The Mediterranean Melting Pot:

Commerce and Cultural Exchange in Antiquity

By the Bronze Age (ca. 3000–1100 BCE), the great sea-faring cultures of the Greek

mainland, the Aegean, and Crete were already trading with Egypt and the Near East, as

the archaeological record fully attests. By the 7th century BCE, the Greeks had cast their

commercial net even wider, ultimately encircling the Mediterranean with colonies that

stretched as far west as Spain, across North Africa, and through western Asia and south

Russia. The result was an expansive nexus of towns and cities that traded in oil, wine,

marble, and luxury goods such as perfumes, silk, ivory, gemstones, and precious metals.

In the aftermath of Alexander’s conquests, and during the subsequent Roman Empire, the

trade network expanded even further, sprawling into central Asia, India, and Arabia.

Along with the unprecedented movement of material goods, new ideas and customs

continuously swept the Graeco-Roman world, particularly influencing the religious realm,

which saw foreign gods admitted to the Graeco-Roman pantheon. Fantastic creatures such

as sphinxes and griffins, as well as other exotic motifs, were also imported and began to

populate the arts. Coinage, introduced in the 6th century BCE, revolutionized commerce

and replaced old bartering systems.

The Mediterranean Melting Pot: Commerce and Cultural Exchange in Antiquity examines

material evidence for commercial and cultural interchange in the ancient Mediterranean

during the apogee of Graeco-Roman civilization, which spans more than a 1,000 year

period. Representative objects include coinage, perfume bottles, wine, oil, and transport

vessels, religious iconography, marbles, luxury goods, and various other objects

illuminating the history of this commercial and cultural exchange.

Money

The invention of coinage around 600 BCE in ancient Lydia revolutionized commerce and replaced old bartering systems. The use of coins rapidly swept the Mediterranean, and many cities began minting their own identifying coinage. Portrait heads of Greek and Roman rulers would later replace many of the older images and these formed the prototype for today’s coins. Nomisma, the Greek word for money, derives from the Greek word nomos, meaning law. Aristotle [Nicomachean Ethics] explains this etymology and how money’s value could be manipulated: “...demand has come to be conventionally represented by money; this is why money is called nomisma, because it does not exist by nature but by law (nomos), and we have the power to alter it or even render it useless …”

When merchants or others traveled, it was often necessary to exchange foreign money for the local currency, which required a trip to the moneychanger. Coins were assessed by type, condition, and possible counterfeiting. Assayer weights and other methods might be used to meet local standards. If the coins were accepted, they were held as a deposit. Visitors could then withdraw the equivalent amount in local currency and attend to their business. Afterward, money could be changed back into the visitor’s currency, but an interest rate would be charged on this exchange.

The raised dots and curling tendrils on this jar are known as “barbotine” decoration, which was made from a thick slip applied through a pointed tube. The shape of the jar and its decoration are most closely related to types from central France. If this jar was made in ancient Gaul, it had a long journey to Palestine and represents one of a very few examples of Gaulish pottery from that region.

1. Globular Jar with Barbotine Decoration Roman, late 1st or 2nd c. CE Allegedly from Palestine Pottery (70.197)

The denarius was the most common type of Roman silver coin for many years of the Empire, and it would have been a common sight in commerce from east to west.

Flat bronze and lead weights such as these were used for assaying multiple quantities of coins. The weight with the zebu equals one-quarter of a mna, which was equivalent to 25 drachmas in the Hellenistic East. The Greek letters delta and lambda (ΔΛ) on the lead weight (allegedly from Gaza) indicate a system that was used to assay the weight of Phoenician drachmas. The Byzantine example with a cruciform monogram weighs two ounces and assayed the weight of 12 gold nomismata (a Byzantine coin type, but also the general Greek word for “money”). The other Byzantine example, inscribed with a gamma and an alpha (ΓΑ), weighs one ounce, the equivalent of six gold nomismata. Known legislation reflects continuing efforts to standardize measures by distributing weights throughout the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine empires.

2. Denarii of the Roman Emperors Vespasian, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, and Caracalla Roman, 1st c. CE–2nd c. CE Silver (72.73, 68.352, 87.100, 68.341, 65.85, 68.345, 68.358, 68.346, 68.370, 69.537, 68.368, 69.570, 68.339, 68.371, 67.89, 69.594, 75.34, 68.365, 68.338, 68.356, 67.96, 67.95, 64.65.3, 67.97, 57.715)

3–6. Inscribed and Monogrammed Weights Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Ca. 3rd c. BCE–6th c. CE Bronze and lead (85.6, 68.325, 68.310, 68.412)

Luxury Goods

The Roman historian Pliny wrote in the first century CE that 100,000 sesterces

annually were spent by Rome’s elite on exotic goods from China, India, and Arabia alone.

“That is the sum our luxuries and what our women cost us,” he quipped sarcastically.

Before Pliny’s time, the Greeks were already trading with foreign lands for precious

materials. As Rome formed its great Empire, the demand for luxuries by the wealthy

increased to staggering proportions, as Pliny reports. The most sought after luxury items

were precious metals, gems, and ivory. Gold had near magical connotations since it did

not degrade or tarnish. Elephant ivory, prized for its beauty and ease of carving, came

from Asia and Africa. Among the favorite gemstones were emeralds from central Asia and

Egypt; rubies, pearls, sapphires, and garnets from India. Agate, sardonyx, and rock crystal

from Egypt and India were also carved into gems and sumptuous vessels. The Baltic Sea

area was known for the prized fossilized tree resin amber, used in jewelry as well. Oddly

enough, there was no interest in diamonds since they are colorless. Other precious objects

included exquisite glass vessels, which could be colored with precious minerals or

embellished with gold or silver.

1. Necklace Greek Gold and sapphire (46:1924) Lent by The Saint Louis Art Museum

2. Necklace Greek or Roman Turkey Glass and lapis lazuli (82.276) Weinberg Fund

In antiquity, lapis lazuli came from the mountains of Afghanistan, today in the Badakhshan region. Those mines have been worked for over 6,000 years.

