Images

The presbytery of Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna (Italy) with its magnificent Byzantine mosaics, built between 527 - 548 CE.

A marble bust of the Hellenistic philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE), founder of Epicureanism. 2nd century CE Roman copy of an earlier Greek original. (Vatican Museums, Rome)

A portrait of the Greek philosopher Antisthenes (c. 450-370 BCE), founder of the Cynic school of philosophy. 2nd century CE Roman copy of a 3rd century BCE original by Phyromachus. (Vatican Museums, Rome)

A Roman floor mosaic dating to between 350 and 375 CE and depicting a rabbit and trap. Food was a popular subject in mosaics throughout the Roman period. Provenance: Toragnola, Rome. (Vatican Museums, Rome).

A Roman floor mosaic dating to between 350 and 375 CE and depicting a mushrooms. Food was a popular subject in mosaics throughout the Roman period. Provenance: Toragnola, Rome. (Vatican Museums, Rome).

A Roman relief panel from a frieze depicting the goddess Leto fighting Giants. She holds a torch in each hand while the Giants prepare to throw large rocks. From a public building, discovered on the Oppius Hill, Rome. 2nd century CE. (Vatican...

A marble bust of the Titan Oceanus, a personification of the sea which the Greeks and Romans believed encircled the earth. Part of a fountain decoration at Hadrian's Villa, Rome, 2nd century CE. (Vatican Museums, Rome)

A statue of a Dacian prisoner with typical pointed hat (pileus) and costume. From Rome, purple-white marble, date unknown. (Vatican Museums, Rome)

A colossal marble head of Roman emperor Tiberius. From a public building in Rome, mid-1st century CE. (Vatican Museums, Rome)

A Roman marble relief depicting Mithras sacrificing a bull. From the Esquiline, Rome, date unknown. (Vatican Museums, Rome)