Thursday, August 11, 2016

Thessaloniki's Archaeological Museum- the Sacred, the Secular, and the Surprisingly Familiar


Laid-back Thessaloniki rests on the most cosmopolitan pedigree in Greece. The ruins of the palace and Imperial complex of Galerius share the main pedestrian center with the cafes and all night fast food of the students' quarter, and his triumphal arch is everyone's favorite meeting point before a night out. At the beginning of September, we bring our blankets, pic-nic baskets and bottles of wine to the lawns Ancient Agora to listen to bands and watch movies among the ruins. Two of the Mosques of the Ottoman era- the oldest (the 15th C Alaja Imaret) and the newest (the 1898 Geni Tami) have exhibits and installations and art events throughout the year. Old factories have become concert halls and old warehouses are now museums of photography and contemporary art. The past is so incorporated into our daily life you would almost think we don't even need an official museum of archaeology to tie it all together.

But we have one- Thessaloniki's small (compare to Athens', which is tremendous) manageable Museum of Archaeology is crammed with the all fabulous stuff from the rich areas right outside the museum. You can go in knowing pretty much nothing at all, and leave knowing a great deal, thanks to a logical layout and signage with full and fascinating explanations. The public and the private come together to give a vivid picture of Ancient life.

Imperial City-

The Roman empire was vast, necessitating a tetrarchy, with Diocletian ruling the East, Marcus Aurelius the West, and their respective junior emperors, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus.

Torso of Dea Roma- personification of the city of Rome
The Cuirass (breast plate and back plate fastened together) of an Emperor,
with relief of Gorgons and Nereids riding seahorses,
and Dolphins in the waves

We see the (very large) Imperial glory in the Museum's outer room. 

Sacred Life-

In the first gallery, we are plunged into the spiritual life of the 1st C AD. If you have ever been in an Orthodox church and seen the Tamas on a miraculous icon, it will familiar-


This offering is in gratitude for the Epiphany of the Gods. 

The cult of Isis was wide spread


Here is an Aretology- representing the Goddesse's virtues (Aretes). They were many:


And all things any of us would want.

Sacred meets Secular-

The division of the sacred and the secular was less defined than in our world today. The Pythian games were held in honor of Apollo every four years. People flocked to the city to see not just athletic and musical competitions, but also gladiators, and combat with wild beasts.

These tokens functioned as a free ticket for honored guests
Later on, in the 4th C AD, the Hippodrome was built, integrated into the Galerian complex. It held 15,000 people, coming to see the same sorts of spectacles. These Gladiator and wild beast combats were wildly popular, but also expensive to put on. These were nearly exclusively for the Imperial cult, this itself- the worship of an Emperor as deity- showing the same seamless blending of the sacred and secular.

The mood of decadence and reverence continues. One of my favorite objects is this-



That's Dionysus embracing a satyr, made around the time of the Pythian games. What's that coming from the top of his head? This is a Trapezophoron- a table support(!) that would make a banquet of a bunch of grapes. Evocative table supports such as these have not gone entirely out of fashion:



Of the twelve Gods of Olympus worshiped in Thessaloniki, Asclepius and Dionysus were especially popular- both had tribes named after them. In the case of Dionysus, also a neighborhood-



Our picture of the first centuries AD in Thessaloniki is filling out now, and it is not a dull one- banquets at tables with the tackiest most fabulous table-legs you can imagine, blood shed at sacred brutal games attended by thousands, processions of Phalluses.

Culture-

Not all public gatherings were as sensational- there is also a magnificent 2nd C AD Odeion, still almost entirely intact, at the west end of the Roman marketplace. The aristocracy would gather here for performances of theater and music, and for poetry readings. It was decorated with statues of the muses, and of a wealthy patroness.

The Richness of Domestic Life- 

The picture becomes fuller still with the displays of private and domestic life. Thessaloniki had a great mosaic workshop, and floors of wealthy homes and baths were often decorated with mosaics-




We read of their diet- The Romans favored spices and sauces. From inscriptions we know that the among the aristocracy the diet was rich in variety- fish and shellfish, venison, rabbit, pheasant, and chestnuts, almonds, pomegranates, and figs. We know they held symposia, gatherings of urban elite to exchange ideas, and that they listened to the flute and the kithara, and that the flute- accompanying symposia, theater, and rituals, was also used to give pace to the strokes of rowers and the marching f soldiers. The mosaics have survived, but the paintings have not- walls were covered with frescoes. We can imagine the colors though, because they survive on fragments and on other objects:



We even know they smelled nice, from accounts of "myropoles" (merchants of fragrance), from the beautiful perfume vials found in tombs, along with hair combs, diadems, make-up in small pots. Cura dabeit faciem- "care boosts beauty" (Ovid, The Art of Love) is quoted in the museum's display.

An hour or two will give you an intimate glimpse of the rich and intricate life in our beautiful city of the first centuries AD. You will leave with some understanding of how they celebrated, what they did for recreation, how they dined, what they thought was beautiful, and most importantly, what mattered to them. You may find, as I did, that (excepting maybe the combat with wild beasts and processions with phalluses), it is a very familiar world.

The Museum is open seven days a week, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

http://www.amth.gr/en

More Thessaloniki:




Kinda Blue- Searching for the Roots of Rebetiko









The Lives of Others- Villa Bianca









Open House- Falling in Love with your Hometown

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