3. Necklace Greek or Scythian, 4th c. BCE Gold and pearl (388:1923) Lent by The Saint Louis Art Museum

4. Pendant Roman, 1st c. BCE Gold, onyx, garnet, chrysoprase [or emerald] (115:1954) Lent by The Saint Louis Art Museum

5. Pair of Bracelets with Serpent-Head Terminals Greek, ca. 500 BCE Silver and bronze (64.68)

6. Bracelet with Isis Bust Terminals Greek, 300–100 BCE Egypt Gold (84.AM.851) Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu

7. Pair of Earrings Roman, 2nd–3rd c. CE Turkey Gold, glass and stone (85.51a-b) Weinberg Fund

8. Pair of Earrings Roman, 2nd–3rd c. CE Turkey Gold and glass (85.50a-b) Weinberg Fund

9. Hoop Earring with Antelope-Head Finial Greek Gold (59.73)

10. Pair of Earrings Roman, 2nd–3rd c. CE Turkey Gold and sapphire (85.49a–b) Weinberg Fund

16. Pair of Earrings, Finger Ring, and Anklet Roman, 150-200 CE Gold and garnet (66.300a–d)

11. Gem with Bucolic Figure (Shepherd?) Greek, 3rd c. BCE Sardonyx (149.1922) Lent by the Saint Louis Art Museum

12. Gem with Empress Faustina Roman, 2nd c. CE Agate (151.1922) Lent by The Saint Louis Art Museum

13. Gem and mold with Personification of Abundance Roman, 1st c. CE Carnelian (150.1922) Lent by The Saint Louis Art Museum

14. Ovoid Bead Greek, Hellenistic, 3rd–1st c. BCE Jordan, Irbid Amethyst (77.385)

Assyrian reliefs show mesomphalic phialai being used as drinking vessels, though the size of this one may preclude that function. From Assyria, the shape passed to the Persians. It was copied again by the Greeks and thus shows a long, continuous history across three cultures. Such vessels were made of bronze, glass, or luxury metals like gold and silver.

Like gemstones, the fossilized tree resin known as amber was treasured in the ancient world. It was often fashioned into beads or inlaid into other types of jewelry. Though other sources were known, the historian Pliny cited the Baltic Sea area as a source for quantities that were imported into the Mediterranean. These elaborate cloak pins combine bronze, gold, and amber, and were undoubtedly worn by a very wealthy individual.

15. Pair of Fibulae Etruscan, 7th–6th c. BCE Bronze, amber, gold (31:1954/1–2) Lent by The Saint Louis Art Museum

Mesomphalic Phiale (offering dish with depression or “navel” in the middle) Persian, late 6th–early 5th c. BCE Silver (43:2005) Lent by the St. Louis Art Museum Partial and promised gift of Wunsch Foundation, Inc.

Elephant ivory had been imported to the Mediterranean since the Bronze Age, and continued to symbolize wealth and luxury down through the Roman Empire and beyond. The sandal type indicates this foot probably belonged to a lavish memorial for a military hero, rather than a mythological figure or god. Often ivory statues were combined with other materials such as gold and colored stone, making them among the costliest types of statuary.

Like the gold-leaf sandwich glass bowl, this silver bowl (Gr: mastos) with a once gold-leafed rim would have been part of luxurious tableware for a wealthy Greek. Probably used as a drinking vessel, a mastos is named as such since it is the same word the Greeks used for breast.

Foot with Military Sandal Roman, ca. 50 BCE–150 CE Ivory (227:1923) Lent by the Saint Louis Art Museum

Conical Bowl (Mastos) Greek, 2nd or 1st c. BCE Silver with faint traces of gold leaf on rim (82.325) Weinberg Fund

Cameo glass was created by fusing a white and a blue glass vessel together. The white layer was then ground down to fashion figures in relief, revealing varying amounts of the blue layer beneath. The process took the utmost in fastidious precision, and the resulting vessels were highly valued. This one depicts the god Dionysus and the Great Mother, a fertility goddess imported from the East (see section on Imported Gods.)

Agate from Egypt and India was carved into beads and luxury vessels, which either served as offering dishes or drinking cups. During the Roman Empire, agate cups and bowls found their way to the tables of the wealthy, who prized the colorful, exotic stone. The Roman historian Suetonius reported that, after the death of Cleopatra, the only thing Octavian (the future Augustus) removed from the Ptolemaic palace in Alexandria was an agate cup.

Skyphos (wine cup) with Dionysos and the Great Mother Roman, 25 BCE–25 CE Glass (84.AF.85) Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu

Bowl Egyptian, ca. 5th–1st c. BCE Agate (60.12) Chorn Memorial Fund

Rock crystal (clear quartz), like agate, was imported from India and Egypt and made into exquisite and costly vessels and other implements. The Elder Pliny tells us that Romans were obsessed with this luxury stone, and that a woman in the Emperor Nero’s time paid 150,000 sesterces for a single ladle. Angered that a commoner should own such a piece, Nero smashed two of his own rock crystal goblets.

Elegant bowls such as this one were made by the fusion of two clear glass vessels, with a delicate pattern of gold leaf inserted between them. Such opulent vessels would have adorned the tables of the elite or were perhaps used in religious rituals. In practical use, they probably served as drinking cups that would have had stands or were held by cupbearers at dinner parties.

Gold Leaf „Sandwich-glass‟ Bowl Greek, early 3rd–late 2nd c. BCE Perhaps from Istanbul Glass and gold (77.198)

Amphoriskos (miniature amphora) Roman, 1st c. CE Rock crystal in modern gold mount (71.126)

Imported Gods

As Graeco-Roman culture infiltrated foreign lands, local gods and religious

practices were often assimilated into the already expansive pantheons of Greek and

Roman religion. Most ancient cultures had similar gods, such as those who governed the

sun, the moon, the earth, the sky, the waters, etc. These were often “syncretized” with

already-existing Greek and Roman gods, so that they would appeal both to

Greeks/Romans and the locals whose territories had been conquered. Not drastically

altering the religious status quo was clever politicking if nothing else, but some foreign

gods were recognized internationally as their worship was transferred far beyond their

places of origin.

