Armoury
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Greek
Wall Reliefs
Hippocratic
Oath Greek Medicine Relief
Size: 12.5"H Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
This Hippocratic Oath Wall Relief shows
the famous hippocratic oath developed by Hippocrates in Ancient
Greece. The oath reads as follows.
I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepios and Hygieia and Panacea
and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I
will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this
covenant:
To hold him who has taught me this
art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with
him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and
to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and
to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee
and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and
all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has
instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have
taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else. I will
apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my
ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. I
will niether give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor
will I make a suggestion to this effect...
Size: 13.5W x 10.5"H (35 x
27cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Poseidon was above all, the God of the
Sea, who was capable of calming the waves or of summoning up
terrible storms and so taking the lives of those who displayed
disrespect for him. One of the twelve Olympic Gods, he was brother
of the mighty Zeus and son of Cronus and Rhea. Poseidon helped Zeus
in the Battle of the Titans and received his famous trident, which
became his symbol from the Cyclopes. He also contributed to the
victory of the Gods in the Battle of the Giants. Zeus, Poseidon and
Hades shared out power over the cosmos. Zeus was given the sky,
Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld. He was usually depicted
voyaging across the waves in his golden chariot, drawn by monstrous
animals, half horse and half serpent, surrounded by dolphins,
nereids, and the other creatures of the deep.
Size: 17"H x 10"W (43 x
25cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Acropolis Museum, Athens. 460 B.C.
Athena was the Goddess of wisdom and women's crafts in the mythology
of the Greeks. She was also a defender against evil and as such she
was a warrior Goddess par excellence. She was the daughter of Zeus
and Metis. When Metis became pregnant, Gaia and Uranus told Zeus
that after giving birth to a daughter, she would then have a son by
Zeus who would later dethrone him. On Gaia's advice, Zeus swallowed
Metis. When the time came for the child to be born, Zeus was
afflicted with a dreadful headache and sought the help of Hephaestus
who split his skull with a bronze axe to relieve the pain. A girl in
full armor sprang forth from his head: It was Athena. Athena's
attributes were the spear, the helmet and the Aegis (a goat-skin
shield).
Size: 13 X 7 X 1.5 Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Athens, Greece, 447 – 432 B.C.
The Parthenon is the great temple of Athena Parthenos, the chief
goddess and protectress of Athens. The Parthenon is the highest
achievement of ancient Greek classical art and the most significant
and representative monument of the Athenian democracy at the height
of its glory. The Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC on the
Acropolis of Athens and replaced an older temple of Athena, called
the Pre-Parthenon, that was destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480
BC. Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon was also used as a
treasury. In the 6th century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a
Christian church. After the Ottoman conquest, it was converted into
a mosque in the early 1460s. On September 28, 1687, an Ottoman
ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian
bombardment. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon
and its sculptures. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed
some of the surviving sculptures, with Ottoman permission. These
sculptures, now known as the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles, were sold
in 1816 to the British Museum in London, where they are now
displayed.
Size: 11"H x 12"W (28 x
30cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
This relief represents one of the twelve
labors that Hercules was required to do by King Eurystheus. King
Eurystheus decided Hercules' first task would be to bring him the
skin of an invulnerable lion which terrorized the hills around Nemea.
Setting out on such a seemingly impossible labor, Hercules came to a
town called Cleonae, where he stayed at the house of a poor
workman-for-hire, Molorchus. When his host offered to sacrifice an
animal to pray for a safe lion hunt, Hercules asked him to wait 30
days. If the hero returned with the lion's skin, they would
sacrifice to Zeus, king of the gods. If Hercules died trying to kill
the lion, Molorchus agreed to sacrifice instead to Hercules, as a
hero. When Hercules got to Nemea and began tracking the terrible
lion, he soon discovered his arrows were useless against the beast.
Hercules picked up his club and went after the lion. Following it to
a cave which had two entrances, Hercules blocked one of the
doorways, then approached the fierce lion through the other.
Grasping the lion in his mighty arms, and ignoring its powerful
claws, he held it tightly until he'd choked it to death. Hercules
returned to Cleonae, carrying the dead lion, and found Molorchus on
the 30th day after he'd left for the hunt. Instead of sacrificing to
Hercules as a dead man, Molorchus and Hercules were able to
sacrifice together, to Zeus. When Hercules made it back to Mycenae,
Eurystheus was amazed that the hero had managed such an impossible
task. The king became afraid of Hercules, and forbade him from
entering through the gates of the city. Furthermore, Eurystheus had
a large bronze jar made and buried partway in the earth, where he
could hide from Hercules if need be. After that, Eurystheus sent his
commands to Hercules through a herald, refusing to see the powerful
hero face to face.
Item Name: Hercules Wrestling the Lion Relief
Item Number: G019S
Price: $49.00
Themis
relief, Greek Goddess of Justice
Size: 16 X 11 X 2 Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Themis was the Titan goddess of divine
law and order - the traditional rules of conduct first established
by the Greek gods. She was also a prophetic goddess who presided
over the most ancient of the earthly oracles, including the shrine
of Delphi. In this role, she was the divine voice who first
instructed mankind in the primal laws of justice and morality, such
as the precepts of piety, the rules of hospitality, good governance,
conduct of assembly, and pious offerings to the gods. In Greek, the
word themis meant divine law, rules established by custom and
tradition. Unlike the word nomos, the term was never used to
describe laws established by human decree. Themis was an early bride
of Zeus and his prime counsellor. She was often represented seated
beside his throne advising him on the precepts of divine law and the
rules of fate. Themis was closely identified with Demeter in her
role as the Thesmophoros (Law Bringer). Themis was also identified
with Gaia (Earth) especially in the role of earthly oracle of the
prophetic voice of earth itself.
