My Museum of Greek History

This Cycladic Figurine survives from the Early Bronze Age. Within this piece we can tell that this is a warrior due to the baldric coming over his left shoulder and an incised dagger near his navel.

The lack of detail in this early figurine, leaves little to be discovered. We do know that the hair is long and in a braid (not pictured) and that we have a male due to the incised genitalia.

Of the ten or so similar Cycladic figurines that survive this is the only figurine to have the baldric over the left shoulder. Still unknown is what else this figure would be wearing and what he was hunting or who he was attacking.

This Cylinder is also from the Bronze Age, but from about 1000 years later. Look at how much more detail this piece contains compared to the first piece.

This piece clearly shows a hunting scene. Unlike the first artifact, we actually see the prey. The hunters are using a bow and arrow to hunt birds.

The real importance of this piece is the figure on the right. We believe this figure to be in some religious clothing and hunting animals to sacrifice to the gods.

Golden sheet ornament from the Dark Age Ornaments like this, were commonly placed on the bodies of the deceased.

The central figure of this ornament carries a figure-of-eight shield commonly associated with Mycenaeans. This associates the deceased with a warrior/heroic ethos culture that idolized warriors.

Death of Hector of Troy As the previous piece showed respect for the dead, this piece shows the disrespect for Hector's body in the Trojan War. This piece furthers the idolization of the deceased and starts a new theme, association with the gods.

This section of the vase shows Patroclus, deceased, encouraging Achilles to avenge his death. This directly correlates to idolization of warriors.

This vase brings to light the association of god/goddess into warfare. The Iliad provides numerous examples of divine interaction. This piece brings for the messenger goddess, Iris. She seems to be communication with Achilles influencing his decisions in some way.

A Persian Immortal. Records from Herodotus describe the immortals with great detail. This relief accurately portrays his description: Lavish clothing and jewelry, armed with spear and bow and arrow, and laced shoes.

One of the most famous vase paintings depicting Artemis killing Aktaion. The vase involves one of the most important types of Greek art style, Geometric art due to the bands of shapes at the top and bottom of the vase. Also, we see increased details.

Artemis the Hunter, with bow and arrow. It is important to see the increased details when looking at Artemis. We see that her hand right hand grasps an arrow on the string of the bow. On her head we can see she is wearing a crown and ear rings. Most importantly, we see that we have a woman. The way the artist painted the eyes, face, and hair undoubtedly depicts a woman.

The right side of the vase depicts Aktaion's death. There are multiple accounts of this myth, but most famous is Artemis killing Aktaion the man with his own dogs. This shows the brutality of gods as one of the many interactions between gods and men.

Decrees for Samos After the Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Athens honored its only remaining ally, Samos.

Looking at the frieze on the top of the monument provides valuable information. The goddesses Athena and Hera embrace each other in a handshake. Both of the goddesses are patron goddesses for their respective cities. This shows the underlying theme of the influence of the gods on warfare.

This coin concludes my gallery. On the left, is the god Dionysos. On the right, is the Greek hero Heracles. These figures together blend the relationship of gods with violence and brutality throughout Greek culture. It gave the Greek people an everyday reminder of the power of the gods and how violent warfare can be.