Greek Art

This statue  of the head of Hercules came from the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
Hadrian is famous mostly for the 73 mile wall that defined the  northern border of Roman
Britannia.  Experts believe the bust to be a copy of a full size bronze
statue that has long been lost.  Photo by Jasper.

We went to see "The Body Beautiful In Ancient Greece" at the Portland Art Museum.   I was really excited that a show of ancient Greek art from the British Museum was making its way to Portland.  Jasper had fun playing a guessing game with me whenever we would see a new work, to guess if a familiar god or hero was depicted.  One thing that surprised me was that although all of the art was ancient, much of it was not original.  It must have been common to copy famous statues, and many of the works on display were stunning copies of ancient masterpieces that have long been lost.  

A statue of Nike, goddess of victory, from 500BC.  Photo by Jasper.

Corinthian helmet, ca. 51- BC.  Photo by Jasper.

Bust of Aphrodite, which is "said to have been found in the river Tiber."   This is a copy
of a very famous full-size statue, the Aphrodite from Knidos of ca. 360 BC.  The original
was supposed to be very lifelike.  Aphrodite was one of the few females that was often
depicted nude. 

This is an amphora that was given as a prize around 520-530 BC in the Panathenaic
 games, held in Athens in honor of Athena.

Apollo, from the Roman period 1st or 2nd century AD.

We loved this statue of Hercules stealing the Apples of the Hesperides.
It came from a temple at Byblos, Lebanon in the 1st century.

Hercules has captured the Erymanthian Boar and is taunting Eurystheus,  the king who assigned
his twelve labors, on this amphora from 520-500 BC.  Eurystheus is cowering inside a jar.

Dionysus and Ampelos, a satyr that he loved who was killed. The
grieving god turned him into the first grapevine.  The statue is from the 2nd century.

Nymph trying to escape from a satyr.  This is a Roman copy from the 3rd century of a Greek original
which was probably one or two centuries older, but is now lost.  

Amphora from 520-500 BC.  We loved the elegant lines of the horses' legs.

The Sphinx of Lanuvium (120-140 AD) probably held up a table, but most were guardians of tombs.  

Fisherman selling his wares, from around the time of the birth of Christ.
It was a surprise to learn that the Greeks made statues of ordinary people.

The famous Discus Thrower.  This is another copy owned by the emperor Hadrian,
from an original 450-440 BC which has been lost.

Amphora showing Hercules slaying the Nemean Lion from 520-510 BC.  His nephew Iolaos and the goddess Athena
look on.   Photo by Jasper.

Head of an althlete, from around the time of the  Birth of Christ.

Jasper and I both liked this simple figure of an athlete from inside a drinking kylix (510 BC).