NARRATOR: Amber, to the ancient Etruscans, was magical. For them, it recalled the sun with its fiery, glowing color. Named "electron" by the Greeks, amber naturally generates static electricity and is warm to the touch. These special qualities, combined with its natural beauty, made it a popular amulet, used for protection and healing.

JEAN MACINTOSH TURFA: Amber's ability to float on water made it a desirable charm for sailors---

NARRATOR: ---like the ones shown here, on this pendant. Three circular faces­­---with round, full cheeks---are cradled by a crescent-shaped ship, its sail furled as if coming into the harbor. To the right is their helmsman, in profile, with a pointy nose and chin. Jean Macintosh Turfa is a consulting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum.

JEAN MACINTOSH TURFA: Seafaring and trade played a major role in Etruscan history, from the very beginning of the first millennium B.C. Greeks and Romans conflicted with Etruscan fleets over trade routes and control of the central Mediterranean, and the Greeks and Romans portrayed Etruscans as pirates.

NARRATOR: Ships became symbols of trade, war, and travel, but they may have also symbolized a more metaphorical voyage.

JEAN MACINTOSH TURFA: Some Etruscan tombs and vases depict a ship as part of the voyage to the beyond, or a metaphor for the journey of life.
‍
NARRATOR: This large pendant shows little wear, indicating that it wasn't often worn. In fact it was more likely used in a funerary context. Though its specific use is unclear, this amber pendant could've provided safe passage into the afterlife.

NARRATOR: This vessel is a hydria, or water jug. It takes its name from the Greek word for water, which is *hydros*.

In the center is a lively presentation of the myth of the hero, Herakles, slaying the multi-headed hydra, a poisonous water snake that ravaged the Greek countryside. Herakles is on the right, attacking the hydra with a club. A crab sent by the goddess Hera nips at his heel to distract him. On the left, his nephew Iolaus cuts off one of the hydra's heads and uses the fire between his legs to cauterize the wound. Iolaus must act quickly because every time he cuts off one head, two grow back in its place.

MARY LOUISE HART: The artist has actually helped himself show the numerous heads of the hydra by painting them alternately red, black, red, black. It makes the hydra's movement show in a much more powerful way.

NARRATOR: Mary Louise Hart, assistant curator of antiquities.

MARY LOUISE HART: The painter knows how to use color to achieve his maximum effect, and it's why this pot is a particularly excellent product of Etruscan pottery.

NARRATOR: This hydria was made around 525 B.C. in the Etruscan city of Caere, in modern-day Tuscany. The workshop that produced it lasted only one generation.

MUSIC: [lyre string music]

NARRATOR: In this Roman-Egyptian mummy portrait of a wealthy woman, pearl earrings, a jeweled choker, and gold-ornamented shroud all mark the aristocratic status she would have held in life. Rather remarkably, almost 2000 years after her death, her name is known.

Conservator Marie Svoboda explains.

MARIE SVOBODA: Many Roman mummies from this period have the names of the deceased, and we know her as "Isidora" because there's an inscription on the side of her shroud.

NARRATOR: You can see the name Isidora written in Greek on the upper-left corner of the portrait. This inscription was thought to help the spirit of the dead recognize the body, and for practical reasons, to identify and return it to the family after mummification.

The portrait itself, which was once attached to the mummy, is painted in encaustic, a mixture of wax and pigment applied with brushes and other tools to a wooden surface.

MARIE SVOBODA: One of the features of the encaustic technique is not only the beautiful colors and translucency, but the tool markings that you can see on the surface.

NARRATOR: It took both careful observation and creative license to paint a rather lifelike portrait like this after the subject's death. The artist noted signs of Isidora's mature age, like the creases on her neck and shadows beneath her eyes. But he also added a sparkle to her eyes and flattered her likeness in other ways.

MARIE SVOBODA: You see this highlight underneath her chin and on her neck that is just absolutely beautiful. You also see the light highlighting her lips and down her nose. It's evidence that the artist was very, very talented and really understood the materials.

MUSIC: [lyre music]

NARRATOR: The red paint of her shroud and the type of wood the portrait is painted on, even the technique of encaustic, originated beyond Egypt. These imported materials were chosen to help preserve the mummy. But they, and the overall style of this portrait, also reflect the mix of cultures---namely Greek, Roman, and Egyptian---in the region at that time. Much about Isidora is uncertain. Yet with her distinctive features she seems convincingly real.

