Below mostly Roman sculptures from Athens ancient agora and the National Archaeological Museum Athens. Looking carefully at the features and expressions stamped into marble these faces come alive and look amazingly contemporary. Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, who ruled from AD 138 to 161. is the third and one of my favorites. As if slightly curious to get to know you he leans forward.
Reliefs from grave stele and temple friezes showing scenes of every day life are invitation for the imagination to visualize life from 2400 years ago. The last one shows the Grave Stele of Hegeso, from around 410 BCE. Hegeso, the deceased examines a necklace from a jewelry box presented to her by a standing maidservant.
My favorite place, the ancient agora of Athens, a quiet oasis in the middle of the city. Between ruins of ancient sculptures, temples, and roads located at the foot of the Acropolis it is a simply a magical place. Unfortunately Keramikos, the ancient burial ground and pottery place outside the cities ancient city walls was closed. The road through it, shown in the last image led to the ancient school of Plato.
Snap shots of modern Athens, the Acropolis Musem, the view of Aiolou road where the party never ends, Monastiraki square, the Kotzia square and city hall and more below
To close out two of the most spectacular sculptures from the Acropolis Museum (left) and the National Museum of Archaeology (right). The statue of Nike, goddess of victory, dates back to some time between 1st and 3rd century BC but absence of emotional expression suggests that it was inspired be the archaic style sculpture (Kore), 600 to 480 BC. To the right a bronze of Zeus or Poseidon, the scholars seem not to agree exactly who it depicts, but they do agree on the date 460 B.C. the height of Athens political might.
