- The Himtation. A garment worn in Greece and Rome between 550 B.C. and 300 A.D.
From this time onward another garment, distinct in itself, came into general use, and remained until the end of the Classic Greek Period. This was the himation, an essential part of a Greek woman's costume, and indispensable with the Ionic chiton. It was often worn in the house, and always out of doors. In shape it resembled a shawl, and was an oblong piece of woollen or linen material, twelve to fifteen feet long, and in breadth about equal to the height of the wearer. - The Himation, 600-146 B.C.
The Himation was not exclusively a feminine garment; it was also worn by men. It was an oblong piece of material, woven with a border, and in dimensions approximately eighteen feet by six feet. During the sixth century of the Classic Period, it was often the sole garment worn. How to wear it. It was draped over the left arm, with one end hanging in front, the rest of the material being drawn across the back, round the body on the right side, and over the left shoulder again. As civilisation progressed, it was deemed necessary by ordinary men to add an under-garment—either the chiton or the kolobus. - The hieroglyphics describe the dance
A favourite figure dance was universally adopted throughout the country, in which two partners, who were usually men, advanced toward each other, or stood face to face upon one leg, and having performed a series of movements, retired again in opposite directions, continuing to hold by one hand and concluding by turning each other round. - The Goddess Apit
- The God Osiris
The God Osiris - The God Amsu
- The Gěrănŏs from a vase in the Museo Borbonico, Naples
Grown up men and women did not dance together, but the youth of both sexes joined in the Hormŏs or chain dance and the Gěrănŏs, or crane. The Gěrănŏs, originally from Delos, is said to have been originated by Theseus in memory of his escape from the labyrinth of Crete It was a hand-in-hand dance alternately of males and females. The dance was led by the representative of Theseus playing the lyre. - The Forum with the Adjoining Buildings
A. The Forum. 1. Pedestal of the statue of Augustus. 2. Pedestal of the statue of Claudius. 3. Pedestal of the statue of Agrippina. 4. Pedestal of the statue of Nero. 5. Pedestal of the statue of Caligula. 6. Pedestals of equestrian statues. 7. Pedestals of standing figures. 8. Pedestal for three equestrian statues. 9. Speaker's platform 10. Table of standard measures 11. Room of the supervisor of measures. B. The Basilica. a. Entrance court. 1. Corridor. 2. Main room. 3. Tribunal. 4-4. Rooms at the ends of the tribunal. C. The Temple of Apollo. 1. Colonnade. 2. Podium. 3. Cella. 4. Altar. 5. Sundial. 6. Sacristan's room. 7-7. Rooms made from earlier colonnade. D. D'. Market Buildings. E. Latrina. F. F. City Treasury. G. Commemorative Arch. H. Temple of Jupiter. I. Arch of Tiberius. K. The Provision Market—Macellum. 1. Portico. 2. Colonnade. 3-3. Market stalls. 4. Market for meat and fish. 5. Chapel of the imperial family. 6. Banquet room. 7. Round structure with water basin—Tholus. 8. Pen. L. Sanctuary of the City Lares. 1. Main room, unroofed, with an altar in the centre. 2. Apse, with shrine. 3. Recesses with pedestals. 4. Niche opening on the Forum. M. Temple of Vespasian. 1. Colonnade. 2. Altar. 3. Cella. 4. Portico. N. The Building of Eumachia. O. The Voting Place—Comitium. 1. Recess opening on the main room. 2. Recess opening on the Forum. P-R. Municipal Buildings. P. Office of the duumvirs. Q. Hall of the city council. R. Office of the aediles. S. Fountain. - The Forum Triangulare, with Adjacent Buildings
A. Portico at the Entrance of the Forum Triangulare. B. Forum Triangulare. 1, 1. Colonnade. 2. Promenade. 3. Doric temple. 4. Semicircular bench, with sundial. 5. Sepulchral enclosure. 6. Altars. 7. Well house. 8. Pedestal of the statue of Marcellus. C. Open-air Gymnasium—Palaestra. 1. Colonnade. 2. Pedestal with steps behind it. 3, 3. Dressing rooms. D. Tank for Saffron Water. E. Large Theatre. 1. Dressing room. 2. Stage. 3. Orchestra. 4. Ima cavea. 5. Media cavea. 6. Summa cavea, over a corridor. 7, 7. Tribunals. F. Small Theatre. 1. Dressing room. 2. Stage. 3, 3. Tribunalia. G. Theatre Colonnade, used as Barracks for Gladiators. 1. Passage leading from Stabian Street. 2. Entrance. 3. Doorkeeper's room. 4. Passage to the Large Theatre, walled up. 5. Stairway leading down from the Forum Triangulare. 6. Athletes' waiting room—Exedra. 7. Room with remains of weapons and cloth. 8. Guard room. 9. Stairs leading to overseer's rooms. 10. Kitchen. 11. Mess room. H. Temple of Zeus Milichius. 1. Colonnade. 2. Altar. 3. Cella. 4. Sacristan's room. I. Temple of Isis. 1. Colonnade. 2. Cella. 3. Shrine of Harpocrates. 4. Purgatorium. 5. Hall of initiation. 6. Hall of the Mysteries. 7. Priest's residence. K. City Wall. L. Foundations of Steps. - The figure of the goddess was a colossal one
