Monumental

... between gods and giants.

The mythical battle – a widespread subject in Greek art.

In the mythical battle with the giants, the gods as the guarantors of a just order are opposed by the mortal giants as the personification of chaotic-seeming natural forces.

The friezes from the other sides are arranged on the opposite walls of the room.

Ambush on the eastern frieze!

Zeus‘ daughter Athena tears Alcyoneus away from the protective power of the earth.

The serpent sent by her tenses for the lethal blow.

Earth Mother Gaia pleads in vain for the life of her son.

The goddess defeats the giant.

Clothes...

Hairstyles...

and footwear...

are reproduced in great detail.

is one of the greatest treasures of the Pergamonmuseum. The impressive Roman city gate of Miletus from the 2nd Century C.E. was excavated on the west coast of Turkey near the city of Miletus in the early 20th Century and brought to Berlin. It was probably built during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian

Around 17 metres high, the city gate is an impressive representation of the connection between imperial Roman and Greek architecture.

Just like many other Greek and Roman buildings, sculptures were part of the Market Gate as well. Only fragments remain of the two larger-than-life statues of an emperor.

...on the left in a general’s armour with a defeated barbarian woman at his feet...

...and on the right in the shape of a naked hero with a cornucopia.

The two sculptures were first set up as originals on the gate in 2009 following extensive restoration – on either side of the central aisle on the lower floor.

In ancient times Miletus lay directly by the sea and was one of the major cities on the west coast of Asia Minor.

The two-story gate was built in the middle of the rich commercial city as a magnificent gateway between two squares, the Agora and the so-called South Market. It was probably built to mark the visit of Emperor Hadrian in 129 C.E.

Like most ancient marble buildings and sculptures, the Market Gate was painted.

But the small vestiges of paint that still remain cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The Museum of the Ancient Near East, too, welcomes visitors with an impressive monument, the Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate from ancient Babylon dating from the 6th Century B.C.E.

Bulls and dragons alternate, beasts symbolising the weather god Adad and the god Marduk.

Sex and war lurk here.

With upraised head...

...the lion strides along the walls of the Processional Way of Babylon. It symbolises Ishtar, the goddess of love and fertility, but also of war.

Ishtar was one of the most important goddesses of the ancient oriental pantheon.

At the close of several days of festivities the cult images of the main Babylonian gods were drawn in a ceremonial procession along the colourfully embellished paved way back into the city.

The facade of the Qasr Mshatta desert palace is the largest example of Islamic art in any museum anywhere. The ruins of the former palace, one of Jordan’s Desert Castles, are today directly next to the airport of the Jordanian capital Amman. For many centuries the site was visited only by Bedouin Arabs with their flocks. They gave the building its name Qasr Mshatta, which means ‘winter palace’.

Since it lacks inscriptions and characteristic symbols, Qasr Mushatta is thought to be one of the temporary residences built by the Umayyads in the Syrian and Jordanian desert and the surrounding area in the 8th Century. As hunting lodges or caravanserai they also provided strategic meeting places with Bedouin tribal leaders.

The only entrance to the building was highlighted in relief decoration.

Above a base decorated with friezes of leaves and winding plants a zig-zag ribbon of acanthus leaves divides the side walls into triangles...

The ornamentation of the Mshatta Facade leaves room for speculation...

...and shows a synthesis of cultures in early Islamic art.

This is where the Christian merchant Isa Ibn Butrus (“Jesus, son of Peter”) once received his guests.

The rectangular reception room is divided into a square threshold area and three raised seating areas. The wood panelling, 35 m long and 2.5 m high, enclosed the lower part of the walls.

Fourteen wooden doors punctuate the panelling. These are an entrance door, cupboard doors and partly windows.

Only on closer inspection does the viewer notice that the central seating area is emphasised by its wide wooden panels with especially high-quality painting and by an ornate cornice.

The sumptuous paintings are what make the Aleppo Room so unique. The religious motifs give a rare insight into the pictorial language of oriental Christians.

They are outstandingly important because only a few examples of art of the 16th and 17th Centuries have been preserved.

The most important Christian motifs are in the main niche next to the door.

Mary and child...

the Last Supper...

and the sacrifice of Isaac.

The most magnificent motifs are the peacocks among opulent blossom trees.

The red background is strewn with flowers and winding leaf tendrils, bouquets of flowers and continuous patterns of stars.

While the figurative paintings are largely inspired by Persian models, the ornamentation is in Ottoman Turkish style.

"God is with the generous ones.
He who is generous
reaps generosity."

The Aleppo Room is richly decorated with inscriptions of poems, psalm texts and proverbs. The texts, too, take up Christian and Islamic motifs so that visitors of both faiths could feel at ease.

The Aleppo Room signals tolerance in an impressive way, showing how different cultures once lived in peace side-by-side.