jacob would return here with his family and settle shortly. During the Conquest, the twelve tribes gathered on these two hills to recite God's Law and the blessings and curses that accompanied obedience and disobedience.
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The portable shrine that Moses built in the wilderness was stationed at Shiloh from the time of the Conquest until the city's apparent destruction by the Philistines in 1104 B.C.
Psalm 78:60 (NIV) "He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among men."
[Bible Places]
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Nestled in the Judean hills about ten miles west of Jerusalem, Yad HaShmonah is a thriving moshav (communal settlement) composed of Israeli and Finnish believers in Jesus Christ. The hill the moshav was founded on in 1971 was apparently sparsely occupied in the Arab periods, based on archaeological remains found at the site. The hill is a kilometer away from biblical Kiriath Jearim and likely closer to the Camp of Dan mentioned in Judges 18:12.
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The City of David was very narrow; about 80-100m wide. The east side has a steep slope of about 60 degrees.
Though smaller, steeper and more difficult for construction than the Western Hill, the City of David was chosen because of its water source, the Gihon Spring.[Bible Places]
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A 6th c. church floor in Medeba, Jordan has a mosaic map of the land of Israel with numerous place names in Greek.
The center of the map is an open-faced depiction of Jerusalem with the city walls, gates, churches (with red roofs), and the Cardo. This main street of the city is depicted with two rows of colonnades running the length of the city from north to south.
[Bible Places]
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Built atop the earlier location of the Temple, the Dome of the Rock was built by the Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik in 688-691. Because of its situation on bedrock, the numerous earthquakes over the centuries have not caused significant damage to the structure (unlike its neighbor Al Aqsa mosque). This shrine was covered by a lead dome from 691 until it was replaced with a gold-colored covering in 1965. Because of rust, the anodized aluminum cover was again replaced in 1993 with a gold covering.
[Bible Places]
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In Jerusalem for a visit in 1884, General Charles Gordon spied a prominent rocky crag which looked to him like it could be the "place of the skull" mentioned in the Bible as where Jesus was crucified.
Around the corner Gordon identified an ancient tomb and putting the two together he located the hill of crucifixion and the nearby burial place.
[Bible Places]
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A 1750-foot (530m) tunnel carved during the reign of Hezekiah to bring water from one side of the city to the other, Hezekiah's Tunnel together with the 6th c. tunnel of Euphalios in Greece are considered the greatest works of water engineering technology in the pre-Classical period. Had it followed a straight line, the length would have been 1070 ft (335m) or 40% shorter.[Bible Places]
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Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ's burial.
On grounds of tradition alone, this church is the best candidate for the location of these events. The Garden Tomb was not identified as such until the 19th century.
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The southeast corner of the Old City, the Jewish Quarter occupies about 15 acres and has been inhabited by Jews for centuries. Following the capture of the Old City by the Arabs in 1948, all Jews were expelled and their buildings destroyed. When Israel regained the Old City in 1967 work began to reconstruct the quarter and today hundreds of people live and study here.
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Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem's landscape. From the 3rd millennium until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city. The two-mile long ridge has three summits each of which has a tower built on it.[Bible Places]
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The modern Mt. Zion is a misnomer applied by Byzantine pilgrims who thought that the larger, flatter Western Hill must be the original City of David. Archaeological evidence has shown that this hill was only incorporated within the city's fortifications in the 8th century B.C. but the name has stuck. The Hinnom Valley borders this hill on its western and southern sides.[Bible Places]
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So named because the road leading from it goes to the port city of Jaffa (Joppa), this gate is the only one on the western side of the Old City.
A low part of the city wall was torn down and the Crusader moat of the Citadel filled in 1898 for the visit of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. This gate was also the famous scene of the English General Allenby's entrance in 1917.