The figure of the goddess [Athene], fashioned by the magic hands of the sculptor Pheidias, was a colossal one. Calm, majestic, with a smile upon her face, she stood in her wondrous temple, clad in a robe of gold. On her head she wore a helmet, in her right hand she held fast a little golden figure of the goddess of victory, while her left lay upon her shield. At her feet a snake lay coiled. - The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Nebseni (XVIIIth dynasty)
The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Nebseni (XVIIIth dynasty) - The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Ani (XVIIIth dynasty)
The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Ani (XVIIIth dynasty) - The Doric Himation
The Doric Himation - 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 - The Crinkled Ionic Chiton
The top part. The crinkled Ionic chiton was shaped like the original garment, but made of even thinner material, almost transparent, for the limbs could be seen through it. It was necessarily thinner, as more material was required in its width. It is seen on statues, the top part being crinkled in some way, in zig-zag or wavy lines, to about the hip level, where it is turned under and secured by an invisible waist-belt. It was fastened by buttons or clasps, or sewn as described earlier, to form sleeves. The skirt part was not crinkled, but, being very full, it hung in many flat folds, which gave a zig-zag effect at the bottom edge. - 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. - The Creation
The god Nu rising out of the primeval water and bearing in his hands the boat of Rā, the Sun-god, who is accompanied by a number of deities. In the upper portion of the scene is the region of the underworld which is enclosed by the body of Osiris, on whose head stands the goddess Nut with arms stretched out to receive the disk of the sun. - The Colossus of Ramses II emerging from the earth
- The Chlamys and Petasos
The Chlamys and Petasos - The Chiton
The early chiton. At the beginning of the sixth century B.C. men followed the example of the women by adopting the Ionic chiton for general use. The masculine variety was a shortened version of the original worn by the women, and reached to just above the knees. In its early stage (sixth century B.C.) it was no more than a rectangular piece of linen, or wool, folded round the body and fastened on each shoulder by buttons or brooches, and round the waist by a girdle; or it could be girded under the arms. It was worn open down one side, and these two edges were usually finished off with a fringe, probably the raw edges left in the weaving. - The bark of the sun
To the Egyptians there was no god of higher than the sun god, who was regarded as the sole creator, and ruler of the world; from the bark in which he traversed the heavens, the great god, the gor of heaven governed all things, and who-soeve in daily life merely speaks of the god, he will think of him. - The Babylonian Cylinder
The Babylonian Cylinder - The Artist Auta
There are only two artists of the period who are known by name. The one was a certain Auta, who is represented in a relief dating from some eight years after the change in the art had taken place. It is a significant fact that this personage held the post of master-artist to Queen Tiy; and it is possible that in him and his patron we have the originators of the movement. The king, however, was now old enough to take an active interest in such matters; and the other artist who is known by name, a certain Bek, definitely states that the king himself taught him. Thus there is reason to suppose that the young Pharaoh’s own hand is to be traced in the new canons, although they were instituted when he was but fifteen years old - The Art of Akhnaton compared with Archaic Art
