The Ancient Roman World

What we’re seeing here is the winged personification of love in Roman mythology on a gold ring. Cupid is often depicted as a boy archer armed with arrows of love,but in this ring, you see Cupid getting fitted for his armor by 2 other angels and a shield lying on the ground as if Cupid was preparing himself for war.

Vertumnus and Pomona is a Roman mythological love affair involving a man who could transform himself into as many forms as he wished and a beautiful nymph who had sacred wood that made her garden bloom in abundance. This is a lead sculpture created by John Cheere. Vertumnus had transformed himself into an old woman to gain access to the garden and try to win over Pomona. Not falling for his disguise Pomona see’s who Vertumnus really is and falls in love with him.

This coffin made of lead was excavated in Sidon, Levanon; west of Syria. Made during the roman imperial period this lid can be found in the British Museum. In Greek and Roman mythology, Psyche (the figure on the lid) was the personification of the soul and is represented on the lid and on the sides of this coffin with the wings of a butterfly, reflecting the way in which the soul was supposed to fly from the body at the end of life.

In dynamic composition, the attacker Samson holds an animal’s jawbone in his right hand, while grasping the hair of his victim in his left hand. The British sculptor John Cheere made this and many more sculptures like this within his lifetime. 'Samson and a Philistine' originally formed the apex of an ornamental fountain made for the Medici in Florence about 1560.

This Portland vase was created sometime between 1AD – 25AD and have been interpreted many times with a historical or a mythological point of view. It could be said that the subject is clearly one of love and marriage with a mythological theme. When and where exactly this vase was found isn’t exactly accurate.

This gold-glass medallion shows a husband, wife, and the Greek hero Herakles. Both made and acquired in Rome, this medallion was found mounted in the walls of the Christian catacombs in Rome. The Latin inscription may be translated: 'Orfitus and Constantia. Live happily in the name of Herakles, conqueror of the Underworld'.

This painting of Echo and Narcissus painted by John William Waterhouse is the roman myth when Echo falls in love with Narcissus. Narcissus sees his own reflection in the fountain and becomes infatuated with it and consequently despised Echo. She then pined away until only her voice remained.

This sculpture was made by Horartio Greeniugh in Florence around 1847. Greenough was the first American sculptor to study in Italy. In classical mythology, Castor and Pollux were twins. Castor was killed in battle, but the god Zeus allowed them to spend alternate days on earth, greeting each other in passing.