That's It From Herculaneum...

[endlessrarities]

It's the weekend, and I thought that since last Sunday's cycling extravaganza has been followed by five days of almost total inertia, I'd be raring to go on the bike today.  I don't know, perhaps it's the shock of being demoted to the mountain bike once more (the road bike needs new tyres fitted, and was lucky to get home safely, as it had developed an alarming bulge in the inner tube over the course of last week's return journey) but my twenty mile dander up the cycle track and back just about wiped me out...

I shall post some more pictures of the garden tomorrow, as I'm at last getting the nasturtiums planted out and transplanting the penstemmon, so it's beginning to get a bit brighter.  

In the meantime, I thought I'd take one last trip to Herculaneum. 

This is the gymnasium, only partially excavated:-
 

And spare a thought, if you will, for all those archaeologists who have been excavating this place through the centuries.  If you want some idea of what's involved, take a look at this:-

 

The charred timber in the centre of the picture is, I presume, a collapsed joist or beam, with archaeologically sensitive layers beneath.  Lying above is some in situ volcanic ash, the remains of the pyroclastic flow which engulfed the town all those centuries ago.  Now, imagine getting through all that (with or without modern power tools...) and managing to reach those roof timbers without causing any disturbance or destruction.  Not very easy, I'd say...

But the results have been spectaular.  Here's a gorgeous relief sculpture from the town, which unfortunately I know absolutely next to nothing about. It's one of four marble sculptures which feature gods and goddesses, and this one is my particular favourite: Athena/Minerva,:-

Yeah, I might not like the Romans very much, but this piece of Roman art is quite enough to make me go 'wow!  That's really something!!'

And yes, I'd be quite happy to hang it on my wall at home, thank you!!
 

Comments

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

That sounds spot on to me. I'm not a proper Classicist, but she seems very Greek to me, especially in the style of her clothing. The helmet's quite Greek, too, though not as snazzy as the lovely Corinthian style ones. She hasn't got the lovely dispassionate face that's synonymous with the Classical period (I think that's the right one, isn't it? With the Hellenistic stuff being more emotional and melodramatic).

[jennyblackford.livejournal.com]

I can't help feeling that the artist might have been trying for the lovely Classical dispassionate face, with a bit of added Hellenistic determination, and accidentally made it a bit thuggish. Or maybe he fancied tough women ;)

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Maybe the misguided fellow thought he'd improved on the original by making her a bit of a bruiser!

'A bit thuggish'... I like it!!