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CMA: Greek and Roman Art

@cmagreekroman.bsky.social

620 followers 3 following 2.1K posts

Sharing public domain works from the Greek and Roman Art department of Cleveland Museum of Art. Automated #artbot thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

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CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 3h

Victory with Cornucopia (Chariot Attachment) https://clevelandart.org/art/1984.25

In Roman times, the arrival of Winged Victory---touching down to earth, her drapery flying behind her---was a moment not just of military conquest, but was the first step toward peace and prosperity.

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 5h

Stater: Athena (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.996.a

Stater: Athena (obverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 6h

Vessel Ornament of Reclining Flutist https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.184

Vessel Ornament of Reclining Flutist

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 8h

Bracelet https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.182

Bracelet

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 12h

Plate Fibula https://clevelandart.org/art/1970.98

Plate Fibula

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 1d

Stater https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.986

Stater

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 1d

Stater: Archaic Head of Athena (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.992.a

Stater: Archaic Head of Athena (obverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 1d

Didrachm: Royal Head (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.985.a

Didrachm: Royal Head (obverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 1d

Daedalic Pendant with Potnia Theron (Mistress of the Animals) https://clevelandart.org/art/2001.157

The pendant received in 2001 (2001.157) was originally from the same necklace as the identical pendant acquired by the museum in 1999 (1999.88). Both are exceptionally well preserved and depict the winged goddess Artemis, frontally posed and flanked by two lions. Each lion stands obediently on its hind legs, one forepaw placed symmetrically near the goddess's waist, head turned back. In Homer's <em>Iliad</em>, Artemis is called <em>potnia theron</em>, which means "mistress of the animals," a reference that may be applied to this image of the goddess. On the pendants, her image was created in a sheet of gold by burnishing it over a wooden, ceramic, or stone form. Alternating cloisons of green and blue glass enamel within an undulating gold wire frame the goddess and represent the earliest use of this substance yet known in Greek gold jewelry. The small loops at the bottom of the pendants probably held chains attached to pomegranate-shaped beads.

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 1d

Oil Lamp https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.1041

Oil Lamp

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 2d

Stater: Amphora and Bow (reverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.997.b

Stater: Amphora and Bow (reverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 2d

Tetradrachm https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.912

Tetradrachm

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 2d

Stater: Owl (reverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.992.b

Stater: Owl (reverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 2d

Ram-Head Rhyton https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.8

On the bowl three men recline at a drinking party (or symposium): a youth wearing a kidaris (a flapped Scythian hat) plays double pipes as a lyre hangs on the wall behind him; a bearded man holds a kylix in his extended right hand; and another bearded man holds a large skyphos to his chest. Before the heads of each symposiast is an identical nonsense inscription. Flanking the handle in the zone to the left, a satyr plays double pipes; in the zone to the right a maenad dances.

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 2d

Tetradrachm: Zeus Aetophoros Enthroned, Holding Staff (reverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1941.294.b

Tetradrachm: Zeus Aetophoros Enthroned, Holding Staff (reverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 3d

Chalice (?) https://clevelandart.org/art/1923.964

Chalice (?)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 3d

Earring https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.131

Earring

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 3d

Statuette of an Athlete https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.6

This bronze statuette brilliantly and uniquely represents a fleeting transitional moment in the history of Greek sculpture. Between 510 and 500 BC, Greek sculptors moved away from the surface patterning of the Archaic period toward a revolutionary breakthrough in the natural representation of the human form. This change would determine the essence of the early classical figural style known as the "Severe Style." With its striding pose and raised arm, the statuette demonstrates, more clearly than any surviving Greek sculpture in the round, this new understanding of the way the human body moves. The figure's nudity, impressive physique, short hairstyle, and distinctive pose all indicate that an athlete (most likely a javelin thrower) is represented. Today's enthusiasm for and celebration of both sports and athletes come directly from the ancient Greek idea of the victorious athlete as the embodiment of arete (excellence). The heavy, sharply defined musculature suggests a master sculptor from the Peloponnesus--the peninsula forming the southern part of Greece. Although damaged in antiquity, the figure's power and confidence remain compelling.

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 3d

Tetradrachm https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.977

Tetradrachm

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 3d

Piping and Dancing Satyr https://clevelandart.org/art/1945.366

Piping and Dancing Satyr

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 4d

Drachma: Chimera (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.979.a

Drachma: Chimera (obverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 4d

Tetradrachm: Square, Vine, Inscription (reverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.912.b

Tetradrachm: Square, Vine, Inscription (reverse)

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 4d

Satyr Head https://clevelandart.org/art/1925.946

Satyr Head

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 4d

Dancing Satyr Group https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.352

Part man and part beast, satyrs were mythical woodland creatures. In art, they were depicted with the ears and tail of a goat or horse, sometimes with hooves, and in a high state of sexual arousal. Satyrs often accompanied Dionysus, the god of wine, in his drinking bouts and other escapades. These three probably once decorated the rim of a large punch-bowl-shaped vessel for serving wine.

CMA: Greek and Roman Art @cmagreekroman.bsky.social · 4d

Kriophoros (Ram-Bearer), Statuette https://clevelandart.org/art/1998.172

In Greek art, the kriophoros is usually a shepherd or, later, Hermes. This statuette may be unique in presenting a warrior-hero as kriophoros. It is certainly one of the earliest sculptural representations of this type. The figure appears to be wearing a helmet, secured under the chin with a painted strap. Double outlines, reinforced at the bottom with incision and adorned with dotted circles in the area of the nipples, were used to suggest breastplates. A thick waist belt, decorated with painted crosshatched lines, is clearly the heroic zoster (warrior's belt). As described in ancient Homeric poetry, the zoster is the ultimate symbol of valor and prowess, worn by such heroes as the brothers Agamemnon and Menelaos and old King Nestor. This figure is shown in the solemn act of presenting a ram, most likely as a sacrificial offering, to a god or goddess.