When the Greeks began rule of Egypt (ca. 300 BCE), the mother goddess Isis was

united in marriage with Sarapis, a Greek hybrid deity with attributes of Zeus, Osiris, and

Hades. Sarapis was the quintessential syncretistic god, created to appeal to both Greeks

and Egyptians alike, but ultimately worshipped with Isis in many cities of the Roman

Empire too. Together with Harpokrates, their son, Isis and Sarapis formed an omnipotent

and mysterious trinity that embodied fertility, death, and regeneration. Mithras, who

probably originated in Persia, served as figurehead for one of the most popular mystery

religions in the Roman Empire, particularly appealing to the military. The god Mên has

obscure origins, but his veneration may have begun in pre-Greek Anatolia or further east.

Mên was especially popular in parts of Asia Minor, where he represented a supreme lunar

deity. Also from Asia Minor came the Great Mother, sometimes known as Kybele, the

oldest mother goddess whose cult went deep into pre-history. Her eunuch consort, Attis,

produced a cult of his own that symbolized suffering, death, and resurrection.

As consort to the earth goddess Kybele, Attis symbolized the regeneration of vegetation each spring. His March festival honored his death and rebirth, and culminated in rejoicing called the “Hilaria,” inherent in the figurine’s jubilant pose. He is said to have died at the foot of a pine tree from which violets sprang as his blood spilled. In addition to castrations and the Hilaria, the festival included felling a pine tree and wreathing it in violets.

Also known as the “Great Mother,” Kybele was an ancient Anatolian earth goddess, whose worship spread as far as Rome itself. The figure at her right may be Attis, her eunuch consort, whom she forced into self-castration when he refused her love. He died from his wounds but the grief-stricken Kybele resurrected him. The ecstatic rites of her worship re-enacted Attis’ death and resurrection, and some fanatical male worshipers actually emulated Attis’ self-castration.

Enthroned Kybele Greek, ca. 300 BCE Marble (71.AA.335) Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu

Attis Roman, 1st–3rd c. CE Turkey Bronze (76.32)

The god Mên probably originated in ancient Anatolia or further east. That he was a male lunar deity illustrates his alien nature to Graeco-Roman culture where lunar deities were typically female. This unusual god also has no known mythology of his own, but inscriptions, which come mostly from southwestern Turkey, tell us he was invoked as a supreme male deity with phrases such as “one god in the heavens, the great heavenly Mên”.

During the Greek and Roman occupation of Egypt, Isis was rapidly assimilated as an international protective mother who brought prosperity to her worshippers. Particularly popular in Rome and other cities in Italy, she was worshiped singularly but also syncretized with Fortuna, goddess of fortune. This figurine, in Roman dress and Egyptian headdress, also carries a cornucopia and rudder, Fortuna’s symbols for abundance and the steerage of fate.

Isis as Fortuna Roman, 2nd c. CE Bronze (71.AB.180) Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu

Mên Roman, 2nd c. CE Turkey Bronze (83.68) Weinberg Fund and gift of Saul Weinberg

Brought to popularity in Ptolemaic Alexandria, Sarapis represents the quintessential syncretistic god of the Graeco-Roman world. He was given attributes of Zeus, Hades, and the Egyptian Osiris, but replaced Osiris as the husband of Isis. Together with their child Harpokrates, they formed an enigmatic trinity that symbolized death and rebirth. He usually wore the modius on his head, a container of specific size for measuring grain, one of Egypt’s most valuable products and synonymous with the land’s annual regeneration. Many writers were awestruck by the great enclosure and temple to Sarapis in Alexandria, where many inexplicable events are said to have taken place. The colossal statue in the temple was a marvel in itself, allegedly made of gold, silver, and bronze, and encrusted with sapphire, haematite, emerald, and topaz. The temple enclosure also held part of Alexandria’s Great Library. By the time of the Roman Empire, Sarapis’ worship had spread throughout the Mediterranean.

Though a Persian god originally, Mithras was readily adopted by the Romans, and his worship became a “mystery religion” with secret rites. Literary and archaeological evidence indicates that new inductees went through seven grades of initiation and referred to themselves as those "united by the handshake.” They met in underground temples, which survive in large numbers. The cult had its epicenter in Rome where estimates place nearly 700 of these subterranean temples.

Mithras on Horseback Roman, 1st–2nd c. CE Bronze (71.AB.160) Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu

Sarapis Roman, 2nd/3rd c. CE Turkey Terracotta (65.83)

White Marbles

Like the colored varieties, white marbles were also a valuable commodity in the

Graeco-Roman world. Early on, the Greeks began exporting their white marbles to

regions that lacked them. Artists and architects valued marble’s glittering, crystalline

structure, its translucency, and relative ease of carving.

Antiquities in the Museum’s collection represent a wide variety of famous white

marbles of the ancient world. These include Parian, Prokonnesian, Aphrodisian, and

Carrara stones. The island of Paros (central Aegean Sea) produced one of the most prized

white marbles of antiquity, known for its milky luster and astonishing translucency. It was

exported to many places, including Italy and Egypt. The vast quarry on the island of

Prokonnesos (today Marmara Island, Turkey) was used extensively for statuary,

sarcophagi, and architecture, with examples found as far away as Italy and North Africa.

The ancient city of Aphrodisias (southwestern Turkey) was home to a famous school of

sculpture, and the quarry that supplied it was only discovered in 1998. Rome’s main

source of white marble was the native Carrara (also known as “Luna”) quarried from a

spur of the Apuan Alps in Tuscany. While some quarries used in antiquity have been

closed for archaeological surveys, the Carrara quarry still supplies many parts of the

world with its lustrous white stone.

Until recently, nothing was known of the ancient provenance of this portrait of the

emperor Hadrian as the Greek hero Diomedes. Isotopic testing of the stone has shown that

the marble is a rare type from a quarry that supplied the ancient city of Aphrodisias, today

in southwestern Turkey. Aphrodisias was known for its renowned school of sculptors, and

inscriptions tell us that Hadrian brought some of them to Rome to work on various

projects. We can now suggest that the sculptors requested the import of their native

Aphrodisian marble, and that the MAA Hadrian is part of the output by this group in

Rome. The style of the head is also closely related to other Aphrodisian sculpture. The

ancient quarry near Aphrodisias was only discovered in 1998.

