Greece and Rome
The Department of Greece and Rome houses some of the most representative collections of ancient Mediterranean artefacts in the world. It shines a light on the history and culture of the ancient Mediterranean world between around 5000 BC and the end of the Western Roman Empire in the fourth century AD.
Plato, The Republic, 375 B.C.
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.
Siren Vase
The Venus de Milo is immediately recognizable by its missing arms and popularly believed to represent Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, who was known to the Romans as Venus. The artwork was discovered in 1820 on the Aegean island of Melos. Speculation remains about the Venus de Milo’s original pose, although evidence suggests its once held an apple in its left hand.
“I know the stars by heart, the armies of the night, and there in the lead the ones that bring us snow or the crops of summer, bring us all we have-- our great blazing kings of the sky, I know them, when they rise and when the fall.”
— Aeschylus (525 BC – c. 456 BC)
Mask of Agamemnon
The Mask of Agamemnon is an important piece of Greek Bronze Age artwork. Discovered in Mycenae in 1876 by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, the funeral mask was found over the face of a deceased individual in a burial place. Although previously thought to depict Agamemnon, the great Greek hero of Homer’s Iliad, it is now known that the mask portrays an unknown individual.
Augustus from Prima Porta
As the first Roman emperor, Augustus led Rome’s transformation from republic to empire during the tumultuous years following the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar. He laid the foundations of the 200-year Pax Romana (Roman Peace).
In this marble freestanding sculpture, Augustus stands in a contrapposto pose (a relaxed pose where one leg bears weight). The emperor wears military regalia and his right arm is outstretched, demonstrating that the emperor is addressing his troops. We immediately sense the emperor’s power as the leader of the army and a military conqueror.
The sculpture contains even more symbolism. First, at Augustus’ right leg is cupid figure riding a dolphin. The dolphin became a symbol of Augustus’ great naval victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.
Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD)
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
There is no mention of the equestrian statue dedicated to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in ancient literary sources, but it was in all likelihood erected in 176 AD, along with numerous other honors on the occasion of his triumph over the Germanic tribes, or in 180 AD soon after his death. In 1538 Pope Paul II ordered the Farnese family to have the statue moved to the Capitoline Hill, which had become the head quarters of the city's authorities in 1143. A year after its arrival, the Roman Senate commissioned Michelangelo to refurbish the statue. The great Florentine artist did not just limit himself to planning an appropriate site for the monument, but made in central element in the magnificent architecutral complex known as the Piazza of the Capitoline Hill