Size: 9.5"H (24cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
A God of shepherds and flocks, Pan was
depicted with a reed pipe, a shepherd's crook and being half-man
half-goat, with horns, a goat's beard and goat legs. He personifies
humanity's animal nature. He was a popular God, though never part of
the official Olympian pantheon. Pan has much in common with Dionysos
in that he is associated with wine, sex, and passion in general. A
Homeric hymn says that he was the son of Hermes by a daughter of
Dryops. Pan's mother was frightened by her monstrous offspring, so
Hermes took him to Olympus. The Gods were delighted with the child,
especially Dionysos, and he was given the name Pan because he made
them all happy. (In Greek, Pan means "All").
Item Name: Mask of Pan Wall Relief
Item Number: G001S
Price: $49.00
Rearing
Steed Parthenon Relief
Size: 13 X 14 X 1 Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
The Parthenon, Athens, Greece, 5th
century B.C.
This fragment is part of the Panathenaic Procession frieze that
originally encircled the cella (the most sacred part) of the
Parthenon Temple atop the Acropolis of Athens. The frieze was 500
feet long and 3 feet high. The greater part of that frieze is now in
the British Museum in London. The sculpture was done under the
supervision of the great sculptor Phidias and is generally revered
as the climax in ancient Greek art. In this procession of the
Athenian people the troops of horsemen show their pride and joy in
horsemanship and are a tribute to the breeding of fine horses. In
this fragment of the frieze we see a single horseman who holds his
spirited steed in check while he prepares to mount. The body of the
horse is shown smaller than nature. The entire scene is filled with
action and movement. The horseman wears a Thracian fox-skin and a
chiton, fastened only at the shoulder. His head is partially
destroyed.
Size: 11.5"H x 10.5"W
(29 x 27cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
This relief represents Dionysos. His name
meaning “God in Man”, was also known as Bacchus in Rome, God of
wine and the mystic deliriums. He is wearing on his head one of his
most characteristic attributes, grapes and grape leaves. In the old
Greece, Dionysos was celebrated with processions evoking, by means
of masks, the genies of the earth and fertility. These celebrations
were the origin of the most typical representations of theatre:
comedy, tragedy and satyrical drama.
Item Name: Dionysos on a Donkey Wall Relief
Item Number: G002S
Price: $49.00
Athena
Wearing Helmet Relief
Size: 11"H (28cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Piraeus Museum, Athens 380 B.C.
Athena was the Goddess of wisdom and women's crafts in the mythology
of the Greeks. She was also a defender against evil and as such she
was a warrior Goddess par excellence. She was the daughter of Zeus
and Metis. When Metis became pregnant, Gaia and Uranus told Zeus
that after giving birth to a daughter, she would then have a son by
Zeus who would later dethrone him. On Gaia's advice, Zeus swallowed
Metis. When the time came for the child to be born, Zeus was
afflicted with a dreadful headache and sought the help of Hephaestus
who split his skull with a bronze axe to relieve the pain. A girl in
full armor sprang forth from his head: It was Athena. Athena's
attributes were the spear, the helmet and the Aegis (a goat-skin
shield). She attached the Gorgon's head which Perseus had given her
to her shield, and this turned to stone every living thing that
looked at it.
Size: 12.5"H x 10.5"W (32
x 27cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
When King Laius of Thebes learned from an
oracle that he was destined to be killed by his own son, who would
then marry his mother Jocasta, he decided that his newborn son could
not be allowed to live. He ordered a servant to leave him to die on
a lonely mountain. A passing shepherd found the infant and took him
to Polybus, the king of Corinth. The queen, who had never had
children of her own, was delighted that the gods had sent them a
son. They named the boy Oedipus (swollen foot), and they loved him
so much that they never told him he was adopted. Thus, when Oedipus
heard an oracle proclaim that he would kill his own father and marry
his mother, he decided to leave Corinth rather than bring harm to
the parents he loved so much. As he wandered, he came to a
crossroads, where a haughty man in a chariot ordered him off the
road and threatened him with a whip. Oedipus, who was after all a
prince, answered the man with equal arrogance. When the man tried to
strike him, Oedipus pulled him from his chariot and killed him.
Eventually Oedipus came to the gates of Thebes. Guarding the gates
was a terrible monster with the body of a lion and the head and
torso of a woman. She allowed no one to enter or leave the city
without answering the riddle that she posed. If the traveler could
not answer correctly, she would kill and devour him. As no one had
yet come up with the right answer, the sphinx was well-fed, and the
city of Thebes was effectively cut off from all trade and all
contact with the world outside the city walls. When Oedipus reached
the gates of the city, the creature posed her riddle: What walks on
four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the
evening? Oedipus solved the riddle, answering that man crawls on all
fours in infancy, walks upright on two legs in adulthood, and uses a
cane as a third leg in old age. The sphinx was so frustrated that
Oedipus had answered her riddle that she threw herself from the city
walls, and died. The Thebans were immensely grateful to Oedipus for
having rid them of the monstrous sphinx. The gratitude of the
people for their deliverance was so great that they made Oedipus
their king, giving him in marriage their queen Iocaste. Oedipus,
ignorant of his parentage, had already become the slayer of his
father; in marrying the queen he became the husband of his mother.