It is impossible to say whether the head belonged originally to a bust or full length

statue; another nearly identical head, from Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli, is also broken at the

neck. At some point the MAA head was placed in a bust made of Carrara marble, also

identified by isotopic testing.

Hadrian Roman, probably after 138 CE; bust 18th century Aphrodisian marble with Carrara marble bust (89.1 a–b) Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Fund and Gift of Museum Associates

Egypt and North Africa are rich in colored stones but have no sources of white

marble. Large amounts of the white stone were therefore imported for use in both art and

architecture. To date, testing has shown that the marble that seems to have been the most

common for Greek and Roman portraiture in Egypt is that from the island of Paros. Parian

marble was among the most highly valued stones for portraiture because of its creamy

luster and astounding translucency. For sculpture set up in bright sunlight, Parian’s

translucency produced a shimmering glow, almost otherworldly in its effect. It was not

uncommon, however, to economize when using imported and expensive stones. The back

of Nero’s head may have been finished in plaster, a technique common in Alexandrian

marble sculpture. The head was also re-carved into one of the emperor Gallienus nearly

200 years later. Moreover, long locks on the back of the neck point to a style worn during

the reign of Caligula (14–37 CE), and thus the head may have had a previous identity prior

to its incarnation as Nero.

Nero Roman, 54–68 CE Egypt, perhaps Alexandria Parian marble (62.46) Gift of Mr. T.E. Bachman

Though uncertain, this portrait of a third-century empress may be from Tunisia, the

modern North African country that was part of Roman Zeugetania, where the wealthy city

of Carthage was located. Large quantities of white marble must have been imported into

this region as the extensive ancient sculpture collections suggest at today’s Bardo Museum

in Tunis. No wide-scale testing of this collection’s marble has been undertaken, and thus

we have no way of knowing whether the Prokonnesian identification of the empress head

is unusual or not. In any event, it suggests a very long journey for the marble from the

island known as Prokonnesos in antiquity (today Marmara Island, near Istanbul) to

Tunisia. Scholars who have studied the head believe that it was carved by a Roman

sculptor, not one from Carthage. This suggests that Roman-trained sculptors were living

in the region or that the head was carved in Rome and then shipped to Carthage. This

latter scenario is unlikely since the head belonged either to a bust or perhaps even a full-

length statue, both of which would have been very fragile to ship.

Empress, perhaps Herennia Etruscilla Roman, mid-third century CE Allegedly from Tunisia Prokonnesian marble (2004.1) Weinberg Fund and Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Fund

Colored Stone

Though Greek architects used them sparingly, Roman architects drew upon the

Empire’s vast geography to adorn buildings with imported colored stones. As the Empire

expanded, so did variety. Luxurious buildings such as the Pantheon in Rome provide us

with some idea of the extravagant use of these stones. Its colossal portico columns are

single pieces of stone hewn from the granite quarries of Egypt, while its interior is

sheathed in numerous types of imported marbles. Floors and pavements were also

created from carefully cut pieces of colored stone fashioned into intricate patterns, either

in the form of mosaics or larger piece designs. Artists also made use of such stone for

sculpture, furniture (such as the displayed table leg), and other ornaments.

Precious cargos of colored stone were loaded upon the freighters of the day and

shipped to all corners of the Empire. Among Roman favorites were yellow (giallo antico)

from Tunisia, red and green (rosso antico and verde antico) from Greece, white streaked with

varicolored veins (pavonazetto) from Turkey, and the famed porphyry (reddish-purple),

alabaster, and granites of Egypt.

Terra verde (green, Greece), rosso antico (red, Greece), Emperor (black, gold, red, Spain), franco negro (black, France), negro marcina (black, Spain), porphyry (purplish-red, Egypt), fior de pesco (pinkish splotches, Italy), and lapis lacedaemonius ( aggregate green, Sparta)

Not restricted to statuary, marble in antiquity was used for vessels, furniture, and other ornaments. The drawing below shows a marble table with lion’s legs from Pompeii.

Marble Fragments The below were all used by artisans in the ancient world. Some highly prized varieties were shipped to locations throughout the Mediterranean.

Table Leg in the Form of the Satyr Marsyas Roman, 1st–2nd c. CE Giallo antico (yellow) marble (1988.4.2) Lent by the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

Perfumes, Medicines, and Cosmetics

Various plants and flowers were the basis for a vigorous trade in perfumes,

medicines, and cosmetics in the ancient world. These products could be particularly

expensive because of exotic raw materials, complicated processing, and transport.

Perfume extracts were infused in oil or water, or impregnated into soft animal fat. Glass

vessels [aryballoi, alabastra, and unguentaria] survive in great numbers today and provided

the best storage, unlike porous ceramic vessels that allowed evaporation. We can suggest

that plainer bottles may have held cheaper products or medicines, while fancier styles held

valuable perfumes and cosmetics, just as such products today are sold in expensive

packaging.

Popular flowers used for perfumes in antiquity included rose, violet, iris, jasmine,

saffron crocus, and hyacinth. Some cities had lucrative economies based largely on the

cultivation of certain flowers for perfumes. Ancient Cyrene (Libya) produced the most

expensive variety of rose, while Epidamnos (Albania) produced the Illyrian iris, famed for

its fragrant root. Extracts from resinous trees like pine, cedar, and acacia were also used

for their scents, but probably doubled as insect repellants. Writing ca. 300 BCE, the Greek

Theophrastus carefully classified thousands of plants in a study on their pharmaceutical

properties. Among the most well-known and valued of these were the opium poppy and

silphium (now extinct), a plant widely used for contraception and as an abortifacient.

Though opium poppies were widely cultivated in the Mediterranean, silphium only grew

in Cyrene and was never successfully transplanted.

The ideal of beauty in Graeco-Roman culture was a pale face, red lips, and dark

lashes and brows. White lead and chalks were combined with animal fat to whiten the

face, lips were reddened with wine lees, berries, seaweeds, and red ochres, and soot

combined with fat or oil was used as eyeliners and eyebrow darkeners. Kohl, a lead

product, might be imported from Egypt. Eyes were also highlighted with yellows, greens,

and blues, made from heated by-products of iron and copper, powdered minerals such as

the bright green malachite or the brilliant blue lapis lazuli, or yellow saffron.

