Images

This is an idealized image of a female citizen from Magnesia. This honorific statue for a benefactress of the city stood in the town hall of Magnesia on the Maeandar (in modern-day Turkey). The missing inscription on the base of the statue...

This statuette, the so-called Aphrotide Heyl, is one of the most beautiful ancient terracottas in existence. The close-fitting robe of the goddess of love has slipped from the shoulders; her raised left leg perhaps stood on a pillar. The...

Epicurus (341 BCE – 270 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher. The image of the founder of the school of Epicureanism resembles that of Metrodorus. Yet, Epicurus is characterized as a profound teacher with a furrowed brow and knitted eyebrows...

This statuette once stood as a votive in the ritual chamber of the "Holy House" in Priene (Ionia Region, Turkey). The features of the statuette, as well as attributes like the flowing hair and emotional gaze, are strongly reminiscent of Alexander...

The youthful, clean-shaven face of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175 - 164 BCE) resembles Alexander the Great (r. 356 - 323 BCE), with features of age, such as the high hairline rendering the image more realistic. The head...

The image of the young Alexander (r. 356 - 323 BCE) is already characterized by a tuft of hair springing up from his forehead and long, flowing hair. Yet, the emotional expression and the gaze into the distance of later portraits are missing...

The image of the Egyptian queen Arsinoe (reigned 278-270 BCE) and wife of Ptolemy II (c. 285-246 BCE) is similar to that of the goddess Aphrodite. The form of the mouth, with a protruding upper lip indented in the middle, is an individual...

This is the only preserved ancient painting of the imperial family of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. Here, we can see his wife Julia Domna and his sons, Caracalla and Geta, in full regalia. After the murder of Geta on the behalf of...

A detail of a burnished earthenware figurine of a Mongol. Yuan Dynasty, 14th century CE. H. 11 7/16 in. (29 cm); W. 4 7/16 in. (11.3 cm); D. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm). (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Masyaf castle, Orontes Valley, Syria, one-time castle of the Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis) from c. 1141 CE to 1256 CE.