These horrors remained undiscovered, till at length Thebes was
afflicted with famine and pestilence, and the oracle being
consulted, the double crime of Oedipus came to light. Iocaste put an
end to her own life, and Oedipus, seized with madness, tore out his
eyes and wandered away from Thebes, dreaded and abandoned by all
except his daughter Antigone. After many years of wandering, he
arrived at the shrine of the Eumenides at Colonus, near Athens.
There he died, after having atoned for his crimes by virtue of his
years of suffering and sorrow.
Item Name: Oedipus and the Sphinx Wall Relief
Item Number: G003S
Price: $49.00
Greek
Wrestlers Fighting Long Wall Relief
Size: 31.5"W x 12.5"H (80
x 31cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
In ancient Greece, wrestling occupied a
prominent place in legend and literature. Wrestling competition,
brutal in many aspects, was the supreme contest of the Olympic
Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but
eliminated much of its brutality. Wrestling to the Greeks was not
only part of a soldier's training regimen, but also a part of
everyday life. Youth did not only learn grammar, rhetoric, and
mathematics, but young men also went through physical training which
consisted of dancing and the art of wrestling. Boys were paired up
and learned the art of wrestling in their master's palaestra, or
private exercise court built onto the house of a schoolmaster, under
the supervision of their instructor. The Greek recognized wrestling
as a means of development of grace and symmetry in a vigorous
activity that demands a high degree of skill and physical fitness.
In ancient times, the awards were not medals but a sacred olive tree
wreath. The competition was open to all Greek men who were not
slaves. They could also be of any social status.
Size: 27.5"H x 13"W (70 x
33cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Reproduced from an ancient original
located at the British Museum, London, 1 A.D. Originally from
Rhodes.
The Greeks have a long standing tradition of making reliefs or
statues in tribute to their fallen warriors as grave site markers.
During the Classical era, the warrior is typically identified by his
idealized body form and helmet or sword.
Size: 16"H x 14.5"W (40 x
37cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
The Louvre Museum, Paris. 100 B.C.
They are the beautiful sister Goddesses who attended Aphrodite, the
Goddess of love, and were personifications of grace and beauty. They
spread the joy of nature and lived on Olympus. Their names, number
and parentage vary, but they are generally said to be three sisters
named Euphrosyne, who represented jollity, Thalia identified with
abundance, and Aglaea, a representation of splendor. They are
daughters of Zeus and Eurynome or Hera. They influenced artists
throughout the ages. They were depicted in sculpture and vase
paintings by the ancient Greeks, in Roman wall paintings at Pompeii,
in Botticelli's allegorical painting known as Springtime, and in a
marble statue carved by Canova. In art they are frequently
represented as naked girls with their hands on each other's
shoulders, the two outer figures looking one way and the middle one
looking the other.
Size: 21"H x 13"W (43 x
25cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Piraeus Museum, Athens. 410 B.C.
This scene comes from the grave stele of Chairedemos and Lyceas, two
young athenian hoplites (Greek infantry soldiers) who died fighting
during the Peloponnesian war. During this war, Athens and their
allies lost the war against an alliance of Greek states led by
Sparta which challenged Athens imperialistic ambitions. Greek
infantry usually fought in formations (called phalanx) of several
men deep in a long battle front. The soldiers of this phalanx were
equipped with a bronze helmet, breastplate, greaves (shin guards) on
the leg, round shield, long spear and a short sword. Light armed
soldiers skirmished on the flanks with javelins, slings and bows and
arrows. Since warriors had to provide their own equipment, only the
well to do farmers served in the Phalanx. Only the wealthiest
soldiers could ride to the battlefield on horseback and then
dismount to fight on foot.
During the period between 3200 and 2000 B.C. the small Cycladic
islands (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean became home to a
flourishing pre-Greek culture. The most prominent craft in Cycladic
culture was stone-cutting, especially marble sculpture. The
abundance of high quality, white marble on the islands, encouraged
its wide use for the creation of a wide range of artifacts. Among
these, Cycladic Statues are the most distinctive Cycladic creation
because of the great numbers in which they are found, and the
significance they held for their owners. The majority of Cycladic
Figurines show women, nude with the arms folded over the belly and
the long feet, soles slopping downwards. We do not know whether they
were meant to show mortals or deities, but probably symbolized the
worship of the 'Mother Goddess'. In this case, the statues may have
been conceived as representations of the Goddess, or companions to
her.
Item Name: Cycladic Head on Marble Base
Item Number: G034SM
Price: $42.00
Cycladic
Lovers with Arms Interlocking Statue
Size: 8.5 x 4 x 2.75 Item Type: Statue Material: bonded stone
During the period between 3200 and 2000
B.C. the small Cycladic islands (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean
became home to a flourishing pre-Greek culture. The most prominent
craft in Cycladic culture was stone-cutting, especially marble
sculpture. The abundance of high quality, white marble on the
islands, encouraged its wide use for the creation of a wide range of
artifacts. Among these, Cycladic Statues are the most distinctive
Cycladic creation because of the great numbers in which they are
found, and the significance they held for their owners. The majority
of Cycladic Figurines show women, nude with the arms folded over the
belly and the long feet, soles slopping downwards. We do not know
whether they were meant to show mortals or deities, but probably
symbolized the worship of the 'Mother Goddess'. In this case, the
statues may have been conceived as representations of the Goddess,
or companions to her.
