- Silenus with little Dionysus, Louvre Museum
- Hoeing
- The King Sargon and his Grand Vizier
- Chlamys
- Queen of Assur-nasir-pal
Queen of Assur-nasir-pal - Akhnaton and Nefertiti with their three Daughters
The charm of family life, and the sanctity of the relationship of husband and wife, parents and children, seems to have been an important point of doctrine to him. He urged his nobles, also, to give their attention to their families; and in the tomb of Panehesy, for example, one may see representations of that personage sitting with his wife and his three daughters around him. - Peasants (600 - 146 BC)
The following excerpt from Homer's Odyssey, XXIV. 225, gives details of the costume worn by peasants of an earlier period, and this description applies equally to the dress of peasants between the years 600 and 146 B.C. He was clothed in a filthy chiton, patched and unseemly, with clouted leggings of ox-hide bound about his legs, against the scratches of the thorns, and long sleeves over his hands by reason of the brambles, and on his head he wore a goatskin cap. "Sleeves " did not mean arm-coverings in the way the term is generally understood, but were pieces of hide tied or laced round the forearm, wrist and hand, leaving the fingers free, with possibly a hole for the thumb. This was the first Glove. - Signia
- Circus Maximus
- Statue of Nebo
- Anou or Dagon
- Darius, king of Persia
Darius, king of Persia - Gladiators
Gladiators (from a wall-painting at Pompeii) In 264 B.C., the very year in{v1-490} which Asoka began to reign and the First Punic War began, the first recorded gladiatorial combat took place in the forum at Rome, to celebrate the funeral of a member of the old Roman family of Brutus. This was a modest display of three couples, but soon gladiators were fighting by the hundred. The taste for these combats grew rapidly, and the wars supplied an abundance of captives. The old Roman moralists, who were so severe upon kissing and women’s ornaments and Greek philosophy, had nothing but good to say for this new development. So long as pain was inflicted, Roman morality, it would seem, was satisfied. - Laocoon
- Gladiator barracks at Pompeii
- Hercules
- Binding and pulling grain in the Egypt of the pharaohs
Binding and pulling grain in the Egypt of the pharaohs - The suite of Sargon
- Akhnaton and his Wife and Children
In his capacity as Pharaoh and “son of God,” Akhnaton demanded and received a very considerable amount of ceremonial homage; but he never blinded himself to the fact that he was primarily but a simple man. He most sincerely wished that his private life should be a worthy example to his subjects, and he earnestly desired that it should be observed in all its naturalness and simplicity. He did his utmost to elevate the position of women and the sanctity of the family by displaying to the world the ideal conditions of his own married life. He made a point of caressing his wife in public, putting his arm around her neck in the sight of all men. As we have seen, one of his forms of oath was, “As my heart is happy in the Queen and her children....” He spoke of his wife always as “Mistress of his happiness, ... at hearing whose voice the King rejoices.” “Lady of grace” was she, “great of love” and “fair of face.” Every wish that she expressed, declared Akhnaton, was executed by him. Even on the most ceremonious occasions the queen sat beside her husband and held his hand, while their children frolicked around them; for such things pleased that gentle father more than the savour of burnt-offerings. It is seldom that the Pharaoh is represented in the reliefs without his family; and, in opposition to all tradition, the queen is shown upon the same scale of size and importance as that of her husband. Akhnaton’s devotion to his children is very marked, and he taught his disciples to believe that God was the father, the mother, the nurse, and the friend of the young. Thus, though “son of God,” Akhnaton preached the beauty of the human family, and laid stress on the sanctity of marriage and parenthood. - Elegant Sledge-Hearse
A very showy affair is found in the next illustra-tion, rivaling the mourning equipages of modern times. Among other figures appear emblems of stability and security on the side panels. In this instance the undertaker removed a portion of the paneling so as to expose the head of the mummy-case. It would seem from this, that the modern practice of showing a coffin through a glass side is of great antiquity. Indeed, we seldom find anything new that has not an antiquarian origin, thus verifying the words of the wise man, "There is no new thing under the sun." - Harps, pipe, and flute, from an ancient tomb near the Pyramids
- Circus Maximus - Plan
- Macedonian Warrior
Macedonian Warrior - Pilum
- Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great (silver coin of Lysimachus, 321-281 B.C.) - Egyptian Sledge-Hearse
