Images

Wooden hoe formed from a wooden handle-shaft, separate wooden blade inserted into a hole in the shaft, and rope bridging the two pieces. This allowed the angle of the blade to be adjusted.

Female figurine known as the Karpathos Lady. Limestone, 4500-3200 BCE. Found on Karpathos, Greece. This object is the oldest Greek statue in the British Museum's collection. Particular care has been taken to define the face, breasts and...

Olmec Mask. Greenstone, 900-400 BCE. Mexico. This mask is too small to be worn on the face, therefore it could have been jewellery or part of a headdress. The Olmec ruled in Mexico from about 1400 to 400 BCE. They built the first cities...

Statue of Mithras. Marble, 100-200 CE. Rome, Italy. After Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, pagan worship was persecuted, including the cult of the god Mithras. Today we know little about the beliefs and practices...

Hypatia of Alexandria portrayed by Rachel Weisz in the motion picture "Agora".

A red-figure krater depicting the Argonauts and Hercules who joined Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. 4650-450 BCE. (Louvre Museum, Paris)

A marble relief showing the fate of Ixion who was tied to an ever-spinning wheel in Hades. 1st-2nd century CE. (Archaeological Museum of Side, Turkey)

An Egyptian protective amulet in the form of the Eye of Horus (wedjat). Earthenware, 6th-4th century BCE. (Louvre Museum, Paris)

A Roman statue of Polymnia, the Muse of hymns to the gods and heroes. 2nd century CE. (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark)

An illustration indicating the tattoos present on the Egyptian Mummy of Amunet, a priestess of the goddess Hathor in the 11th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. (Daniel Fouquet, ‘Le Tatouage Medicale en Egypte dans l’Antiquite et a l’Epoque Actuelle’...