Posted inAncient Greece, Art

The Sanctuary of the Nympholyptos on Mount Hymettus, a cave filled with reliefs and inscriptions created by a sculptor possessed by the nymphs in the 5th century BCE

In the heart of the Attica region in Greece, nestled among the majestic hills of Mount Hymettus, lies an enigmatic place that has witnessed the passage of time and the devotion of ancient peoples. The Cave of the Nympholyptos is an archaeological site of exceptional historical and cultural importance. Surrounded by myths and sculptures carved […]

Posted inArchaeology

Reliefs with Figures of Guardians, Celestial Ancestors, and Mythical Animals of the Kaanu’l Mayan Dynasty Found in Mexico

The recent archaeological discovery in the Dzibanché Archaeological Zone, Quintana Roo (Mexico), has provided new insights into the grandeur of the Kaanu’l dynasty, one of the most influential in the ancient Mayan civilization. Under the serpent emblem, known as “kaan” in the Mayan language, this powerful lineage ruled vast territories that today include parts of […]

Posted inAncient Rome, Art

Female Figures Identified in Trajan’s Column, Previously Considered Male

In a recent article published in the American Journal of Archaeology, a group of researchers presented an innovative analysis of the representations in Trajan’s Column in Rome. The study, led by Elizabeth Wolfram Thill, Maryl B. Gensheimer, and Elizabeth M. Greene, proposes a significant revision in the identification of certain figures in the friezes of […]

Posted inAntiquity

Lebanon’s Amazing Site with Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Islamic and Colonial Stelae, Inscriptions and Dedications

The river Nahr al-Kalb (called Lykos in ancient times) originates near the town of Jeita and flows for only 31 kilometers before emptying into the Mediterranean about 30 kilometers north of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. It is not a particularly long river, and in summer, it is often nearly dry. However, the valley it […]

Posted inAncient Rome, Art

The Extraordinary Tomb of the Haterii, a Roman Family who Adorned it with Reliefs of the Monuments they Built

Located next to the ancient Via Labicana, about 8.4 kilometers southeast of Rome, the Tomb of the Haterii is one of the most beautifully decorated tombs that have survived from the Roman Empire. Built between 100 and 120 AD, it offers a fascinating insight into funerary art and customs of the early imperial period. The […]

Posted inAntiquity, Art

The monumental rock relief excavated by the Hittites on Mount Sipylus more than 3,000 years ago

When he speaks of Laconia in the third book of his Description of Greece Pausanias comments that the inhabitants of Acriae boasted of having the oldest temple of the Mother Goddess in the Peloponnese. But immediately afterwards he mentions that the oldest image of that goddess is elsewhere: The people of Acriae say that this is the […]