Size: 6.5 x 2.5 x 3.5 Item Type: Statue Material: bonded stone
During the period between 3200 and 2000
B.C. the small Cycladic islands (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean
became home to a flourishing pre-Greek culture. The most prominent
craft in Cycladic culture was stone-cutting, especially marble
sculpture. The abundance of high quality, white marble on the
islands, encouraged its wide use for the creation of a wide range of
artifacts. Among these, Cycladic Statues are the most distinctive
Cycladic creation because of the great numbers in which they are
found, and the significance they held for their owners. The majority
of Cycladic Figurines show women, nude with the arms folded over the
belly and the long feet, soles slopping downwards. We do not know
whether they were meant to show mortals or deities, but probably
symbolized the worship of the 'Mother Goddess'. In this case, the
statues may have been conceived as representations of the Goddess,
or companions to her.
Size: 9.5 x 3.25 x 3.25 Item Type: Statue Material: bonded stone
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, 2800-2300
B.C.
During the period between 3200 and 2000 B.C. the small Cycladic
islands (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean became home to a
flourishing pre-Greek culture. The most prominent craft in Cycladic
culture was stone-cutting, especially marble sculpture. The
abundance of high quality, white marble on the islands, encouraged
its wide use for the creation of a wide range of artifacts. Among
these, Cycladic Statues are the most distinctive Cycladic creation
because of the great numbers in which they are found, and the
significance they held for their owners. The majority of Cycladic
Figurines show women, nude with the arms folded over the belly and
the long feet, soles slopping downwards. We do not know whether they
were meant to show mortals or deities, but probably symbolized the
worship of the 'Mother Goddess'. In this case, the statues may have
been conceived as representations of the Goddess, or companions to
her.
Size: 9"H (23 cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Louvre Museum, Paris. 200 B.C.
Aphrodite was the symbol of female beauty and Goddess of Love,
identified in Rome with Venus. Although Homer describes Aphrodite as
the daughter of Zeus and Dion, the more popular view was that she
was conceived in the foam of the ocean from the seed of Uranus.
Dropped there when he was castrated, her name meaning
"foam-born". Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she
loved Ares and she was known for her many love affairs, notably with
Adonis and Anchises. Aphrodite the most beautiful woman in the
world, inspired lust in all the humans and other creatures of the
planet. No one could escape the traps that she set to amuse herself
with the doings of love-crazed men and women. The passion which she
planted in the human soul was the force that propelled fertilization
and reproduction (Venus Genetrix). Her symbols were the laurel, the
pomegranate, the dove, the swan, the hare and the ram, all of them
connected with physical love and reproduction.
Size: 11"H x 5 1/2"D x
5"W Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Archaeological Museum, Sparta, 5th century
B.C.
Leonidas was a fifth century Spartan military king whose stand
against the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in
central Greece is one of the enduring tales of Greek heroism,
invoked throughout Western history as the epitome of bravery
exhibited against overwhelming odds. After the Persian army of
Xerxes invaded Greece, the Spartan army prepared to joint the armies
of the other Greek states and march to face the Persians, but a
religious festival delayed the departure of the army, so Leonidas
bravely led a small force of Greeks, mostly his Spartan royal guard
of 300 soldiers, but also Thespian and Thebans, against the much
larger Persian army, at the pass of Thermopylae (Pillars of Fire) in
480 B.C. There, Leonidas and his men held the pass for 3 days (Their
tight phalanx wall and discipline were no match for the Persians)
and was defeated only after a Greek traitor revealed to the Persians
the existence of a mountain trail that allowed them to outflank and
attack the Greeks from the rear. All the Spartans and Thespians
died, including Leonidas. Those 3 days gave valuable time to the
Greek armies to prepare for battle and later defeat the Persians.
Item Name: Leonidas Spartan King Bus
Item Number: G0297SM
Price: $64.00
The Classical Greek / Roman figures
included are Diana the Huntress, Discus Thrower, Nike, Athena
Standing, Athena Bust, Venus de Milo and other legendary heroes and
gods. There are ten miniature figures in total.
Item Name: Greek Set of 10 Miniature Statues
Item Number: G092S
Price: $35.00
Winged
Phallic Symbol Statue
Size: 5"H (13cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Dionysus Temple, Delos Island, Greece, 300
B.C.
The phallic bird was used in Ancient Greece for fertility rituals,
and dionisiac processions where participants carried phallic poles.
The unveiling of the phallus constituted an important rite of
Dionysiac celebrations. The phallus was a popular symbol of
fertility. Phallic imagery in public monuments and in ordinary
domestic and commercial plaques can be found at different times and
places throughout the Greek world. Phallic icons were often placed
outside houses,in doorways, walls, boundaries, graves, etc. It was
often used as a symbol of protection and warding off evil. The
phallus not only decorated and protected houses but also
individuals. Amulets of bronze, brass, coral, bone or gold in the
shape of a phallus were often worn as rings or pendants by both
children and adults to ward off evil. Phallic artifacts includes
amulets, lamps, votives, figurines, boundary markers, ornaments,
tintinnabula and pottery.
