The text said there were five death masks found in the royal graves at the Mycenae citadel. I found these four online and a website with great pictures of artifacts: http://www.ancient-greece.org/images/museums/athens-mycenaean/pages/athens-mus-mycenaean001.htmlI've read the Iliad and the Odyssey as I'm sure most have had to or will have to. But I read them on my own and actually enjoyed them. I know, that's weird. I've also read the Aeschylus trilogy so I was fascinated by the "Mask of Agamemnon" even though it clearly isn't the mask of Agamemnon. But I'm interested in the allegations that Schliemann altered the mask. I'd like to know if that has been proved or disproved.
Another thing that I found interesting is that Troy was found in modern day Turkey. According to the Roman poet Virgil, Rome was essentially founded by the Trojans who fled Troy after the Greeks gained entry into the city through the Trojan horse and were victorious over the suprised Trojans. The leader of the Trojans who fled was Aeneas and the epic poem that Virgil wrote is called the Aeneid. These epic poems by Homer and Virgil and others are always part fiction part non-fiction but if Troy is a real city and the war with Greece actually took place, could it be that the Romans are decended from the Turks? Or did the modern day Turks come after the Trojans left and did Troy become a Greek settlement? It is interesting to trace the lineage of cultures and I suppose something is lost in the blending of cultures but looking to the future I think blending cultures will ultimately be a good thing and new art and hopefully more tolerance of each other will come out of it.
2 comments:
quite interesting questions and too many foibles, fabrications and inconsistencies in Schleimann's work existed for his work to have legitimate credibility - but though some resaerch has suggested that he altered the mask and possible planted some items so that he could gain recognition for it ...those are more musings that concretized accusations...
I would hate to think that the combination of two cultures combining their artistic cultures together is a bad thing. Aren't "we" all a product of two different people coming together to create one perfect person (or at least perfect in their eyes)? Our lineage on both sides of our family are what make us who we are. I'd like to think the same thing about art. Sure the art of each individual culture is beautiful, but art influenced by another culture is still just as impressive and moving. You have some very unique and interesting questions in your blog. It's funny how one single piece of art can bring about so many questions. Great topic!
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