NARRATOR: This big marble piece is a sarcophagus. Let's say you own a sarcophagus factory. You're known far and wide for your craftsmanship. When your clients die, their coffins must be ready to receive them. So in advance, you go as far as you can to construct the marble container to house their bodies. Once it's time, you'll personalize the coffin and add distinguishing features to the faces of the reclining figures on top. 

But in this case, for unknown reasons, the sarcophagus was never personalized for its owners. On the outside, craftsmen have carved one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War. On the front, a scene appropriate for a coffin marking the temporary triumph of Achilles and the death and debasement of his enemy, Hector. Achilles too will die. His vulnerable heel pierced by a poison arrow. Antiquities curator, Karol Wight.

KAROL WIGHT: So Hector is being tied to the chariot and Achilles is about to drive that chariot in front of the walls of Troy, which is a great defilement of Hector's body. This was the worst insult that you could heap upon your enemy.

NARRATOR: On the sides of the sarcophagus, you'll see other scenes from the life of Achilles. Stories from the Trojan War, this shared heroic myth helped the Greeks define themselves as a people.

NARRATOR: Leaning on one leg, a nude bronze man lifts two fingers to his head. Is he waving? Beckoning you closer? Perhaps he is thinking, scratching his head at a puzzling thought. Follow his fingers; they point towards a clue. Nestled in the thick waves of his hair is an olive wreath---now missing its slender leaves---which were awarded to the victors of the Olympic games.

MUSIC: [triumphant music]
‍
In Ancient Greece, athletes were typically depicted nude. This athlete has a lean physique with long slender legs and taut abdominals. As you walk around his body, you might notice that he isn't incredibly buff. The soft modelling of his body, paired with his round cheeks, suggests that this athlete is young.

This young athlete lifts his hand to remove his olive wreath and dedicate it to the gods in an act of tribute. The Olympic games were held in honor of the god Zeus, and statues of Olympic victors were erected at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. This bronze athlete was made over two millennia ago---between 300 and 150 B.C.---and would have stood on this sacred hill amidst a sea of statues, hundreds in fact.

Few bronze statues survive from Olympia, as many were destroyed or melted down and repurposed. This athlete is one of a handful of life-size bronze statues, and was preserved, for many years, underwater.

SOUND EFFECTS: [starting at port, we hear the sounds of the ship leaving, a big storm hits]

He was wrenched from a stone base---evident by his severed ankles---and placed on a ship to Italy. The ship wrecked in a storm and sank, with its cargo, to the bottom of the Adriatic Sea.

SOUND EFFECTS: [sound of heavy object sinking in water]

There, for centuries, the athlete waited underwater.

SOUND EFFECTS: [large, deep bubbles]

Slowly, the golden bronze of his skin turned brown and green from the saltwater. His copper nipples lost their shine, and his eyes---once made of ivory or glass---washed away. Over time, he became home to a number of tiny sea-creatures.

SOUND EFFECTS: [distant ship horn, sounds of men yelling, hoisting, splash of an object emerging from water]

In the early 1960s, by chance, a group of fishermen hauled the bronze athlete from the waters of the Adriatic. Though the sea altered his appearance, it also provided shelter, as it was the only way this bronze statue has survived for so long. Now, his triumph is that he is one of few ancient Greek bronze sculptures left in the world.

NARRATOR: Meet Herakles, the superhero of ancient Greece!

SOUND EFFECTS: [sound of trumpets heralding]

Unlike most superheroes you see today, Herakles doesn't wear tights or a cape. Greeks and Romans often showed their heroes without clothes at all so that everyone could see how strong they were!

The sculptor gave us other clues to let us know he's Herakles. There's the big club he holds over one shoulder. And in his other hand? Look carefully, and you'll see it's a lion's skin. Herakles almost always carries these two things.

Herakles was famous for being really strong and really smart. He was given twelve impossible puzzles to solve---and of course he finished them all! The first puzzle, or labor, was to kill a lion with magical fur.

SOUND EFFECTS: [sound of lion roaring]

That's the same lion's skin he carries---its magic protected Herakles from harm.

Some of his labors were real adventures. On the way to steal a golden apple, Herakles had to carry the whole world on his shoulders!

SOUND EFFECTS: [sound of grunting]

And another time he battled an evil creature with nine heads!

SOUND EFFECTS: [sound of hissing]

Every time he smashed one of the heads, two more would appear. But of course he won---no problem. He was Herakles!

SOUND EFFECTS: [sound of trumpets heralding]

SOUND EFFECTS: [soft rolling of waves, seagulls, coastal sounds]

NARRATOR: Southeast of Greece, in the Aegean Sea, mountains rise out of the ocean to form 30 islands known as the Cyclades. They are home to vacation destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini. But before the picturesque hillsides of white houses and blue domed chapels, even before the rise of ancient Greece, there lived the Cycladic people.