Size: 8 x 5 x 3.5 Item Type: Statue Material: cultured marble
The Acropolis Museum, Athens, 330 B.C.
Alexander was born in 345 B.C. at Pella, the capital of Macedonia.
As a child, his studies were under the tutelage of Aristotle. At the
age of sixteen, while his father Phillip, the King of Macedonia,
marched against Byzantium he was entrusted with the governing of
their country. When his father was murdered, he became King and
leader of the powerful Macedonian army. After strengthening his
positions in Greece, he undertook a military campaign which freed
the Greek cities of Asia Minor from Persian rule. With an objective
of fusing western and oriental cultures, he then went on to conquer
Egypt, Persia and part of India before his death at the age of 33.
These brilliant accomplishments during his brief life identify him
as one the greatest of all military leaders. The Macedonian ding is
represented as a youth with luxuriantly wavy locks that rise upward
from above the middle of his forehead like a lion's mane, a
characteristic known from all Alexander portraits. Probably an
original work of the sculptor Leochares
Item Name: Alexander the Great Macedonian King Bust
Item Number: G031SM
Price: $53.00
Hippocrates, a Greek physician (circa 460
to 377 B.C.) is traditionally revered as the father of Medicine. Few
details of his life are known to us. It seems that he was the son of
a physician and that he traveled widely in Greece and Asia Minor,
teaching and practicing his art of medicine. The Hippocratic
collection of writings is generally attributed to him, but is more
likely that it constituted a library of the medical school at Kos
where he taught. The collection deals with clinical subjects,
anatomy, diseases of women and children, treatments through diet and
herbs, prognosis, surgery and medical ethics. The latter gave rise
to the famous hippocratic oath which is sworn to by modern
physicians. Measures 10"H x 5.5"W x 6"L.
Size: 7.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 Item Type: Statue Material: cultured marble
Socrates (circa 470 to 399 B.C.), one of
the greatest figures of the 4th century B.C. spent his life
questioning the standards of his fellow Athenians. The famous
Socratic method consisted of probing a man's beliefs and showing
their inconsistency so as to reduce the victim to an admission of
his own ignorance, the first step towards true wisdom. The legacy of
Socrates was a broad understanding of the issues involved in
rational analysis and a sharp logical sense. Many of the young men
who admire him were anti-democratic, and in 399 B.C. Socrates was
tried on the grounds that he corrupted the youth ad denied the Gods
of the Athenian State and was expected to admit hat the state had a
right to dictate the opinions of an individual. Socrates refused,
was condemned and died as a martyr to the freedom of individual
reason, He was given the option to leave into exile or to take
self-administered poison. He shoes the latter.
Size: 5 X 5 X 14 Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Aphrodite was the symbol of female beauty
and Goddess of Love, identified in Rome with Venus. Although Homer
describes Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dion, the more
popular view was that she was conceived in the foam of the ocean
from the seed of Uranus. Dropped there when he was castrated, her
name meaning "foam-born". Aphrodite was married to
Hephaestus, but she loved Ares and she was known for her many love
affairs, notably with Adonis and Anchises. Aphrodite the most
beautiful woman in the world, inspired lust in all the humans and
other creatures of the planet. No one could escape the traps that
she set to amuse herself with the doings of love-crazed men and
women. The passion which she planted in the human soul was the force
that propelled fertilization and reproduction. Her symbols were the
laurel, the pomegranate, the dove, the swan, the hare and the ram,
all of them connected with physical love and reproduction.
Size: 6.75"H x 4"W x
4.5"D Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
360 B.C.
She was the daughter of Asclepios, the God of medicine. She was
worshiped as the Goddess of Health. Her worship probably started in
the 4th century at Epidauros in association with the great temple to
Asclepios that was bringing thousands of infirm people to that city
for medical assistance. The beautiful marble head from which this
reproduction was made has a divine sweetness and is thought to have
been the work of Skopas, one of the three greatest sculptors of the
4th century B.C. It probably belonged to a statue which stood in the
temple of Athena Alea at Tegea in the Peleponnese.
Statue alone is 5.75"H x 4"W x 4.5"D. Base is
.75"H x 4" square. Overall height is 6.75"H x
4"W x 4.5"D.
Item Name: Hygeia Head
Item Number: G066SM
Price: $58.00
Aphrodite
Kneeling Statue
Size: 9.5 x 5 x 3.25 Item Type: Statue Material: bonded marble
Aphrodite was the symbol of female beauty
and Goddess of Love, identified in Rome with Venus. Although Homer
describes Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dion, the more
popular view was that she was conceived in the foam of the ocean
from the seed of Uranus. Dropped there when he was castrated, her
name meaning "foam-born". Aphrodite was married to
Hephaestus, but she loved Ares and she was known for her many love
affairs, notably with Adonis and Anchises. Aphrodite the most
beautiful woman in the world, inspired lust in all the humans and
other creatures of the planet. No one could escape the traps that
she set to amuse herself with the doings of love-crazed men and
women. The passion which she planted in the human soul was the force
that propelled fertilization and reproduction. Her symbols were the
laurel, the pomegranate, the dove, the swan, the hare and the ram,
all of them connected with physical love and reproduction.