In one instance, as in the figure, taken from a tomb in Thebes, — an attendant is shown, pouring some kind of a liquid from a jar upon the ground, over which the sledge is drawn, to facilitate its progress. Examples of this nature are frequently seen in Egyptian bass-reliefs, depicting the removal of heavy loads. On this sledge-hearse the mummy-case, enclosing the corpse, is distinctly observed. With characteristic tenderness, two females steady the mummy as it moves along over the rough surface of the ground; the priest, meanwhile, mounted in front, scroll in hand, recites a panegyric, or perhaps delivers a funeral oration in honor of the dead. - An Egyptian Funeral Cortege
It need not be inferred from what we have written that all bodies were hidden away in the tomb. On the contrary, many were consumed on the funeral pile, some were buried in the earth, while others again, after they had come from the embalmer's shop, were kept in the house for years, until finally they were deposited in the catacombs. The mourning for a good king lasted the space of seventy days, during which the people sang hymns commemorating his virtues, reading their garments, and covering their heads with mud and dust, some three hundred persons of both sexes coming together twice each day to publicly sing a funeral dirge, the entire nation abstaining from meat and other dainties during the whole time. On the last day of mourning, or in some instances many months afterward, the time for sepulture arrived. Supposing that an embalmed king is to be laid away, perhaps in a tomb on which a lifetime of preparation has been bestowed, the body is now brought out from the closet, where it has been carefully stored since the funeral ceremonies were performed, and given to the undertaker, who comes with a sledge-hearse, as shown in the engraving. The several figures are thus arranged: in the center appear the sacred cows, decked with elegant blankets and ornamental head and neck gear, which last (of a peculiar pattern) is found attached to the heads of all female animals, in Egyptian bass-reliefs, drag-ropes in this case being fastened to the horns, evidently " more for ornament than use," two attendants furnishing the motive-power, while the third acts as conductor. In the foreground are four more representatives of the genus homo. First, we notice the priest, as indicated by the peculiarity of his dress. He appears in the act of anointing the dead body with sacred oil, or some other liquid, from a vessel of peculiar shape. Just in front of the priest, squatting near the earth, we find a mercenary mourner, her hair disheveled, her breasts exposed, and her hands fixed in the position most expressive of grief, no doubt crying as sincerely as in hired mourning it has ever been done. Around the third figure centers the greatest interest, since it represents the dead dressed in cerements for the tomb, to which the body is now about to be carried. The fourth, supporting the corpse in a leaning position, represents an attendant, who, in all probability, officiates both as priest and undertaker. - Athenian Foot-soldier
Monument of Athenian foot soldier found near Marathon. - Plan of Parthenon
- Hestia
- Atrium
- Pantheon, seen in section from the inside
- Floor plan of the Erechtheum
- Wagon and Boat, from a mummy bandage
A singular instance of the wagon and funeral-boat in combination has been found on the bandage of a mummy, now preserved in the collection of S. d'Athanasi. It is supposed by some modern authors that Herodotus, in speaking of the religious ceremonies in honor of Mars, as performed in the city of Pampremis, refers to this vehicle. Among other things, he tells us that the priests placed an image in a wooden temple, gilded all over, which they carried to a sacred dwelling; "then the few who were left about the image draw a four-wheeled carriage containing the temple and the image." - Niobe with her youngest daughter
- Mausoleum
- short-sleeved coat
6th to 5th Century BC - The suite of Sargon 2
- Mummy
- Greek figures in a solemn dance. From a vase at Berlin
Amongst the earliest representations that are comprehensible, we have certain Egyptian paintings and some of these exhibit postures that evidently had even then a settled meaning, and were a phrase in the sentences of the art. Not only were they settled at such an early period (B.C. 3000) but they appear to have been accepted and handed down to succeeding generations, and what is remarkable in some countries, even to our own times. - Etruscan mode of drinking
The mode of drinking from the ἀμφορεύς, bottle or amphora, and from a wine skin, is taken from a painting on an Etruscan vase. - Ouah-ab-ra
- Villa of an Egyptian Noble