[Bible Places]
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These excavations begun by Benjamin Mazar in 1968 were the largest earth-moving archaeological projects in Israel. Work continued until 1978 but has since resumed in the 1990s under the direction of Ronny Reich. These excavations are the most important for understanding the Temple Mount because of the impossibility of excavating on the mount itself.[Bible Places]
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Often visitors wonder why the Temple Mount isn't the highest point in the city when the Bible seems to describe it as such. The answer is that the city today (including the "Old City") has grown and shifted from its original location. The earliest city of Jerusalem is the "City of David," a smaller hill south of, and lower than, the Temple Mount.[Bible Places]
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Generally regarded as the largest and most beautiful tomb in Jerusalem, the so-called "Tomb of the Kings" was the final resting place for the family of Queen Helene of Adiabene in the first century A.D. Located 820 m north of the Old City walls, the tomb got its name from early explorers who believed that this magnificent tomb housed members of the dynasty of David.[Bible Places]
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Discovered by Charles Warren in his investigations of the city in the 1860s, this underground tunnel system has become known as "Warren's Shaft."
The system by this name consists of four parts: the stepped tunnel, the horizontal curved tunnel, the 14 meter vertical shaft and the feeding tunnel. Scholars have long debated the date and function of this system.
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Formerly known as the Wailing Wall, the Western Wall is now so known because of the desire to remove the negative associations that the Wall had before its recapture in 1967.
The plaza was created as an area for prayer (technically it is a synagogue) beginning in 1967 and thousands of people sometimes gather here for prayer.
[Bible Places]
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The Philistines who migrated to the coastal plain of Israel about 1200 B.C. settled in five major cities. Three of these were along the coastal branch of the International Highway leading from Egypt, but because of the presence of sand dunes, only Ashkelon was built on the shore. At 150 acres, the tell of Ashkelon is the largest Philistine city and one of the largest tells in all of ancient Israel.
[Bible Places]
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Near the outer gate of the city is a well and a tamarisk tree. Both are later than the time of the patriarchs, but they remind one of the well Abraham dug and the tree he planted (Gen 21). The tamarisk tree is well suited to life in the Negev with its deep root system and its ability to survive on brackish water. It secretes salt on its leaves and drips water in the morning.[Bible Places]
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A border city between Judah and Dan, Beth Shemesh was given to the Levites. Beth Shemesh was the most important Israelite city in the Sorek Valley as it watched both east-west traffic through the Sorek Valley and north-south traffic along the "Diagonal Route." Recent excavations have shown a thriving city here from the Middle Bronze Age through the Iron II period.[Bible Places]
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Known in the Bible as the "Salt Sea" or the "Sea of the Arabah," this inland body of water is appropriately named because its high mineral content allows nothing to live in its waters. Other post-biblical names for the Dead Sea include the "Sea of Sodom," the "Sea of Lot," the "Sea of Asphalt" and the "Stinking Sea." In the Crusader period, it was sometimes called the "Devil's Sea." All of these names reflect something of the nature of this lake.[Bible Places]
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The southern tip of modern Israel, ancient Elath was outside the prescribed boundaries of the Promised Land for the children of Israel. It was one of the stops on the wilderness travels (Deut 2:8). The relationship of Elath to Ezion Geber is unclear; the Bible says that these two places were near each other by the Red Sea but the exact location of these ancient sites is still uncertain.
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Situated near the International Coastal Highway and guarding the primary route into the Israelite hill country, Gezer was one of the most strategic cities in the Canaanite and Israelite periods. Gezer is a prominent 33-acre site that overlooked the Aijalon Valley and the road leading through it to Jerusalem. The tell was identified as biblical Gezer in 1871 by C. Clermont-Ganneau who two years later found the first of many boundary stones inscribed with the city's name.[Bible Places]
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Genesis 23 records the purchase by Abraham of a plot of ground in Hebron for a burial cave for his wife Sarah. In a deal that foreshadows many such other Middle Eastern deals, Abraham paid an outrageous 400 shekels of silver to Ephron the Hittite.
Later Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah would be buried here.
[Bible Places]
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Herodium is 3 miles southeast of Bethlehem and 8 miles south of Jerusalem. Its summit is 2460 feet above sea level.