1. Five-sided Flask 2. Globular Flask 3. Amphoriskos Roman, 2nd c. CE Roman, 2nd-3rd c. CE Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Turkey Turkey Glass (79.122) Glass (81.115) Glass (81.116) Gift of Lucy Miller Weinberg Fund

4. Bottle 5. Bottle 6. Head Vase Roman, 1st c. CE Roman, 3rd-4th c. CE Roman, 1st-3rd c. CE Lebanon, Sayda (Sidon) Glass (76.273) Lebanon, Sayda Glass (89.97) Glass (62.5) Gift of John and Elsbeth Dusenberry in honor of Saul & Gladys Weinberg

7. Flask 8. Mold-blown Bottle 9. Flask Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Roman, 2nd c. CE Roman, 4th c. CE Turkey Glass (73.221) Glass (62.6) Glass (81.128) Weinberg Fund

10. Amphoriskos 11. Unguentarium 12. Amphoriskos Roman, 1st c. CE Greek, 3rd c. BCE Greek, ca. 480-425 BCE Glass (79.123) Glass (66.351) Glass (61.16) Gift of Lucy Miller

13. Aryballos 14. Bottle 15. Alabastron Greek, 500–475 BCE Roman, 3rd-4th c. CE Greek, late 6th-early 5th c. BCE Turkey Palestine Turkey Glass (85.42) Glass (70.189) Glass (81.130)

16. Flask 17. Twin-tube Bottle 18. Tripod Flask Roman, 3rd–4th c. CE Roman, 4th-5th c. CE Roman, 5th c. CE Palestine Glass (79.136) Palestine Glass (74.108) Glass (68.160)

19. Flask 20. Three-handled Jar Byzantine, 5th–6th c. CE Byzantine, 4th-6th c. CE Palestine Jordan Glass (72.93) Glass (70.306)

21. Two-handled Flask 22. Bottle Roman, 1st–2nd c. CE Roman, 1st c. CE Syria, Halab Syro-Palestine Glass (62.4) Glass (82.411) Gift of Mr. Duane Wilder in honor of Saul and Gladys Weinberg

23. Sprinkler 24. Flask 25. Amphoriskos Byzantine, 5th–6th c. CE Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Roman, 1st c. CE Palestine Jordan Glass (61.19) Glass (72.92) Glass (70.300)

26. Carinated Bottle 27. Fusiform Unguentarium Roman, 4th c. CE Roman, 4th c. CE Palestine Palestine Glass (72.94) Glass (68.158)

28. Globular Flask 29. Unguentarium Roman, 1st c. BCE-1st c. CE Roman, 2nd c. CE Syro-Palestine Turkey, Ankara Glass (79.124) Glass (85.201) Gift of Lucy Miller Gift of Dr. Allen A. Heflin

30. Unguentarium 31. Flask Roman, 1st–2nd c. CE Roman, 1st c. CE Turkey Glass (79.126) Glass (81.118) Gift of Lucy Miller

Weinberg Fund

32. Unguentarium 33. Square Bottle 34. Flask Roman, 4th-5th c. CE Byzantine, 6th-7th c. CE Roman, 3rd-4th c. CE Glass (65.73) Jordan Palestine Glass (70.305) Glass (68.157)

35. Unguentarium 36. Flask 37. Flask Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Roman, 1st c. CE Glass (79.132) Glass (79.130) Glass (79.128) Gift of Lucy Miller Gift of Lucy Miller

38. Flask Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Turkey Glass (81.127) Weinberg Fund

Wine

“There are two liquids that are especially agreeable to the human body,

wine inside and oil outside…” Pliny, Natural History

Greek myth claimed that the origins of wine came about with the death of Ampelos,

a beloved of the god Dionysos. As Dionysos wept over the youth’s body, a vine sprung

forth. The god drank from the juice of its fruits and soon began to forget his grief. Thus

the drink that would assuage the sorrows of men and be indelibly linked to Dionysos

himself began its history.

In the ancient world, wine held monumental importance as a trade good and had

multiple uses. Because its fermentation eliminated harmful bacteria that could quickly

taint water, wine was consumed by most on a daily basis. The Greeks and Romans diluted

their wine with water, for drinking the liquid straight marked poor etiquette and caused

rapid inebriation. Wine was also used in cooking, religious rituals, and in medical

treatments.

Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany and France were well known for their viticulture.

Indeed, the famous wine-making regions of Europe such as the Rioja in Spain; Burgundy,

Bordeaux, and Rhône in France; and the Mosel Valley of Germany were established in

antiquity. Like today, many vintages of varying prices were available to the ancient

consumer. The Greek poet Homer records that a favorite wine of Greeks was Pramnian,

made from syrup of grapes oozing from their own weight. Later Greek writers mentioned

Thessaly and Thrace for their superior wines. The vineyards of Italy produced equally

admired vintages, with Falernian and Caecuban wines receiving particular praise. While

Rome enjoyed the fruits of its own local harvest, the Empire’s wealthier citizens frequently

indulged in imported wines. Perhaps the most highly regarded was a vintage known

from the Greek island of Chios. Another indulgence of the Roman elite was spiced wine.

Saffron, Indian cardamom, and Arabian myrrh were among the favorite spices used to

enhance flavors.

Olive Oil

The olive was one of the most versatile plant resources in the ancient Mediterranean

and thus instrumental in its economy and activities of daily life. First developed in the

Syro-Palestine area, oleoculture rapidly spread west via maritime trade to Greece, Italy,

Spain, and North Africa. The city of Rome relied on enormous quantities of olive oil

exported from Spain and Africa, while ancient critics note finer varieties manufactured in

Venafrum (Campania) and Liburnia (Croatia). A driving force in ancient economies, the

olive oil industry brought prosperity to cities across the Mediterranean.

