The Chimaera of Arezzo

Chimaera of Arezzo (pictured here on display in Florence), Etruscan, ca. 400 BCE

"The Chimaera...a raging monster, divine, inhuman--a lion in front, a serpent behind, a goat between--and breathing fire. Bellerophon killed her, trusting signs from the gods."

Homer, The Iliad

The Chimaera of Arezzo exhibition is, for me, one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the year. Unlike many other special exhibitions at the Villa, I had opportunities to attend scholarly talks on this show long before it opened, so I had a great preview of what it would be about. Also, it is a pretty big deal that Italy has allowed such a nationally treasured artifact to travel to L.A. This exhibition marks the first time this Etruscan bronze sculpture has ever traveled to the United States. On top of all of this, the great myth attached to the Chimaera of Arezzo is a wonderful tale that appealed so much to people over the centuries, the story eventually made its way into our modern Western culture and iconography (albeit in a somewhat modified form). All of these elements make this installation one of the most interesting and memorable I have yet seen at the Villa.

Homer's account (dated to the 7th c. BCE) of the myth of the hero Bellerophon and the chimaera is the first evidence of writing we have from ancient Greece. The fact that this myth shows up so early in Greek literature suggests this was both an antique and popular tale, even then. The myth tells how Bellerophon, mounted on the winged horse Pegasus, is able to fly above the Chimaera beyond the reach of its flaming breath and cast down a spear from above to kill the monster. The image of Bellerophon flying above the monster, spear at the ready, was depicted on everything from large vases to miniature oil jars to engraved gemstones. These containers and luxury items were traded throughout the Mediterranean world, carrying the story of Bellerophon and the chimaera with them.

Calyx krater, Faliscan, ca. 370 BCE

Thus, an antique tale from Greece made its way west to Italy, where Bellerophon's defeat of the chimaera became the most commonly depicted heroic triumph. The Ertruscans in particular were quite taken with the imagery. The most stunning representation of the chimaera we have from Etruria is the Chimaera of Arezzo. The statue is imposing by itself, but scholars think it likely was only part of a monumental offering made to a religious sanctuary. Most representations of the chimaera include Bellerophon flying above, mounted on Pegasus, ready to launch his spear and kill the monster. Scholars believe the Chimaera of Arezzo must have once been paired with an equally impressive bronze sculpture of Bellerophon on Pegasus, which would have been displayed above it. Although the Chimaera was found in a votive burial with numerous bronze statuettes, no evidence of this sculpture was found, so its existence remains only an educated guess.

If an artifact has a documented history, I find visitors are just as curious about the "modern" history of an artifact as they are about its ancient context and history. As it happens, the modern history of the Chimaera of Arezzo is one of the most well documented of surviving ancient works of art. It was discovered near the Italian town of Arezzo in 1553 and quickly became the crown jewel in the antiquities collection of Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Etruria. He saw the sculpture as a magnificent testament to the legacy of Etruria, which he claimed for himself. (Naturally!) Cosimo saw himself as Bellerophon and referred to his enemies as "chimaeras." That is, he intended to defeat his enemies as thoroughly as Bellerophon had dispatched the chimaera. Cosimo's adoption of the Chimaera into his collection made the sculpture famous, and ever since it has been one of the most celebrated works of art from Italy's ancient past.

St. George and the Dragon Detail of an Illuminated manuscript, French, about 1410 CE

One of the aspects of this exhibition I like is how it brings the myth of Bellerophon and the Chimaera full-circle. Though the myth declined in popularity during the Roman imperial period, the myth endured in western areas of the Roman empire--and even in some eastern areas, as recent archaeological discoveries have shown (see the illustration of the mosaic floor, below). By the early Christian period, images of this pagan myth were sometimes even paired with Christian symbols. The Medieval image of St. George impaling a fire-breathing dragon seems to be a derivation of the Bellerophon myth transformed into more Christian terms. That is, good, represented by St. George, defeats the dragon, which can be seen as a representation of the devil. This is illustrated in the exhibition by the display of an illuminated manuscript (see above) from the Getty Research Institute's collection. The Villa curators never miss an opportunity to deepen and broaden special exhibitions with manuscripts from the GRI. The GRI's holdings are truly vast, and I am glad our curators here use them so effectively.

