Friday, 28 May 2021
birthday break 2021
Monday, 24 May 2021
The Unswept Floor Mosaic
The Unswept Floor.
A #mosaic #masterpiece that reminds us yes the Greeks could do detailed still lifes not just gods warriors and heroes. My favorite detail every time I see this is the mouse sniffing.
Sunday, 16 May 2021
A note on the Medousa Tile
MEDOUSA #medousa #medusa
This is thought to be a roof tile and illustrates the strange ambiguity of Medusa half woman half monster with her elaborate curls and long thin braids carefully rendered eyebrows elegantly arched yet bulging eyes and tongue and fangs and an arch of sakes around her
Monday, 10 May 2021
Marginalia of Herodotus
MARGINALIA
This is a #renaissance #manuscript of #Herodotus
The #marginalia were added by scholar called VALLA
While many scholaras might have added notes in Latin Valla has chosen to add them in Greek.
Yes it doesnt look like modern Greek or a printed Greek font but remember refugees from the Fall of Byzantium were teaching in Italy. so this style of writing is not the same as that seen on earlier manuscripts or the fonts we use in modern books.
Thursday, 6 May 2021
The Kamares Krater
May is early summer a time of Flowers so here's a Minoan Krater.
KAMARES KRATER
#kamares #krater #minoan
We can see elements on this that appear in later Greek art though it was long centuries before Greek potters regained the skills of the Minoans.
Sunday, 2 May 2021
May and Maia
MAY and MAIA
I've always thought it strange there are so few depictions of Hermes' mother MAIA
The one below is part of a painting on a vase dated to about 500 BCE