Herod built or re-built eleven fortresses. This one he constructed on the location of his victory over Antigonus in 40 B.C.[Bible Places]
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Photo Gallery of Ancient Mesopotamia, Syria & Israel, Greece & Rome, By Dr. K. C. Hanson "Many of the photographs included here were taken at European museums in June, 1997"
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The directory contains a TABLE OF CONTENTS (Website Query/Search), ABZU (Index to Ancient Near Eastern Resources on the Internet), THE MUSEUM, MUSEUM EDUCATION, & STORE (SUQ), ELECTRONIC, RESOURCES, RESEARCH & PROJECTS, DEPARTMENTS, and PUBLICATIONS.
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From Holyland Turism. A Virtual Tour of Ancient Jerusalem: Holyland Hotel Model. The scale of the Holyland Model is 1:50 (2 cm. = 1m., 1/4 in. = 1 ft.). The model was produced using the same materials that were used in the times of the original construction, such as marble, stone, wood, copper and iron. The model was completed in 1969. The sources used in planning the model were the Mishna, the Tosephtha, the Talmud, the writings of Jesephus and the New Testament. The construction of the model is due to the initiative and resources of Mr. Hans Kroch. The archaeological and topographical data were supplied by Prof. M. Avi-Yonah, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, one of the foremost authorities on the subject. Since construction, the site is continuously updated according to the latest archaeological findings.
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The Detroit Institute of Arts is the fifth-largest fine arts museum in the United States with holdings of over 60,000 works. Within its more than one hundred galleries are paintings, sculpture, and graphic and decorative arts that reveal the scope and depth of human experience, imagination and emotion.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and finest art museums in the world. Its collections include more than two million works of art""several hundred thousand of which are on view at any given time""spanning more than 5,000 years of world culture, from prehistory to the present.
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The Michael C. Carlos Museum is located within Emory University and serves its community as well the general public. Its permanent collection of over 15,000 objects spans nearly 9,000 years from the prehistoric cultures of seventh millennium B.C. to the twentieth century.
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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The EIKON Image Database for Biblical Studies is a faculty-library initiative at Yale Divinity School that provides digital resources for teaching and research in the field of Biblical studies.
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This sketch is a reconstruction of the ancient multi-plaza "acropolis" at Copan which was a major Maya Classic settlement and religious center. Bible History Online
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Ur of the Chaldees was the original home of Abraham, the first Hebrew.
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This sketch is a reconstruction of the ancient Sumerian "Oval Temple" at Khafaje from around 2500 BC. Archaeologists unearthed this site in the 1930`s.
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This sketch is a reconstruction of the great ancient temple of Amun at Karnak, the ram-headed god of Thebes. His union was with the sun-god Re and thus Amun-Re.
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This sketch is a reconstruction of Luxor, near Karnak which was another cult center of the Amun.
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Dagon was the god of the Philistines. This image shows that the idol was represented in the combination of both man and fish. The name "Dagon" is derived from "dag" which means "fish." Although there was a deep affection from Dagon`s worshippers to their deity, the symbol of a fish in human form was really meant to represent fertility and the vivifying powers of nature and reproduction.
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This Assyrian king places his foot upon the neck of his enemy to symbolize complete subjugation and possession of the captured king.
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This sketch is from a larger one where Pharaoh (Amenhotep II 1448-1420 BC) places his feet upon his enemies, in this case his enemies were Negroes and Semites, who were caught in a snare. Notice that the subjugated persons have their arms tied behind their backs and "have now been made his footstool." The "footstool" is mentioned in Scripture as apart of the throne of the king and symbolizes God`s throne.
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Fetters were used to fasten prisoners. They were made of various shapes and materials. The ones that were put on Zedekiah and Samson were made of brass or copper. The sketch on top is from a pair of Fetters found in Nineveh. They weigh 8 lbs, 11 oz. and are 16 ½ inches long. The part which enclosed the ankles is thinner so that they could be hammered small after the feet were placed in them. The Egyptians enclosed the hands of their prisoners in an elongated shackle of wood, made of two opposite segments nailed together at each end.
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This sketch represents how the Egyptians would count the severed hands of enemy corpses after a battle. They would usually cut off the hands or the genitals of the dead and make a heap before their king. In one case 12,535 of these "battle trophies" were counted and assembled into a mound after a victory of Ramsees III over the Libyans.