A less tangible issue addressed by the exhibition is why the popularity of Bellerophon eventually declines in Greece but becomes exceedingly popular abroad, especially in Italy. One scholar has suggested that Bellerophon becomes an anti-hero in Greek ideology because of his tragic end. In the accounts of Homer and Hesiod, Bellerophon was brought to ruin by Zeus for having the hubris to mount Pegasus and attempt to fly up to Mt. Olympus in order to join the gods there. In Italy, on the other hand, it seems there was no strong central ideology influencing the perception of Bellerophon. Instead, religion in Italy was more of a private, individual practice, and so Bellerophon became venerated as one who could travel between worlds (that is, the earthly realm and the divine realm) and could therefore mediate with the gods on behalf of the dead. This idea is illustrated by a gold ring in the exhibition, which scholars suggest was created specifically to be worn by a deceased individual in the hope that Bellerophon would intercede on his behalf before the gods and aid him in his journey to a life after death.

Roman mosaic floor dating to ca. 260 CE found in Palmyra, Syria

As much as I like this exhibition, I am disappointed in one respect. The mosaic floor shown above, found in Palmyra, Syria, is not a part of this exhibition. This in itself is not a major disappointment, since curators are often unable to get loan approval for every object they want to include from other museums. Also, it occurs to me that in this case, the floor is possibly still in situ, right where the archaeologists found it. Even so, instead of leaving the object out completely, curators chose to display a scale facsimile of the mosaic. What bothers me about this decision is that the number one question I get from visitors is, "Is that real?" By that they mean, "Is it really ancient or is it a copy?" One of the most shocking things I learned when I stepped into a museum gallery as an educator is that many, many people think that museums only display copies of works of art. I am happy to change their perspective and assure them that when they are in a museum they are looking at the real thing, unless it is specifically stated otherwise on the label. Now, of course the facsimile in the exhibition is marked as such, and it is a great illustration to view in the context of the exhibit. Still, I can't help but be a little disappointed that this time, when a visitor asks me, "Is it real?" I have to say no.

Be that as it may, this is an exhibition not to be missed by Southern California museum goers. The Chimaera alone would be well worth the drive to Malibu, but when you add the Golden Graves of Vani to it, you have an irresistible pairing. There will be more from me on Vani in a later post--I am still slogging through the archaeology of the site, so I need a bit more time before I can have a decently informed opinion.

A Good Visit

My cousin Lacy and her five-year-old daughter, Madison, came out for a visit this month. I met up with them at Disneyland, and we spent the day there along with Lacy's friends Danette and Travis. They are from Illinois too, and now live out here. Experiencing Disneyland with two young children as part of your group was new to me. I rode rides like Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, and so on. Madison was very keen on meeting princesses and pixies, so we did that too. I took her to Pixie Hallow while Lacy and her friends rode the Matterhorn roller coaster, but a second trip had to be made because we missed Tinker Bell the first time. Madison's comments on some of the rides were pretty entertaining. For example, on the Jungle Cruise: "This is TORTURE!" Pirates of the Caribbean: "I DON'T want to do that again!" Winnie the Pooh ride: "Again!" I was happy she also gave It's a Small World a good review, because that was one of my favorite rides when I was a kid. (Although I rode it at DisneyWorld, not Disneyland.) It was a really fun day, but very hot and ultimately exhausting. I picked up an annual pass while I was there, so I most definitely plan to go back with Eric sometime soon.