1. The head of Akhnaton. From a contemporary drawing. 2. The head of a king. From an archaic statuette found by Professor Petrie at Abydos. 3. The head of Akhnaton. From a contemporary drawing. 4. The head of a prince. From an archaic tablet found by Professor Petrie at Abydos. 5. An archaic statuette found by Professor Petrie at Diospolis, showing the large thighs found in the art of Akhnaton. - The Age of Pericles and down to the year 338 B
The Age of Pericles and down to the year 338 B - The African elephant (Elephas Africanus) with rider mounted on its back
The African elephant (Elephas Africanus) with rider mounted on its back. The drawing is an enlarged representation of an ancient Carthaginian coin. - Temple ruins in Paestum
- Temple of Êa at Eridhu
- Tablet at Sneferu at Wady-Magharah
The first living, breathing, acting, flesh-and-blood personage, whom so-called histories of Egypt present to us, is a certain Sneferu, or Seneferu, whom the Egyptians seem to have regarded as the first monarch of their fourth dynasty. Sneferu—called by Manetho, we know not why, Soris—has left us a representation of himself, and an inscription. On the rocks of Wady Magharah, in the Sinaitic peninsula, may be seen to this day an incised tablet representing the monarch in the act of smiting an enemy, whom he holds by the hair of his head, with a mace. The action is apparently emblematic, for at the side we see the words Ta satu, "Smiter of the nations;" and it is a fair explanation of the tablet, that its intention was to signify that the Pharaoh in question had reduced to subjection the tribes which in his time inhabited the Sinaitic regions. - Sweet, piercing sweet was the music of Pan’s pipe
The great god Pan, protector of the shepherds and their flocks, was half man, half goat. Every one loved this strange god, who yet ofttimes startled mortals by his wild and wilful ways. When to-day a sudden, needless fear overtakes a crowd, and we say a panic has fallen upon it, we are using a word which we learned from the name of this old pagan god. Down by the streams the great god Pan was sometimes seen to wander— ‘What was he doing, the great god Pan, Down in the reeds by the river? Spreading ruin and scattering ban, Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat, And breaking the golden lilies afloat, With the dragon-fly on the river. ‘He tore out a reed, the great god Pan, From the deep cool bank of the river,’ and then sitting down he ‘hacked and hewed, as a great god can,’ at the slender reed. He made it hollow, and notched out holes, and lo! there was a flute ready for his use. Sweet, piercing sweet was the music of Pan’s pipe as the god placed his mouth upon the holes. - Sumerian Warriors in Phalanx
Perhaps the earliest people to form real cities in this part of the world, or indeed in any part of the world, were a people of mysterious origin called the Sumerians. They were neither Semites nor Aryans, and whence they came we do not know. Whether they were dark whites of Iberian or Dravidian affinities is less certainly to be denied.[103] They used a kind of writing which they scratched upon clay, and their language has been deciphered. - Street Musicians
- Stone lion at the entrance to a temple
- Statuette in wood 2
- Statuette in wood
- Statue of Rânofir
- Statue of Nebo
- Solon, the wise lawgiver of Athens
Solon, the wise lawgiver of Athens, was a descendant of King Codrus. His father had given away most of his wealth to help his city or his countrymen, so Solon became a merchant, as the sons of noblemen often did in these days of long ago. To increase his business, Solon journeyed through many of the states of Greece as well as to Asia. Wherever he went he studied the laws and manners of the people, just as Lycurgus the lawgiver of Sparta had done. Solon was not only a merchant, he was also a poet, and because he was both wise and learned he was counted one of the seven sages of Greece. When Solon returned from one of his journeys about 593 b.c., he was made an archon and asked to reform the laws. - Snake Goddess and Votary
The snake goddess and her votary from Knossos have, in addition, a kind of apron reaching almost to the knees in front and behind, and rising to the hips at the sides. The costume is completed by the addition of a high hat or turban. Looking at the snake goddess more in detail, we find that the jacket is cut away into a V-shape from the neck to the waist, leaving both the breasts quite bare; the two edges are laced across below the breast, the laces being fastened in a series of bows. The jacket is covered with an elaborate volute pattern, the apron with spots and bordered with a “guilloche.” - sixth to fifth centuries B.C.