The Egyptians excelled in architecture, and the greatest of their buildings were the pyramids. As to whether or not there was much invention devoted to those works, it is virtually impossible now to know. The probability seems to be that they could not have been produced without the promptings of the inventor, but that the progress was a slow and gradual march. It seems that there was a long series of many small inventions that made short steps, and not a few basic inventions that proceeded by great leaps. - The Doric Chiton
The Doric Chiton, 550 B.C. {circa)-A.D. 100 About the same time, or shortly after the introduction of the Ionic chiton, a variation of the peplos was adapted under the name of the Doric chiton. It was worn simultaneously with the Ionic chiton, even to the end of the first century A.D., as may be seen on many vase paintings and pieces of sculpture. It was made of fine woollen material and woven complete in itself - Greek war galley
At this point, it is worth pausing to consider in detail the war galley which the Phœnicians had developed and which they handed down to the Greeks at this turning point in the world's history. The bireme and the trireme were adopted by the Greeks, apparently without alteration, save that at Salamis the Greek galleys were said to have been more strongly built and to have presented a lower freeboard than those of the Phœnicians. - King Assur-nasir-pal
King Assur-nasir-pal - Bust of Thothmes I, the first great Egyptian Conqueror
Thothmes I. was the grandson of the Aahmes who drove out the Hyksôs. He had thus hereditary claims to valour and military distinction. The Ethiopian blood which flowed in his veins through his grandmother, Nefertari-Aahmes, may have given him an additional touch of audacity, and certainly showed itself in his countenance, where the short depressed nose and the unduly thick lips are of the Cushite rather than of the Egyptian type. His father, Amen-hotep I., was a somewhat undistinguished prince; so that here, as so often, where superior talent runs in a family, it seems to have skipped a generation, and to have leapt from the grand-sire to the grandson. - Persian
The costume is considered to be that of a Jewish captive of the Persian conqueror and dates sixth to fifth centuries B.C - Assyrian inscription
- Phrygian helmets, bow, bipennis, quiver, tunic, axe and javelin
- Egyptian wig
Egyptian Wig - Poseidin
- Ploughing
- Lion from Assyrian Bas-relief
Lion from Assyrian Bas-relief - Gallery in the Great Pyramid
The Great Gallery is also of curious construction. Extending for a distance of one hundred and fifty feet, and rising at an angle of 26° 18', it has a width of five feet at the base and a height of above thirty feet. The side walls are formed of seven layers of stone, each projecting a few inches over that below it. The gallery thus gradually contracts towards the top, which has a width of four feet only, and is covered in with stones that reach across it, and rest on the walls at either side. The exact object of so lofty a gallery has not been ascertained; but it must have helped to keep the air of the interior pure and sweet, by increasing the space through which it had to circulate. - Babylonish Coffin and Lid of Green Glazed Pottery
Stone is very rare in Chaldea, and could be brought only at great expense from a distance. Hence all the buildings of earlier ages were built of bricks. o we read of the Tower of Babel, that "they had bricks for stone." The outsides of the buildings were covered with burnt or kiln-dried bricks to keep out the rain. More elaborate specimens of their pottery appear in articles for domestic uses, and especially in their coffins. - The Crinkled Chiton and the Clamys (left) and the Chiton (right)
The later chiton. Approximately at the beginning of the fifth century B.C., the chiton was made on the same principle as the women's Ionic chiton using wider material; and was bound or worked at the top edge, with the portion covering the upper arms slightly gathered. This part was buttoned or clasped back to front, and. later on sometimes sewn together, to form a sleeve. It was girded at the waist and under the arms. It eventually became customary to sew up the open side, thus making the garment a cylinder in shape. The figure on left is a young man wearing a crinkled chiton under the chlamys. His long hair is twisted up and banded. He carries his petasos in his hand. The figure on right represents a young man dressed in accordance with the fashion of the fifth century B.C., but his hair is of the sixth and fifth centuries. The lyre is a development of the more primitive instrument of an earlier Age. - Phoenician patera
Phoenician patera, from Idalium, showing a religious ritual dance before a goddess in a temple around a sun emblem. From the Phoenicians we have illustrated examples, but no record, whereas from their neighbours the Hebrews we have ample records in the Scriptures, but no illustrations. - Roman temple (maison carrée) in Nîmes
- Egyptian Female Costume
Egyptian Female Costume