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The east and north façades of the Parthenon, Acropolis Athens, Greece, 430's BC. When you reached the Acropolis and crossed the Propylaea you met the Parthenon to your right with the west façade in all its glory. That end, however, was not the main façade

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The east and north façades of the Parthenon, Acropolis Athens, Greece, 430's BC. When you reached the Acropolis and crossed the Propylaea you met the Parthenon to your right with the west façade in all its glory. That end, however, was not the main façade

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The Acropolis from the Athenian Agora. The agora evolved from a Mycenaean cemetery into Athens' civic heart by the 6th c. BC. On the Acropolis, from right to left, you see the Temple of Nike on the Propylaeum, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion with a glimpse of the Caryatid Porch.

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The Acropolis from the Athenian Agora. The agora evolved from a Mycenaean cemetery into Athens' civic heart by the 6th c. BC. On the Acropolis, from right to left, you see the Temple of Nike on the Propylaeum, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion with a glimpse of the Caryatid Porch.

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Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis of Athens, c. 420 BC. Dedicated to the goddesses Athena and Nike, this tiny shrine is the first fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It occupies a prominent place on the south west bastion corner to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea...

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Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis of Athens, c. 420 BC. Dedicated to the goddesses Athena and Nike, this tiny shrine is the first fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It occupies a prominent place on the south west bastion corner to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea...

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Kraters were used for mixing wine with water at symposia in Ancient Greece. However, the Derveni Krater was also used as a funerary urn. It contained the cremated remains of a man and a younger woman. 40kg, 90 cm, 4th century BCE

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Kraters were used for mixing wine with water at symposia in Ancient Greece. However, the Derveni Krater was also used as a funerary urn. It contained the cremated remains of a man and a younger woman. 40kg, 90 cm, 4th century BCE

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Toy from Ancient Greece, c.450 BCE: this doll was crafted in the form of a woman with a rolling pin, and it has articulated joints that allow the rolling pin to be pushed back and forth

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Toy from Ancient Greece, c.450 BCE: this doll was crafted in the form of a woman with a rolling pin, and it has articulated joints that allow the rolling pin to be pushed back and forth

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Toy from Ancient Greece, c.450 BCE: this doll was crafted in the form of a woman with a rolling pin, and it has articulated joints that allow the rolling pin to be pushed back and forth

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Toy from Ancient Greece, c.450 BCE: this doll was crafted in the form of a woman with a rolling pin, and it has articulated joints that allow the rolling pin to be pushed back and forth

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This gold and enamel ring was made in Italy in the 17th-century. Diamonds are set in the skull’s eye sockets and nose, and in the crossbones. Memento mori rings – from the Latin ‘remember that you must die’ – were intended to remind the wearer of the brevity of life.

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This gold and enamel ring was made in Italy in the 17th-century. Diamonds are set in the skull’s eye sockets and nose, and in the crossbones. Memento mori rings – from the Latin ‘remember that you must die’ – were intended to remind the wearer of the brevity of life.

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A gold alloy ring with a depiction of a naked teenager with a fishing net. From a tomb in the western necropolis of ancient Rhodes, 350-325 BCE, now housed at Rhodes Archaeological Museum in Greece

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A gold alloy ring with a depiction of a naked teenager with a fishing net. From a tomb in the western necropolis of ancient Rhodes, 350-325 BCE, now housed at Rhodes Archaeological Museum in Greece

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Temple of Artemis Propylaeum from the Cardo. Gerasa, 150 AD, Jordan. Built during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, it was part of a large complex that included east and west Propylaea, grand staircases, a temenos, and the temple itself, which was never finished...

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Temple of Artemis Propylaeum from the Cardo. Gerasa, 150 AD, Jordan. Built during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, it was part of a large complex that included east and west Propylaea, grand staircases, a temenos, and the temple itself, which was never finished...

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In 1949, artists from Iran and Italy gathered to create the history's first statue of a Persian king made in the West: Nader Shah, known in Europe as the "Napoleon of the East." Six years later, a 14-ton statue arrived from Rome at his tomb in Mashhad, where it greets visitors today.

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In 1949, artists from Iran and Italy gathered to create the history's first statue of a Persian king made in the West: Nader Shah, known in Europe as the "Napoleon of the East." Six years later, a 14-ton statue arrived from Rome at his tomb in Mashhad, where it greets visitors today.