Size: 11.5"H (29cm) Item Type: wall plaque Material: bonded stone
Ephesus Museum, Turkey. 150 A.D. Greek
Know in Rome as Diana and in Greece as Artemis, she is the twin
sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus and Leto. Artemis was always a
virgin, an eternally young, untamed girl, nourishing all life. Thus
Diana has many breasts because sha has many children to feed. Her
hands form the gesture of bestowing worldly and spiritual blessings.
She is crowned with the Goddess’s sacred vessel, and the lunar
disk makes a halo around her head. Diana is the Earth herself, whose
mountains are breast and whose body is a dwelling place for all
living creatures. Even in the patriarchal era, her worship was so
strong that her temple at Ephesus was considered one on the seven
wonders of the ancient world.
Size: 10"H (25cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
540-530 B.C.
This sphinx was a part of a Attic grave monument of the middle
archaic period that reflected the opulence of the wealthy class of
that time. The sphinx was placed atop a tall shaft, decorated with
high relief sculpture and crowned by a cavetto capital. The shaft
was supported by a rectangular base. All together the monument
stands over 13 feet high. The sphinx is shown crouching instead of
seated. The Greek sphinx had a woman's head, lion's body, serpent's
tail and eagle's wind. In Greek myth the sphinx was sent by Hera to
punish Thebes for displeasing the Goddess. The sphinx settled on
Mount Phicium, near the city and asked everyone who passed by to
answer a riddle she had learned from the three muses: "What
being, with only one voice, has sometimes two feet, sometimes three,
sometimes four and is weakest when it has the most?" Anyone
unable to render the correct answer was immediately slain. One day
Oedipus chanced along that road and guessed the answer: "Man,
because he crawls on all four as an infant, stands firmly on his two
feet in his youth and leans on a staff in his old age."
Completely shattered by her defeat, the sphinx threw herself from
the mountain and Oedipus was acclaimed king.
Size: 9.5 x 4.25 x 5 Item Type: Statue Material: bonded stone
Vatican Museum, Rome, 490 - 429 B.C.
The golden Age of Athens, from 455 to 404 BC, when Athens is
defeated by Sparta, is called the Athenian Age, the Classical Age,
or, after its most important political figure, the Age of Pericles.
Just about everything that is associated with Greek culture is
squeezed into this half century of wealth, energy and creativity in
Athens. All the great works of Greek tragedy and comedy were written
at this time in Athens. Most of the monumental works of
architecture, built from the wealth that poured into Athens from her
imperial possessions, were built at this time: the Parthenon, the
rebuilding of the Agora, etc. Flush with wealth and at peace with
Persia and Sparta, the Athenians invested in a massive cultural
flowering of art, poetry, philosophy, and architecture. Pericles was
swept into power in a popular democratic movement. The democratic
reforms of the Age of Pericles it’s the closest human culture has
come to an unadulterated democracy. Unlike previous rulers of
Athens, Pericles did not rule directly as a dictator. Instead, he
used his eloquent speaking ability and keen sense of judgment to
gain support for his plans and programs for his home city of Athens
bringing change and prosperity to Athens.
Size: 17"H x 9"W x
8.5"L Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
The Athena Pallas is one of the most
important busts surviving of the Greek goddess Athena (Roman
Minerva) because it was carved of Parian marble, found on the island
of Crete, and believed to be carved by the sculptor Cephisodote from
the late Classical period in the 4th century.
Athena--as the Greek goddess of wisdom, skills and warfare--was one
of the twelve Olympians. Here she is depicted wearing her
traditional helmet.
Reproduced after an ancient original in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
Size: 10.5"H (27cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Athena was the Greek Goddess of wisdom and
women's crafts. She was also a defender against evil and a warrior
Goddess par excellence. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. When
Metis became pregnant, Gaia and Uranus told Zeus that after giving
birth to a daughter, she would then have a son by Zeus who would
later dethrone him. On Gaia's advice, Zeus swallowed Metis. When the
time came for the child to be born, Zeus was afflicted with a
dreadful headache and sought the help of Hephaestus who split his
skull with a bronze axe to relieve the pain. A girl in full armour
sprang forth from his head: It was Athena. Athena's attributes were
the spear, the helmet and the Aegis (a goat-skin shield). She
attached the Gorgon's head which Perseus had given her to her
shield, and this turned to stone every living thing that looked at
it.
Size: 4.5 X 3 x 10.5 Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Athena was the Greek Goddess of wisdom and
women's crafts. She was also a defender against evil and a warrior
Goddess par excellence. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. When
Metis became pregnant, Gaia and Uranus told Zeus that after giving
birth to a daughter, she would then have a son by Zeus who would
later dethrone him. On Gaia's advice, Zeus swallowed Metis. When the
time came for the child to be born, Zeus was afflicted with a
dreadful headache and sought the help of Hephaestus who split his
skull with a bronze axe to relieve the pain. A girl in full armour
sprang forth from his head: It was Athena. Athena's attributes were
the spear, the helmet and the Aegis (a goat-skin shield). She
attached the Gorgon's head which Perseus had given her to her
shield, and this turned to stone every living thing that looked at
it.
