Laocoon and His Sons is a marble sculpture from the Hellenistic Period (323 BC – 31 CE), made by Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, natives of Rhodes, displayed in the Museo Pio Clementino of the Vatican Museums.
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The Nike of Samothrace or “The Winged Victory”, (c. 190 BC), displayed at the Louvre Museum.
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Greek women as ancient priestesses during the annual Olympic lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia, Corinth, letting the pigeons fly as a peace symbolism.
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Hoplites riding dolphins, Attic red-figure psykter, a red-figure vessel (520-510 BC)
Though the dolphin is not a fish and the Greeks knew it, no other marine animal could be more appropriate symbol for the element. Sung by Homer and Pindar, the dolphin was considered the swiftest of all living being, king of the fish and lord of the sea. It was well known as a helper of fishermen and as a weather prophet. It was believed to foretell its own death and to come ashore to seek burial. Useful alive, it was also very useful in death. Its fat was a remedy for dropsy, its ashes for some skin diseases, its liver for fevers. Its teeth were used in dentistry.
Yet it was considered unlawful to kill a dolphin and the barbaric Thracians who made this a practice are mentioned with indignation because there was "nothing more god-like than a dolphin".
Today, Greece's national animal is the dolphin.
Though the dolphin is not a fish and the Greeks knew it, no other marine animal could be more appropriate symbol for the element. Sung by Homer and Pindar, the dolphin was considered the swiftest of all living being, king of the fish and lord of the sea. It was well known as a helper of fishermen and as a weather prophet. It was believed to foretell its own death and to come ashore to seek burial. Useful alive, it was also very useful in death. Its fat was a remedy for dropsy, its ashes for some skin diseases, its liver for fevers. Its teeth were used in dentistry.
Yet it was considered unlawful to kill a dolphin and the barbaric Thracians who made this a practice are mentioned with indignation because there was "nothing more god-like than a dolphin".
Today, Greece's national animal is the dolphin.
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Dionysus cup - Black figure Kylix (drinking cup) depicting Dionysus crossing the sea, ca. 530 BC
The Dionysus Cup is the modern name for one of the best known works of ancient Greek vase painting, a kylix (drinking cup) dating to 540–530 BC. It is one of the masterpieces of the Attic Black-figure potter Exekias.
The Dionysus Cup is the modern name for one of the best known works of ancient Greek vase painting, a kylix (drinking cup) dating to 540–530 BC. It is one of the masterpieces of the Attic Black-figure potter Exekias.
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Trojan War
During the first nine years of the campaign the Achaeans were not only busy with waging war. Sometimes they relaxed by playing a game with dice, as is shown in the pictures above. (Achilles and Ajax)
There has been speculation that this gaming scene depicts a now-lost episode from the ancient epic. Most scholars have rejected this idea, saying that the scene works on its own without the need for a detailed back-story.
Many vase-painters created versions of the gaming scene around this time. More than a hundred examples survive. The pictures above are just two examples.
The first amphora is signed by Exekias
540-530 BC
Made in Attica, Greece
Held at the Vatican Museum
The second amphora is attributed to the Lysippides Painter.
530BC
Made in Attica, Greece.
Held at the British Museum
During the first nine years of the campaign the Achaeans were not only busy with waging war. Sometimes they relaxed by playing a game with dice, as is shown in the pictures above. (Achilles and Ajax)
There has been speculation that this gaming scene depicts a now-lost episode from the ancient epic. Most scholars have rejected this idea, saying that the scene works on its own without the need for a detailed back-story.
Many vase-painters created versions of the gaming scene around this time. More than a hundred examples survive. The pictures above are just two examples.
The first amphora is signed by Exekias
540-530 BC
Made in Attica, Greece
Held at the Vatican Museum
The second amphora is attributed to the Lysippides Painter.
530BC
Made in Attica, Greece.
Held at the British Museum
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