Images

Marble statue of Eros stringing his bow. This statue is a 2nd-century CE Roman copy after a 4th-century BCE Greek original by Lysippos (Capitoline Museums, Rome).

This is an artist's illustration of how Parthian camel cataphracts may have looked like in combat against Roman legionaries.

The Mausoleum of Roman emperor Augustus in Rome. Completed in 28 BCE and, reaching a height of almost 45 metres and a diameter of 90 metres, it would hold the record as the largest tomb in the Roman world.

Archaeological site of Cyrene, Libya.

The Maya glyph for Tikal. From a stela in the Archaeological Museum of Tikal.

Examples of glyphs used in the Maya writing system. Maya glyphs are placed in columns and are read from left to right in rows of two. From the Archaeological Museum of Palenque, Mexico.

Stela of the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad V (r. 824-811 BCE), from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), modern-day northern Iraq, Neo-Assyrian Empire, 824-811 BCE. It depicts the king, before the symbols of his principal gods. He extends his right...

A panoramic view of the scene decorating the celebrated Portland Vase. The exact significance of the scenes are not known but many scholars believe the vase to show scenes from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis from Greek mythology. 1st century...

A portrait sculpture of Roman emperor Decius, r. 249-251 CE. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)

This is a pair of guardian figures (winged human-headed lions) that flanked one of the entrances into the throne room of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE). Stone mythological guardians, sculpted in relief or in the round, were often placed at...