SOUND EFFECTS: [ocean fades]

This small statuette is one of the oldest objects in the Getty's collection, made nearly four millennia ago in a time known as the Bronze Age. There were no iron tools---chisels, for instance---so this marble figure was carved with hard stones such as volcanic glass, called "obsidian," and abrasive materials like pumice. The artist was able create a smooth, continuous figure composed of both angular shapes and, more impressively, negative space.

MUSIC: [ancient, mysterious solo harp]

Seated on a square, four-legged stool is a musician, who rests a large bow-shaped instrument on his knee, an early form of a harp. His right arm lies atop the sound box, while his left arm holds the curving frame, which extends outward in a swooping swan-bill. His head tilts, perhaps in song. Though stark in form, notice the tiny, intricate details: incised fingers and toes, and a dainty, pointed nose. Other features---like the eyes and mouth---would have been added with paint.

Who does this figure represent? What is its meaning? It's hard to say, as there is little evidence suggesting its function. Moreover, this is one of eleven known harp players in the world. Many small marble figures---like this one---were found in tombs, which could indicate ceremonial or funerary use. Perhaps he was there to accompany the deceased, to play for them in the afterlife. Some believe that it is a representation of Apollo, god of music, who played a kind of harp called a lyre. Whether divine or human, this figure illustrates the practice of many ancient cultures, including the Cycladic people, who shared their history, often through song.

NARRATOR: Ceremonial chair, also known as the Elgin Throne. Made by an unknown Greek artist. Marble. Nearly 3 feet high.

This ceremonial chair is a rare surviving example of Greek marble furniture. It once occupied a public space in Athens, perhaps in the Theater of Dionysos, situated on the slopes of the Acropolis. Most of the audience would have sat on terraced rows of stone benches but this would have been a seat of honor -- perhaps for a priest or a city official.

The seat is carved from a block of mottled gray and white marble. It's shaped like a deep armchair but, instead of legs, it has a solid, rounded base. The highest point is the back of the seat, which then sweeps forwards and down, on both sides, to enclose the person sitting in the chair and to provide armrests.

On the sides of the seat, scenes have been carved into the marble, giving it a richly decorated texture. These scenes identify the throne as coming from Athens.  As you face the front of the chair, the scene on the left shows two heroes from Athenian history. They are Harmodius and Aristogeiton, known as the tyrant slayers, who set Athens on the path to democracy. On the other side is another Athenian hero: Theseus, the mythical first king of Athens, is shown slaying a female warrior -- an Amazon. For the Athenian audience, this scene symbolized the city's triumph over the barbarians.

The seat is known as the Elgin Throne, because it was once in the collection of Lord Elgin, a noted collector of antiquities.

MUSIC: [upbeat Roman music, danceable, party crowd]

NARRATOR: You have been invited to a small, private dinner party in ancient Rome, a *convivium*, reserved only for elite men and women. As you enter your host's home, you are led into a lavish dining room and discover that this evening isn't just about dining. Rather, it is a feast for the senses. Chatter and music fill the room as diners are entertained by live performance. A heavenly aroma of food and wine wafts towards your nose. The room is filled with artwork---mosaic floors, frescoed walls, and decorative sculpture---but what catches your eye is this extravagant glass wine cup.

Banquets were a way for hosts to dazzle their guests, especially with their luxurious wares, and this cup is no exception. Milky white figures radiate against a translucent, sapphire background in a technique known as cameo glass. Cameos were typically gems, carved out of naturally layered stones such as agate. These carved gems were rare, and highly prized, as was cameo glass. A cup like this was certainly reserved for special occasions.

To make this wine cup, it's likely a Roman glass artist poured molten glass into a hollow mold, carved into the shape of the vessel you see here; the sloping body, circular horned handles and foot were all one piece, though *this* base is a modern addition. The artist would have started with the outer, white layer then poured a second internal layer of blue glass. After a slow cooling process, the outer white layer was partially cut away and polished to reveal the dark blue background. The white areas that remain were carefully carved to create a complex relief of lively figures, including Bacchus, god of wine, who the Greeks knew as Dionysos.

MUSIC: [lyre]

Partially draped, Bacchus sits under the shade of a tree at right. This god is often accompanied by satyrs---creatures who are half-man half-beast. One serenades him at the center of the scene with a harp-like instrument called a lyre. The satyr looks over at a woman who sips wine from a shallow bowl. On the opposite side, Bacchus's wife, Ariadne, reclines on a rocky seat---her hand resting behind her head---while a servant dutifully attends to her. Not so coincidentally, the scenes on this cup match that of the banquet, filled with music, servants, and of course, wine. Perhaps this cup is reminding all who admire it to eat, drink, and be merry!

