Images

This mosaic is made of limestone and marble, and it dates from the 4th century CE. It was found at Quintana del Marco (León), Spain. (Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid)

The wolf Fenrir broken loose from his chains and Thor fighting the Midgard serpent with his hammer Mjollnir (also Mjǫllnir, Mjölnir) at Ragnarök from Norse mythology, illustration by Johannes Gehrts from Walhall Germanische Götter und Heldensagen...

Top part of a rune stone found at Sanda, Gotland, Sweden, dating to the Viking Age, thought to depict Odin, Thor and Freyr. The runic inscription reads: 'Rodvisl and Farbjörn and Gunbjörn' (The Swedish History Museum/Historiska Museet, Stockholm...

The World Tree Yggdrasil from Norse Mythology, as envisioned and depicted by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine in 1886.

The "Biche of Balazote" is a hybrid sculpture of an androcephalous bull that has clearly been influenced by Greek models. The beast has the body of a bull and a human head with other animal features. The back was originally plain and abutted...

This torso of Heracles was made in Rome around the 2nd century CE of the finest marble. Heracles' nude figure displays the dazzling truth of a body in the flower of youth and timeless beauty. By contrast with the beauty of the female draped...

This Attica cup was made by the "Colmar Painter" and dates from c. 500-480 BCE. It was made in ancient Greece. (Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid)

This statuette of the Roman god Silvanus dates from the 1st century CE, and it is made from marble. In ancient times, the garden represented a tamed space — a small-scale version of nature. Its fertility and abundance spoiled over into the...

This mosaic with an octopus is made of limestone and dates from the 2nd-3rd century CE. It is from Villaquejida (León), Spain. (Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid)

This verraco of a pig is made of granite and dates from the 3rd-1st century BCE. It was created by members of the Vettonian culture of ancient Iberia and was found in the Spanish province of Ávila. Verracos were sculptures of male beasts...