Olive oil was an invaluable commodity because of its countless uses. A rich source

of beneficial fat and calories, it was a chief component of the ancient diet, comprising up to

a third of the average caloric intake. It was also essential as a fuel for lamps and as a food

preserver. In the workshops of artisans and craftsmen, olive oil was an important tool in

textile processing, and in preservation of instruments and leather. It was commonly

rubbed on the body after exercise or bathing, and scraped off with an instrument called a

strigil, while higher quality olive oils formed a base for perfumes and cosmetics. It could

also be used in religious and funerary offerings. With such a multiplicity of uses, the olive

was an irreplaceable staple in the ancient Mediterranean way of life.

1. Arretine Sigillata Krater with Relief Decoration 2. Skyphos (Gnathia Ware) and the Stamp of the Potter M. Perennius Bargathes Apulian, ca. 4th c. BCE Roman, ca. 30 BCE–14 CE South Italy Pottery (85.130) Pottery (67.3)

3. Black-Glazed Ribbed 4. Black-Figured Kylix 5. Kylix and Stamped Kantharos with Two Satyrs Greek, 3rd-2nd c. BCE Greek, 4th c. BCE Greek, late 6th c. BCE Silver (77.182) Pottery (59.41) Greece, Attica Pottery (66.11) Wine Cups and Kraters The many types of containers for wine attest its importance in the ancient Mediterranean, and viticulture became a sophisticated and lucrative industry. Like today, many varieties of wine were eventually produced ranging from cheap vinegar-like products to expensive and delicate vintages. At dinner parties and other formal occasions, large kraters or stamnoi of terracotta or bronze were used for mixing the concentrated wine with water and sometimes flavorings such as spices, nuts, or honey. Once prepared, the wine was ladled into cups known by many names in antiquity such as the kylix, the kantharos, and the skyphos, among others.

Lekythoi Lekythoi are typically associated with funerals in Greece, and many of them depict funerary scenes. The oil they contained was probably used for anointing the body, while the vessels themselves were frequently deposited in graves in the Classical Period. On the other hand, lekythoi are known from domestic contexts where they must have served as decorative containers for scented oils. These may have been used on the body or poured on coals in braziers to scent the home.

Gutti The guttus was a vessel with a narrow mouth or neck, from which liquid was poured in drops; its name derives from the Latin “gutta” (drop). The historian Pliny tells us the guttus was especially used in sacrifices, presumably for sprinkling oil or wine. According to the writer Juvenal, the guttus had a second use as a vessel for sprinkling oil on people at the baths. Another theory suggests that it was also used for filling lamps.

6. Black-Figured Lekythos with Five Figures in Eastern Dress

Greek, 6th c. BCE Pottery (59.59)

7. Guttus, Calenian Black-Glazed Relief Ware South Italian, mid 4th c. BCE Pottery (68.132)

8. Aryballos with Sphinxes and Geese 9. Aryballos with Stripe Pattern By the Duel Painter Early Corinthian, ca. 600 BCE Early Corinthian, ca. 625-600 BCE Corinth, Greece Corinth, Greece Pottery (61.30) Pottery (61.32)

10. Aryballos 11. Ring Aryballos with Lions Greek, ca. 550-500 BCE Middle Corinthian, ca. 600-575 BCE Made in Rhodes (Greece) or Naukratis (Egypt) Corinth, Greece Found in Cerveteri, Italy Pottery (80.364) Faience (67.46) Aryballoi Aryballoi were used to contain oil for use as a soaping agent; they are frequently shown in vase painting being used by athletes, but others must have used them too. Olive oil, perhaps lightly scented, was rubbed over the body and then the excess was scraped away with a strigil, which took the dirt with it and left the skin smooth and conditioned. By the time of the Roman Empire, oil vessels were taken to the public baths and used by both men and women. Like lamps, aryballoi were made of terracotta, bronze, and glass, though terracotta is most common in the archaeological record.

12. Lamp with Two Wick Holes 13. Lamp in the Shape of 14. Lamp with Erotic Scene Roman, 1st c. CE a Sandaled Foot Roman, 2nd-3rd c. CE Terracotta (59.47) Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE Palestine, Hebron Turkey Terracotta (68.146a) Terracotta (82.264)

15. Lamp with Two Wick Holes 16. Lamp with Seven 17. Lamp with Four Wick Holes Roman, Augustan, 30 BCE-14 CE Wick Holes Roman, late 3rd-5th c. CE Palestine Roman, 1st c. CE Palestine Terracotta (68.298) Egypt Terracotta (68.153a) Terracotta (58.15.2) Lamps One of oil’s most important uses was as a lighting source. Lamps were made of terracotta, glass, and bronze and were fueled by olive oil or some other type of fat. The most common lamps were terracotta and could be large or quite small, and most contained a filling hole and a hole (or holes) for a wick. Upscale homes might have glass sconces or bronze lamp trees from which expensive bronze lamps were hung; modest and lower class houses would have terracotta varieties in different shapes and varying degrees of quality. Such lamps were mold-made and often deposited in graves too.

Pyrrhic dances were performed in preparation for war. This one may show a girl in training and dressed as the goddess Athena.

Red-Figure Bell Krater with a Pyrrhic Dance Scene (?) Greek, ca. 420 BCE Greece, Attica Pottery (92.85)

Stamnos Villanovan/Etruscan, ca. 5th c. BCE Italy Bronze (73.313)

Amphoras

Amphoras were used to transport and store a variety of products, both liquid and dry.

Stoppers of perishable materials such as wax were used to seal liquid contents. There were

two main types of amphora: the neck amphora, on which the neck and body meet at an

angle; and the one-piece amphora, on which the neck and body form a continuous curve.

They usually had a pointed base that allowed them to be stored in an upright position by

sinking the base into sand or soft earth. At Oplontis, a city near Pompeii, a room in a

luxurious villa survived intact with some 100 amphora embedded in the earthen floor,

when the entire structure was buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. In kitchens

and shops, they might be stored in racks with round holes in them. The shape also enabled

transport by ship, where amphoras were tightly packed together in racks, with ropes

looped through their handles to prevent breaking or toppling on rough seas. Some

amphora handles were stamped with pertinent information giving local magistrates,

makers, and dates. For thousands of years, amphoras were the principal means of

transporting and storing wine, oil, fish sauce, honey, fruits preserved in honey, olives, or

various dry goods.