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This sketch represents the usual death penalty given by the Assyrians which was hoisting on poles. The victims were tied with their stomachs or throats on the point of a stake so that their own weight thrust them downwards. There are many examples revealing Assyrian severity. A captured king was taken to the capital and compelled to pull the royal chariot of triumph. Rings were put through their lips or noses and sometimes hands, feet, noses and ears were cut off, they were blinded and their tongues were torn from their mouths. Prisoners were skinned alive and set on fire. Their skins were also hung near enemy city gates in order to collect tribute. The Lord allowed the ruthless Assyrians to capture the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC because of Israel`s rebellion against Him. They were never seen again.
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This sketch represents part of a scene from a marble slab discovered at Khorsabad. The Assyrian king is using a spear to blind one of his many prisoners. In his left hand he holds a cord with a hook attached at the opposite end which are inserted into the prisoners lips. The Assyrians would thrust the point of a dagger or spear into the eye. Their are many representations that have been discovered revealing that the Babylonians, Assyrians and Persians made use of the same cruel punishment.
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This sketch is taken from a marble relief found in the palace of Sennacherib. It illustrates how the Israelite prisoners were assembled into gangs and forced to perform heavy labor. They are clothed in short skirted garments and are carrying heavy loads of rocks.
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The Romans would, according to custom, scourge a condemned criminal before he was put to death. The Roman scourge, also called the "flagrum" or "flagellum" was a short whip made of two or three leather (ox-hide) thongs or ropes connected to a handle as in the sketch above. The leather thongs were knotted with a number of small pieces of metal, usually zinc and iron, attached at various intervals. According to history the punishment of a slave was particularly dreadful. The leather was knotted with bones, or heavy indented pieces of bronze. Sometimes the Roman scourge contained a hook at the end and was given the terrifying name "scorpion."
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This engraving reveals the staff of inheritance in the left hand. If it were in the right hand it would be a scepter. This Egyptian was from the time of Amunmai Thori II, around two hundred years or so before Moses. Ancient Egyptian Tomb Walls contain pictures of important men represented with a long staff which marks his rank, head of a family and great landowner. Fragments have been discovered revealing these rods with hieroglyphic inscriptions. It is interesting that God anointed the staff or rod of Moses to lead the people of Israel to the promised land.
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Philistine ships were sailing ships and had no oars. In the front and rear was a vertical prow and sternpost. In this image they were carved in the shape of a swans neck. At the top of the mast was a crows nest. Notice the ship below contains two Philistine warriors carrying their round army shields and the warrior on the right is also holding a special dagger in his right hand.
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Phoenician ships had a curved shape with similar stems and sternposts. The masts had two large yardarms. Notice all the ropes used in the yard rigging. The ships also had high washboards with strakes around the deck to prevent cargo from falling off during heavy seas. The prophet Ezekiel describes the building of these ships: "They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast. Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks With ivory from the coasts of Cyprus. Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail; Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you." - Ezek 27:5-7
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A mural found in the ruins of ancient Pompeii reveals how sails were furled (rolled up). The mainmast was in the center, made of one piece and held by strong ropes running from the sides of the ship to the main top. The large yard was fixed to the mainmast which enabled it to carry the sail. Four-inch strips of leather was sewn across the sail to reinforce it..
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It was actually a grain ship like the image above. It was of enormous size and the corn ship that Paul traveled on carried 276 men. Ships of this size had a tonnage of 2,600 tons. The hull ran up to a bird`s-head carving above the bows and a bird`s-tail at the stern. In the midst was a high mast, usually of cedar wood and near the prow was a smaller one for hoisting a small sail. Two large oars were used to steer. On the deck was a wooden hut for the helmsman which was also used as a temple of worship containing an idol.
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Photos of Assyrian reliefs and maps. Browsable directory. Bible History Online
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Photos, coins, busts, etc. from around the net. Browsable Directory of Images. Bible History Online.
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Photos and items from around the net. Browsable Directory of Images. Bible History Online.
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Photos of ancient art from various museums and personal Collections.
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