Images

A detail of the south porch of the Erechtheion temple on the Athenian acropolis. The building was constructed between 421 to 406 BCE to house the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena and as a shrine to various local deities including Erechtheus...

A floor plan of the Erechtheion on the Athenian acropolis, constructed 421-406 BCE. On the right, indicated in purple are the six Caryatids of the south porch. The main cella is divided into four chambers, the largest of which housed the...

A print of the Jade Emperor, (aka Yuhuang Shangdi, Yudi and Mr Heaven), the supreme deity in Chinese traditional religion. He is often depicted, as here, seated on a throne and wearing full imperial costume.

No contemporary portrait of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (c. 551 to c. 479 BCE) survives but the most popular print during the Imperial period was taken from a now lost original by Wu Daozi (Wu Taoutsi) in the 8th century CE.

A statue of Confucius, located in Hunan, China on the shore of the Dongting Lake. No contemporary physical likeness exists of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (c. 551 to c. 479 BCE) but he is most often represented as an old man with long...

The Chinese yin and yang are an important element of Chinese philosophy and religion, representing the principle that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, the correct balance of which creates harmony. They are mutually...

A bronze statue of the Hindu god Vishnu represented as the avatar Kurma, the giant tortoise, 18th-19th century CE. (British Museum, London).

A mummified cat from Egypt, late Ptolemaic Period. Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, California.

A collection of Egyptian Bastets and Sekhmets illustrating the importance of cat iconography in Egyptian culture. (Ashmolian Museum, Oxford).

Many of the buildings in the Roman town of Pompeii, preserved following the burial of the town by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, were covered in electoral notices and graffiti on all manner of subjects.