1. Roman, 1st-2nd c. CE? 2. Greek, ca. 280-180 BCE France (Gaul)? Rhodes Pottery (2002.26) Pottery (62.34) Gift of Union Station Kansas City, Inc.

3. Greek, 6th–4th c. BCE Rhodes (?) Pottery (2002.24) Gift of Union Station, Kansas City

Stamped Amphora Handles (Dressel Type 20) Roman, ca. 2nd-3rd c. CE Rome, Monte Testaccio Pottery (83.263.1-5) Gift of Dr. Allen A. Heflin

The mound in Rome known as Monte Testaccio was created entirely from layers of

broken olive oil amphoras. The enormous mound covers 220,000 square feet, and

estimates indicate that the fragments of 53 million oil amphoras capable of holding 1.6

billion gallons are contained here. The fragments are a testament to the staggering amount

of oil needed for the population of imperial Rome over two centuries.

Monte Testaccio was not a random dump; it was carefully engineered and

undoubtedly administered by a state authority. Excavations in 1991 showed that the mound

was constructed using a system of level terraces with retaining walls made of nearly intact

amphoras filled with sherds to anchor them in place. Empty amphoras must have been

carried up and broken up on the spot, with the sherds laid out in a stable pattern. Lime

appears to have been sprinkled over the debris to neutralize rancidity. Since amphoras could

be re-purposed, or their sherds recycled, it is unclear why those from Monte Testaccio were

deliberately broken and deposited so systematically.

The mound has provided us with rare insight into the ancient Roman economy. The

amphora handles record information such as the weight of the oil contained in the vessel, the

names of the people who weighed and documented the oil, and the place where the oil was

originally bottled. This has allowed us to determine that the oil in the vessels was imported

under state authority and was designated for distribution to the people of Rome or to the

army. The inscriptions also provide evidence for the structure of the oil export business.

Apart from single names, many inscriptions list father and son teams, other pairs of names,

multiple names, and names noted as partners. This suggests that many of those involved

were members of joint enterprises, perhaps workshops of different sizes involving various

partnerships composed of numerous types of workers required to operate the production

and shipping of olive oil.

Ancient Rhodes was known for its exceptional wine, which was shipped far and wide. Rhodian amphoras have been found in Italy, Greece, North Africa, Turkey, Palestine, and as far away as the Danube Region and the northern Black Sea. Such an expansive geographic distribution provides evidence for the massive and continuous export of Rhodian wine to the entire Mediterranean and beyond.

Stamped Amphora Handles Greek, 3rd–2nd c. BCE Originally from Rhodes; all but one found in Palestine Pottery (from l. to r.: 68.135, 68.279; 77.272, 77.274) Gift of Drs. Saul and Gladys Weinberg (77.274, 77.272 only)

Other Forms of Artistic and Cultural Interchange

The progressive mingling of Greeks, Romans, and foreigners resulted in a

remarkable interchange of ideas that also influenced art, architecture, and various socio-

cultural practices. Though Greek cultural influences remained strong in the eastern

Mediterranean and Egypt, these areas are also rich in evidence for the fusion of western

and oriental elements.

The joint excavations by the Universities of Missouri and Michigan of Tel Anafa in

northern Israel revealed a luxurious villa with rooms arranged around a central court. The

courtyard villa was common in Greek culture as is the elaborate molded plaster that

decorated some of the villa’s walls. This villa was not occupied by Greeks, however, but

by Phoenicians who adopted Greek artistic styles and combined them with elements that

are distinctively eastern.

Egypt was one of the ancient Mediterranean’s most well-known cultural melting

pots, particularly in the Greek-founded Alexandria. Both art and architecture from

Egypt’s Graeco-Roman period show an inventive combination of Greek and Egyptian

elements. The learned woman named Heliodora, whose grave marker is displayed in this

section, had a Greek name though she is dressed as an Egyptian. The architectural niche in

which she reclines shows both Greek and Egyptian characteristics, a combination also

attested in large-scale architecture. Moreover, literary evidence informs us that it was not

uncommon for Egyptians to take Greek names in an effort to assimilate successfully into

the ruling class.

We can also find other imported and exported motifs, particularly in the form of

fantastic creatures and exotic peoples. Sphinxes, griffins, centaurs, winged beings, and sea

creatures are a few examples. While griffins and sphinxes are likely to have been imported

by the Greeks, other creatures in the Greek manner, such as centaurs, certain winged

deities, and sea monsters have been found as far away as ancient Gandhara (present-day

Pakistan and northern India). Conquest also exposed Greeks and Romans to exotic

peoples such as Africans, who subsequently appeared in art.

A Graeco-Phoenician Villa at Tel Anafa, Israel Beginning in the 1960s and concluding in the 1980s, the University of Missouri, later

joined by the University of Michigan, excavated a luxurious villa at Tel Anafa in northern Israel. The excavators concluded that the villa’s occupants were wealthy Phoenician merchants who had come under the influence of Greek culture. Their villa was built in Mediterranean fashion, with rooms arranged around a central court.

Recovered from the villa were some 1,000 fragments of wall plaster, which had fallen from a sumptuous upper floor room, perhaps a dining or reception area. Less ornate schemes were used in other parts of the house. The plaster was brilliantly painted in red, blue, yellow, pink, green, and black and white. Gilding (gold leafing) embellished ornamental motifs. The wall’s reconstruction is based on a study of the surviving plaster.

Northern Israel and southern Lebanon was Phoenician territory, but the villa’s decoration attests the prevalence of Greek culture. “Masonry Style” plaster decoration probably began in Greece, and the division of the wall into the distinct zones reconstructed here has many Greek predecessors. The classical orders, such as the Corinthian, are also Greek. The uniqueness of the decoration lies in its fusion of Greek and eastern elements. The diamond-shape lozenge is not Greek. Its origin is unclear but it is known from Alexandria and Jerash (Jordan). The Corinthian capital form is not Greek either, but rather related to capital forms distinctive to Alexandria and Petra (Jordan). Finally, analysis of the pink pigment shows that it contains mercury, an element not native to the region and thus imported.