MUSIC: [classical music]

NARRATOR: This ancient gravestone shows a Greek hoplite, or foot soldier, in action. Apart from his armor, he is nude. A shield guards his left shoulder. He wears a scabbard and sword at his hip. In his right hand, he wields a spear. Antiquities curator, David Saunders.

DAVID SAUNDERS: Images of warriors on gravestones are not unusual. Generally they show the warrior standing at ease, relaxed before he goes into battle. This one is atypical because here you see the warrior tensed, as if fighting in the front line, ready to face his enemy.

NARRATOR: The shield resting on his shoulder is the distinctive way the hoplites would carry their shields going into battle. And they would present to the enemy, when lined up in a row, a mass of shields that would ideally be impenetrable.

DAVID SAUNDERS: This shows an individual warrior, but what was actually important in practice was the rank of hoplites in line together, each protecting one another. However strong and brave an individual was, he needed the support of his fellow man in order to prevail. So there is this idea of mutual dependency, and this rings true to the democratic ideal in Greece.

NARRATOR: It also explains, to a degree, the meaning and poignancy of the gravestone's inscription.

DAVID SAUNDERS: The inscription above the image reads: "I speak, Pollis, the beloved son of Asopichos. I died, not as a coward, by the wounds of the tattooers."

NARRATOR: "The tattooers" is for us a mysterious reference. But at that time, the people of Thrace, now Bulgaria, were known for their tattoos. In the fifth century B.C., the Thracians allied with the Persians against the Greeks.

DAVID SAUNDERS: It's actually relatively rare that we get to see a gravestone that shows us both the image and the inscription side-by-side. And in this case together, they give us more information than we typically get from an ancient Greek gravestone. So we can actually work out from the inscription when Pollis died and his proud assertion that he died not as a coward. This is what we see two and a half thousand years later.

[music ends]

NARRATOR: Rhyta---horn-shaped drinking vessels like this one---combine the luxury of Persian silver craftsmanship with Greek decorative influences introduced under the Seleucid rulers. The protome, or front half, typically represented an animal, which could be real or mythological. This rhyton depicts a stag.

MATTHEW CANEPA: A rhyton is a vessel used to pour and aerate wine.

Matthew Canepa, Professor of Art History and Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Presidential Chair in Art History and Archaeology of Ancient Iran at University of California, Irvine.

MATTHEW CANEPA: It’s a very fancy serving vessel. The most elaborate examples from the Parthian period combined some sort of animal-shaped forepart with a long, curved horn. Wine was poured into the top, and it was held with one hand, usually the right hand, and it exited through the hole in the bottom. In order to hold them and use them properly, you also had to be acculturated into the manners and customs of the Parthian court.

NARRATOR: A single sheet of silver was hammered to shape the horn. The stag’s head, formed separately, was also made with that technique. The antlers and legs were cast with molten metal and attached separately. Decorative gilding was rubbed or burnished into the silver’s surface and heated to bond it to the vessel. Decorative elements on the horn reveal Greek influences.

MATTHEW CANEPA: With the exception of what’s on the rim---those little wave patterns---everything else is a derivation of some sort of plant. We have acanthus leaves at the lower part of the rim and then various  tendrils and flowering plants in the upper portion with sprigs of olive in the bands around the upper portion of the horn.

NARRATOR: Commodus was a controversial Roman emperor, identified here by his characteristic features: a long face and protruding, hooded eyes. His rule was tumultuous, marked by political unrest, assassination attempts, and multiple executions. He was a notorious megalomaniac---at one point renaming Rome to "Colonia Commodiana" or "Colony of Commodus."
‍
JANE FIJFER: We have several images of Commodus in the guise of Hercules, with the cloak and the lion's skin.

NARRATOR: Believing he embodied the hero's strength, Commodus famously fought in the Colosseum, ruthlessly slaughtering animals and humans alike. It's tempting to read the seemingly haughty expression of his portrait as a comment by the artist on Commodus' character, but Professor Jane Fijfer of the University of Copenhagen says that would be a mistake.

JANE FIJFER: We must remember that these portraits were not made to ridicule the emperor. They were made to construe the embodiment of the good qualities of the emperor. The grooming of his hair and his beard suggest civility with his Roman citizens. The draping of the bust, his military cloak, draws attention to his manly power, and his ability to defend the empire.