Size: 7.5"H x 7"L x
3.5"D Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Parthenon Temple, Athens. 465 B.C.
Horses were an integral part of life in ancient Greece. They played
an active role in warfare, transportation and in the games such as
the Panathenaic Games in Athens with its huge contingent of cavalry
riders. Athenian enthusiasm for the horse was clearly expressed in
the many civic buildings and temples that were adorned with
paintings and sculptures of riders and battle scenes showing cavalry
such as in the Parthenon friezes where this wonderful horse head
originates. Two deities, Poseidon and Athena, together served as
protectors of horses and patrons of horsemanship and equestrian
activities. Athena, Patron Goddess of Athens, was credited with the
invention of the bridle and the use of chariots. The horse was a
symbol of prestige, wealth and status. Social rank has often been
defined by the ability to own and maintain a horse. The Aristocratic
families that ruled Athens during the 6th century B.C. often took
pride in their nobility by starting or ending their name with the
word hippos (horse). The aristocracy bred and raced horses from very
early times and it seems that chariot racing was the preferred form
of competition and maybe the foundation of the Olympic Games.
Item Name: Parthenon Horse Head on Marble Base
Item Number: G012SM
Price: $58.00
Aphrodite
and Pan Statue
Size: 8.5 X 5 X 13.5 Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
National Museum, Athens, Greece, 100 B.C.
This reproduction depicts Aphrodite and Pan with Eros just above
them. Pan, goat-footed, is trying to embrance the nude goddess _who
has removed her left sandal with which she teasingly threatens to
strike him as Eros (Cupid) hovers above them. It was found on the
island of Delos (famous as the birthplace of the god Apollo).
Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love, beauty and fertility, identified
in Rome with Venus. Her graceful body symbolizes the Greek ideal of
beauty. Pan was a God of shepherds and flocks, he was depicted with
a reed pipe, a shepherd's crook and being half-man half-goat, with
horns, a goat's beard and goat legs
Item Name: Aphrodite and Pan Statue
Item Number: G042SM
Price: $87.00
Julius
Caesar Head Roman Emperor, Marble Base
Size: 15.5"H x 7.25"W x
8.5"D Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Julius Caesar was a brilliant general and
statesman who had a profound impact on history. Between 58 and 50
B.C. he conquered the Gauls in northern Europe, greatly adding to
the size and influence of the Roman empire. Following a civil war,
he became Rome's dictator and enacted many needed reforms which
helped ensure the success of Rome for centuries to come. His
assassination in 44 B.C. was prompted by the Roman senate's fear
that he wished to become king. Because of his influence on Rome and
history, Caesar is remembered as one of the world's greatest
leaders. Overall dimensions: 15.5"H x 7.25"W x 8.5"D.
Includes marble base which measures 6.5" square x 1.25"H.
Item Name: Julius Caesar Head Roman Emperor, Marble Base
Item Number: Q001SM
Price: $213.00
Pan
Playing Lute Greek Statue, green bronze finish
Size: 10.5"H Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
A God of shepherds and flocks, he was
depicted with a reed pipe, a shepherd's crook and being half-man
half-goat, with horns, a goat's beard and goat legs. He personifies
humanity's animal nature. He was a popular God, though never part of
the official Olympian pantheon. Pan has much in common with Dionysos
in that he is associated with wine, sex, and passion in general. A
Homeric hymn says that he was the son of Hermes by a daughter of
Dryops. Pan's mother was frightened by her monstrous offspring, so
Hermes took him to Olympus. The Gods were delighted with the child,
especially Dionysos, and he was given the name Pan because he made
them all happy. (In Greek, Pan means "All").
Item Name: Pan Playing Lute Greek Statue, green bronze finish
Item Number: g065B
Price: $42.00
Greek
Symbol of Peace Sculpture
Size: 18H X 9.5W X 6.5D Item Type: statue Material: cultured marble
In Greek mythology, Athena is associated
with offering an olive branch in a contest with Poseidon who offered
the horse, useful in warfare. The Gods challenged them to a contest
in which the winner would be awarded the city of Athens for the most
useful offering to the mortals. Athena won this challenge. Here the
goddess grasps with one hand as if to hold an olive branch and the
other holds a dove.
Item Name: Greek Symbol of Peace Sculpture
Item Number: G050BM
Price: $100.00
Aphrodite
of Melos Statue
Size: 12.5"H (32cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Louvre Museum, Paris. 200 B.C.
Her graceful body symbolizes an ideal of beauty that many long for
but none attain. The French named her the Venus of Milo. In 1820 a
peasant named Yorgos found her broken body in an underground cavern
on the Aegean island of Melos. Later she was taken out of Greece
under unclear circumstances to be taken to Paris where she was to be
admired by the millions of visitors to that country's great
museum-the Louvre! Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love, identified in
Rome with Venus. Although Homer describes Aphrodite as the daughter
of Zeus and Dion, the more popular view was that she was conceived
in the foam of the ocean from the seed of Uranus. Dropped there when
he was castrated, her name meaning "foam-born". Aphrodite
was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares and she was known for
her many love affairs, notably with Adonis and Anchises.
Caryatid
Column from Porch of Maidens Statue - Large
Size: 26"H (66cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
The Acropolis, Athens. 465 B.C.