In sum, the Phoenician residents at Tel Anafa spared no expense on their lavish residence, likely importing materials and artisans to decorate it. Additionally, its fusion of decorative elements shows a rich intermingling of styles indicative of the period’s cultural exchange.

Decorative Wall Plaster Graeco-Phoenician, late 2nd–early 1st c. BCE Israel, Tel Anafa Painted and gilded lime plaster (WS10, 13, 24, 38, 45, 47, 52, 63, 66, 170, 183, 253, 265, 279, 2.3.36, 5.1.50, 5.1.62) University of Missouri/University of Michigan joint excavation

Heliodora’s funerary stele is a remarkable example of Graeco-Egyptian cultural intermingling, illustrating a woman with a Greek name (“gift of the sun”), wearing a Greek costume that is styled like Egyptian linen, and wearing an Egyptian hairstyle. She reclines on a couch (a Greek tradition) extending a kantharos (a Greek cup) toward the Egyptian jackal-god Anubis. The architectural enclosure is a combination of Egyptian (papyrus columns) and Greek architecture (triangular pediment and painted dentil course).

Below the woman is a series of glyphs, framed on either end by Egyptian djed columns (symbol of strength). From left to right the other symbols are: unknown (perhaps a loaf), an amphora in a stand, and a tripod (three-legged Greek pot). These symbols probably make reference to objects used in Heliodora’s funerary banquet. Traces of red and black paint remain. Most interesting is the inscription that reads:

“Heliodora, inclined to learning, pure, faultless, virginal, devoted to your brother,

about 52 years, be of good fortune.” The inscription implies Heliodora lived in one of Egypt’s centers of learning, for which Alexandria is most well known. Terenouthis, where a number of similar stelai were excavated, was also located in the Nile Delta region and probably fell under Alexandria’s influence. Moreover, the rarity of the piece lies in the fact that it commemorates a middle-aged, unmarried, female scholar in the tradition of the later Hypatia (ca. 350-415 CE). Alexandria produced a number of pagan and Christian women renowned for their great intellects.

Funerary Stele of Heliodora Egyptian, Roman period, 2nd–3rd c. CE Probably from Terenouthis, Nile Delta region Limestone with traces of pigment (2011.25) Weinberg Fund and Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Fund

Fantastic Creatures

Sphinxes (nos. 1–4)

The sphinx was known to Egyptian, Greek, and Near Eastern culture. The Greeks

associated the creature with Egypt, as attested in the myth of Oedipus. The one sent to

terrorize Thebes was said to have come from her homeland in Africa. The Greeks thus

imported the monster and wove her into their own mythology. In the transition from

Egypt to Greece, the sphinx underwent a gender change. The Egyptian example (no. 1) is

clearly male, while the Greek examples (nos. 2–4) represent females. The liquid held by the

rhyton (no. 2) would have dispensed through the breasts.

Griffins (nos. 5–6)

Though the oldest known griffin is said to be from the Minoan palace at Knossos (Crete),

the later Greeks associated the griffin with the East. An eagle-lion hybrid, this monster

became linked to the Scythians in central Asia, where griffins were said to guard hoards of

gold. The Greeks imported the creature into their arts, mostly using it as a protective or

decorative figure. A recent theory suggests the creation of the griffin was based on

fossilized remains of Protoceratops, which are known from the gold mine region of

southeastern Kazakhstan (ancient Scythia).

Protoceratops skeleton

West Meets East: Other Hybrid Creatures (nos. 7–9)

Much influence on Graeco-Roman culture came from the East but the exchange was

reciprocal. The ichthyocentaur (“fish-centaur”) (no. 7) from ancient Gandhara is a hybrid of

a centaur (no. 9) and a merman creature known as a triton in Greek myth. Winged,

humanoid deities are known to many ancient cultures, but one Kushan deity (no. 8) bears

a distinctive resemblance to the Greek Eros or Roman Cupid. These figures demonstrate

the remarkable extent of Graeco-Roman cultural influence, the remains of which are

known as far east as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

1. Sphinx Finial from a Standard New Kingdom, ca. 1550–1069 BCE Egypt Bronze (66.297) Gift of Mr. J. Lionberger Davis

2. Rhyton in the Form of a Sphinx Greek, ca. 4th–3rd c. BCE Turkey, Kolophon Pottery (82.248) Weinberg Fund

3. Sphinx Appliqué Greek or South Italian, ca. 475–450 BCE Central or southern Greece, or Sicily Terracotta (64.22)

4. Black-Figure Kylix with Sphinxes and Panthers By a follower of the Paris Painter Etruscan, ca. 500 BCE Pottery (60.10)

5. Griffin Rhyton By the Rhyton Painter Apulian, ca. 330–310 BCE South Italy Pottery (2006.10) Gift of Dr. William R. Biers

6. Black-Figure Griffin Plate Greek, ca. mid-6th c. BCE Greece, Euboea Pottery (72.23)

7. Relief with Ichthyocentaur (fish-centaur) Pakistan (ancient Gandhara), ca. 1st c. CE Schist (91.316) Gift of Alan and Ann Wolfe

8. Volute Bracket with Winged Male Figure Kushan, ca. 1st c. CE Pakistan (ancient Gandhara), perhaps Taxila Schist (72.134) Gift of Dr. Samuel Eilenberg

The centaur is a distinctively Greek creation with the oldest known representation dating back to about 900 BCE. The later tile exhibited here also shows a centaur, but with the long-bearded head of a Persian or Mesopotamian man.

Expansion into foreign lands brought Greeks and Romans into increasing contact with exotic peoples, plants, animals, and material goods. Some writers, the paradoxagraphoi, recorded only the marvelous and incredible. Africans, particularly, seem to have fascinated both Greeks and Romans, and they frequently appear in art as athletes, warriors, entertainers, etc. The juglet here with an African head may reference the origin of an exotic perfume contained within the vessel.

9. Tile with Centaur Persian(?), 6th–4th c. BCE Possibly from Iran Glazed terracotta (69.9) Gift of Mr. J. Lionberger Davis

10. Juglet in the Form of an African Head Roman, 2nd or 3rd c. CE Pottery (80.356) Gift of Boss Partners