Persian Costume of 6th to 5th Century BC - Sistrum
- Sistra
A framework with loose metal bars inserted, sometimes with metal rings added, shaken by the hand. - Single perforated pipe
The first and primaeval musical instruments must have been of the simplest kind. A hollow reed, uttering, when blown with the mouth, one monotonous sound would be the first successful attempt at such an invention. The next step was to vary the sound by perforating it with holes, like to our " Penny Whistle." - Silenus with little Dionysus, Louvre Museum
- Signia
- short-sleeved coat
6th to 5th Century BC - Ship dashed against ship, till the Persian dead strewed the deep ‘like flowers,’
Meantime the Persian ships were driven into the narrow strait. Ship dashed against ship till the Persian dead strewed the deep ‘like flowers.’ When evening fell, two hundred Persian ships had been destroyed and the Greeks had won the great sea-battle of Salamis. The glory of the victory was due to Themistocles. There might indeed have been no battle at Salamis had he not tricked both the Persian king and the Greek admirals. - She changed her into a spider
A glance had been enough to show her that her skill was as nothing before the wonder and the beauty of Athene’s work. Too late the maiden repented that she had defied the goddess. In her despair she seized a rope and tied it round her neck to hang herself. But the goddess saw what Arachne meant to do, and at once she changed her into a spider, bidding her from henceforth never cease to spin. And so when you see a spider weaving its beautiful embroidery on a dewy morning in the garden, or when you find a delicate web in your lumber-room, you will remember how Athene punished poor foolish Arachne in the days of old. - Sewn Sleeveless Kalasiris
Sewn Sleeveless Kalasiris - Serapis
This trinity consisted of the god Serapis (= Osiris + Apis), the goddess Isis (= Hathor, the cow-moon goddess), and the child-god Horus. In one way or another almost every other god was identified with one or other of these three aspects of the one God, even the sun god Mithras of the Persians. - Serapis
The long list of gods was further increased in two ways. The priests sometimes made a new god by uniting two or three, or four into one, and at other times by dividing one into two or three or more. Thus out of Horus and Ra they made Horus-Ra, called by the Greeks Aroeric. Out of Osiris and Apis the bull of Memphis made of Osiris-Apis or Serapis. He carries the two sceptres of Osiris and has a bull's head. - Seleucus I
Tetradrachm with head of Seleucus I - Section of Drain
Besides the coffins themselves, some other curious features are found in the burial-places. The dead are commonly buried, not underneath the natural surface of the ground, but in extensive artificial mounds, each mound containing a vast number of coffins. The coffins are arranged side by side, often in several layers; and occasionally strips of masonry, crossing each other at right angles, separate the sets of coffins from their neighbors. The surface of the mounds is sometimes paved with brick; and a similar pavement often separates the layers of coffins one from another. But the most remarkable feature in the tomb-mounds is their system of drainage. Long shafts of baked clay extend from the surface of the mound to its base, composed of a succession of rings two feet in diameter, and about a foot and a half in breadth, joined together by thin layers of bitumen. To give the rings additional strength, the sides have a slight concave curve and, still further to resist external pressure, the shafts are filled from bottom to top with a loose mass of broken pottery. At the top the shaft contracts rapidly by means of a ring of a peculiar shape, and above this ring are a series of perforated bricks leading up to the top of the mound, the surface of which is so arranged as to conduct the rain-water into these orifices. For the still more effectual drainage of the mound, the top-piece of the shaft immediately below the perforated bricks, and also the first rings, are full of small holes to admit any stray moisture; and besides this, for the space of a foot every way, the shafts are surrounded with broken pottery, so that the real diameter of each drain is as much as four feet. By these arrangements the piles have been kept perfectly dry; and the consequence is the preservation, to the present day, not only of the utensils and ornaments placed in the tombs, but of the very skeletons themselves, which are seen perfect on opening a tomb, though they generally crumble to dust at the first touch. - Scythian Types
Scythians ... as portrayed by a Greek artist.... One of the Few Existing Representations of the Ancient Scythians. From a Greek Electrum Vase. - Scepters
His gods (a) carry a staff as a scepter, which every Bedouin still cuts today, and his goddesses (b) are content with a stalk of reeds. - Sarmatian - Vesta - Paris
- Sarcophagus
- Samnite Warriors
Samnite Warriors (From painted vases) The Romans completely beaten by the Samnites at the battle of the Caudine Forks - Rowers in an Athenian Warship, 400 B.C.
Rowers in an Athenian warship, about 400 B.C. (Fragment of relief found on the Acropolis) - Roman trumpets
The tuba was a straight trumpet. Both the cornu and the tuba were employed in war to convey signals. The same was the case with the buccina,—originally perhaps a conch shell, and afterwards a simple horn of an animal,—and the lituus, which was bent at the broad end but otherwise straight.