A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural
element such as a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on
its head. Some of the earliest known examples were found in the
treasuries of Delphi, dating to about the 6th century BC, but their
origins can be traced back even further to ritual basins, ivory
mirror handles from Phoenicia, and draped figures from archaic
Greece. The best-known and most-copied examples are those of the six
figures of the Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis at
Athens. Our reproduction represents one of them. One of those
original six figures, removed by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s, is
now in the British Museum in London. The other five figures,
although they are damaged by erosion, are in the Acropolis Museum.
The Romans also copied the Erechtheion caryatids, installing copies
in the Forum Augustum and the Pantheon in Rome, and Hadrian's Villa
at Tivoli. The male counterpart of a caryatid is referred to as a
telamon or Atlas (plural, atlantes) – the name refers to the
legend of Atlas, who bore the world on his shoulders. A caryatid
supporting a baskets on her head is called a canephora, representing
one of the maidens who carried sacred objects used at feasts of the
gods.
Item Name: Caryatid Column from Porch of Maidens Statue - Large
Item Number: G011S
Price: $168.00
Artemis
the Huntress with Stag Statue
Size: 11.5"H x 6.25"W x
4.75"L Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
The Louvre Museum, Paris, 4th Century B.C.
Artemis, also known by her Roman name Diana, was the Greek goddess
of hunting and archery. She is often represented as a huntress with
bow and quiver on her shoulder and dogs or deer at her side. The
Greeks worshipped Artemis as the goddess of chastity and the
guardian of youths and maidens. At the time of the difficult
transition from adolescence to adulthood, the ancient Greeks used to
invoke the support of Artemis and held special rites dedicated to
her. Artemis was a pure virgen who had never known the joys of love
and marriage. Artemis greatest joy was run through the dense forest
hunting with her golden bow, accompanied by her dogs and her
favorite animal, the deer. She was renowned for her skill at
archery. No god or mortal could match her for accuracy. Artemis also
came to be looked up as the moon goddess, just as her twin brother
Apollo was viewed as the sun god. The ancient original of this
reproduction was found in the villa of the Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli
near Rome.
Item Name: Artemis the Huntress with Stag Statue
Item Number: G0115SM
Price: $60.00
Greek
Theater Counter Display for Mini Statues
Size: 16"W x 5"H x
10"D Item Type: Display Material: bonded stone
Greek Theater flourished in ancient Greece
between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The origins of Western Theatre can be
traced back to Ancient Greece. Dramas, comedies, and satyrs were the
main showcases in the theatre. It all began as a festival, honoring
the Greek god of fertility and wind Dionysus. Eventually the theatre
would get exported to Athens' numerous allies in order to promote a
common cultural identity.
Item Name: Greek Theater Counter Display for Mini Statues
Item Number: G093S
Price: $55.00
Hercules
Bust with Nemean Lion Headdress and Club
Size: 11 X 6 X14 Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
Hercules, Herakles in Greece, was the son
of the mighty god Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. The goddess Hera,
wife of Zeus, was hostile to the youth who had been fathered by her
husband out of wedlock. She sent two serpents to destroy him, but
even as an infant in the cradle Hercules strangled the serpents,
demonstrating the power that was to characterize his life. Hera’s
jealousy did not abate. After his marriage she drove him into an
anger that caused him to kill his own children. For that rush act he
was forced to do penance by serving Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, and
performing twelve tasks of superhuman difficulty. They began with
the slaying of the Nemean lion with his own hands. Ever afterward he
wore the lion’s skin which is his symbol. As further tasks he slew
the Hydra and Stymphalian birds, captured the cyrynean stag, the
Erymanthian boar, the Cretan bull, the oxen of Geryon, and the wild
horses of Diomedes, seized the beautiful girdle of Hippolyta and the
golden apples of the Hesperides and as a final labor brought back
the three-headed dog Cerberus from the underworld.
Item Name: Hercules Bust with Nemean Lion Headdress and Club
Item Number: G035SM
Price: $184.00
Nike
of Samothrace (Winged Victory) Statue - Large
Size: 15"H (38cm) Item Type: statue Material: bonded stone
The Louvre Museum, Paris, 190 B.C.
The Nike of Samothrace was found on the island of Samothrace, in the
Aegean Sea, Greece, in 1863 by a French expedition. Nike is the
goddess who personified triumph and victory in Greek Mythology. She
is the daughter of the giant Pallas (warrior) and Styx. Nike and her
siblings were all attendants of Zeus. According to myth, Styx
brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the
coming Titan War. Nike assumed the role of the god's personal
charioteer. At first she was considered an aspect of Pallas Athena,
the dispenser of victory, but she is gradually separated from her.
In her role as a war goddess, Athena, Zeus and Ares can be seen
carrying small figures of Nike indicating that she is an attribute
to them. Nike with Athena is always wingless while Nike as a
separate goddess is always winged. Nike appears carrying a palm
branch, wreath, or a caduceus of Hermes in works of art. She is also
seen erecting a trophy or recording a victory on a shield.
Frequently she is seen hovering with outspread wings over the victor
in a competition. Nike is often shown flying down with a torch and a
wreath to bestow victory on an Athlete. Greek custom shows Nike
draped and the athlete nude. Her Roman counterpart is Victoria. The
Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the masterpieces of
Hellenistic sculpture.
Item Name: Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory) Statue - Large
Item Number: G026SM
Price: $76.00
Greek
Art 