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The Tandragee Idol, dated to the Iron Age, with some sources suggesting a date as early as 1000 BCE. It shows the torso and head of a grotesque and brutish figure who crosses his body with his left arm to hold his right arm in what appears to be a ritualistic pose. Northern Ireland

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The Tandragee Idol, dated to the Iron Age, with some sources suggesting a date as early as 1000 BCE. It shows the torso and head of a grotesque and brutish figure who crosses his body with his left arm to hold his right arm in what appears to be a ritualistic pose. Northern Ireland

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For the first time in 200 years, the Parthenon’s exterior is completely free of scaffolding on all sides. It’s also the first time in 20 years that the western side has been scaffold-free. At least six generations have never seen the Parthenon unobstructed.

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For the first time in 200 years, the Parthenon’s exterior is completely free of scaffolding on all sides. It’s also the first time in 20 years that the western side has been scaffold-free. At least six generations have never seen the Parthenon unobstructed.

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The Borremose man found in Denmark in 1946. The man who died in c. 700 BCE, was found with a 36 cm rope with a slipknot around his neck indicating death by strangulation. However, examination also revealed a crushing blow to the back of the skull and the right femur had been broken

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The Borremose man found in Denmark in 1946. The man who died in c. 700 BCE, was found with a 36 cm rope with a slipknot around his neck indicating death by strangulation. However, examination also revealed a crushing blow to the back of the skull and the right femur had been broken

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Ring with Cats and Kittens was created in ancient Egypt of glazed ceramic dating from ca. 1295-664 B.C. and now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

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Ring with Cats and Kittens was created in ancient Egypt of glazed ceramic dating from ca. 1295-664 B.C. and now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

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Part of the wall of Darius the Great's palace in Susa , which still retains its color after more than 2,500 years. Only two examples of this wall remains in the world today, one housed at the National Museum of Iran, and the other at Louvre.

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Part of the wall of Darius the Great's palace in Susa , which still retains its color after more than 2,500 years. Only two examples of this wall remains in the world today, one housed at the National Museum of Iran, and the other at Louvre.

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In 1958, archaeologists excavating the Sanctuary of Artemis in Brauron, Greece, uncovered a marble relief showing Zeus and Leto with their offspring Apollo and Artemis to the right. 420-410 BCE, now housed at the Archaeological Museum of Brauron

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In 1958, archaeologists excavating the Sanctuary of Artemis in Brauron, Greece, uncovered a marble relief showing Zeus and Leto with their offspring Apollo and Artemis to the right. 420-410 BCE, now housed at the Archaeological Museum of Brauron

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The Sacro Catino is a hexagonal plate made of bright green transparent glass, preserved in Genoa in the Museum of the Treasure of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. It was portrayed as the Holy Grail; however modern studies considered it to be an Islamic artifact of the 9th-10th century CE

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The Sacro Catino is a hexagonal plate made of bright green transparent glass, preserved in Genoa in the Museum of the Treasure of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. It was portrayed as the Holy Grail; however modern studies considered it to be an Islamic artifact of the 9th-10th century CE

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Tazza Farnese, a cameo bowl made of four-layered sardonyx agate. The origin of the piece is unknown. However, the consensus among scholars, based on the blending of Egyptian and Greek or Roman iconography in its carvings, is that it was created in Alexandria between 300 and 20 BC...

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Tazza Farnese, a cameo bowl made of four-layered sardonyx agate. The origin of the piece is unknown. However, the consensus among scholars, based on the blending of Egyptian and Greek or Roman iconography in its carvings, is that it was created in Alexandria between 300 and 20 BC...

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This 12th-century CE sock, from Egypt, was knitted from the toe upward to the leg. Its heel was made separately at the end and attached to loops left during leg knitting. This ingenious practice allowed the heel to be replaced when it wore out without the necessity of making new socks

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This 12th-century CE sock, from Egypt, was knitted from the toe upward to the leg. Its heel was made separately at the end and attached to loops left during leg knitting. This ingenious practice allowed the heel to be replaced when it wore out without the necessity of making new socks

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When a Roman mosaic was discovered in modern-day Turkey, it was found to be so well made that it preserved the wave of an earthquake without breaking the pattern.

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When a Roman mosaic was discovered in modern-day Turkey, it was found to be so well made that it preserved the wave of an earthquake without breaking the pattern.

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