Images

With a lion's body and the wings and head of an eagle, the grffin encapsulates the majesty of both. At one time representing royalty, it gained the role of guardian. Griffins are used architecturally and can be found in domestic objects...

The God Mercury was one of the Dii Consentes (12 major deities in the Pantheon of ancient Rome; 6 gods and 6 goddesses). Mercury was the god of financial gain, commerce, messages, and travelers. Some altars are official offerings by military...

Under Roman occupation, Scotland was an unwilling part of a huge empire whose system and ways were entirely alien to its native people. The price of resistance was slavery or death, crushed beneath the imperial foot; this is a leg from a...

This figure depicts a female; she holds a small child on her chest and a dagger with her right hand. A material of religious significance, the flat gold figures (or Tunjos), were votive offerings left in caves or lakes. They were rarely found...

Mummy portrait of a woman wearing a gold necklace, a Medusa pendant, and golden ear-pendants with pearls, Roman Egypt, 161-192 CE. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Austria.

Parvati, the goddess of love, fertility, and devotion, is the mother goddess in Hinduism. Together with Lakshmi (goddess of prosperity and wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of learning and knowledge), they form the trinity of Hindu goddesses...

Hollow-cast bronze cat, probably a votive offering to the goddess Bastet, from Tell Basta, Egypt, c. 664-30 BCE. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Mummy portrait of a girl, wax encaustic painting on sycamore wood, Roman Egypt, 120-150 CE. Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main.

Surya (the supreme light) was the chief solar deity in Hinduism; he also represents the Sun in India and Nepal. He is one of the core elements of Hindu astrology; Surya was the chief of Navagraha and the Classical Planets. He had 3 wives...

Snakes (nagas) can often be seen in Hindu art; they are demi-gods who represent water or the earth. Here, Vishnu sleeps on the coils of Ananta, the World Snake. He will awaken for the next cycle of creation which heralds the destruction of...