I also took Lacy and Madison to see the Villa and we spent an afternoon at the beach. You might expect I spend a lot of time on the beach since I live so close to it, but that afternoon was the first time I had been on a beach in years. However, after enjoying an afternoon of laying on the hot sand and reading, I may have to reevaluate my habits. Madison spent a lot of her time on the beach running from the waves. When we arrived home that day, Eric asked her how the beach was and she said it was good, "except I got sand in my buttcrack." Priceless. All in all it was a good visit.

It has been awhile since I have really taken the time to chill out, so it felt pretty good to escape to Disneyland and go to the beach and do nothing for a couple of days. At the Villa things are the same as ever. The Chimaera of Arezzo and the Golden Graves of Vani exhibitions are here now, and I am enjoying them immensely. My favorite thus far is Chimaera, since you can talk about everything from retrograde inscriptions to the transmission and evolution of the Bellerophon/Chimaera myth. St. George and the dragon, anyone? I plan to spend more time in the galleries this week, so hopefully soon I will be able to post some of my thoughts on these two exhibitions.

As Summer Was Just Beginning

I know I have been delinquent with my blog updates the past few weeks, but in my defense, I have been rather uninspired and there is not much going on at the moment. By this time, of course, summer has officially begun. Eric just began teaching his course on ancient Egyptian religion at UCLA and I will be wrapping up school group lessons tomorrow. (I have declared it an official day of celebration.) The summer months will still be busy, just with different kinds of distractions. Beginning next week I will have no teaching assignments on Wednesdays, which will give me the luxury of one day a week to research and prepare for upcoming projects. For example, I am preparing a course comparing nudity in the ancient Near East, Egypt, and Greece. Also, two special exhibitions are opening at the Villa this summer: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani (July 16–October 5, 2009) and The Chimaera of Arezzo (July 16, 2009–February 8, 2010). I have about a month or so to study up on both of those exhibitions so I can be ready to present them to the public by the time they open. I am very much looking forward to both of these shows. They will both have an archaeological bent to them compared to other special exhibitions I have taught here, which will make them particularly fun for me.

In other news, we are now a two car family again. You will recall some months ago I reported that the engine of Eric's old beater overheated and seized, leaving him stranded on the 405 freeway. Since then he and I have been negotiating the use of our one remaining car as best as we could--and not doing half bad, all things considered. Anyhow, last week a friend of his bought a new car and very kindly sold his old one to Eric for a price he could afford. So we now have two cars again, and what a luxury it is! I will enjoy very much not making grocery trips on my day off with my little push cart and waiting on the bus in order to get around and get errands done.

With all that in mind, you could say things are going pretty well right now. We have no extraordinary plans for summer since we usually take our vacation in September, after Eric is done with his summer teaching. What we will be doing is taking advantage of the awesome SoCal summer weather, enjoying time with friends and family, and going to lots of summer movies. I have learned to make the most of my unusual work schedule and have got myself into the habit of seeing movies on Mondays, when everyone else is at work. It is a lot of fun to kick back with your soda and popcorn and see a movie in an almost deserted theater. Once you know how great it is without the crowds, it is almost disappointing to see a movie any other way. Also, at the end of the summer I plan on escaping the city for a visit home.

But, for now, there are miles to go so I had better get to it. Time to get busy learning the stories revealed by the golden graves of Vani.

Summertime in the Villa's Herb Garden

Kellie's Wedding

A little over a week ago, on May 30th, Eric and I were in his sister Kellie's wedding. Kellie and Jeff were married at the Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes. Unfortunately the trademark "June gloom" of southern California moved in a day or two early, and it turned out to be an overcast, chilly, misty day. Even so, the beautiful locations made for great photos. The venue from the ceremony was the Wayfarer's Chapel. It sits right on the coast and is a beautiful place no matter what the weather.

Unfortunately, I think my day of gallivanting along the coast in the chill and mist helped to run me down and opened me up to attack from a vicious rhinovirus that's been going around. The past week I have suffered from a nasty head cold. This bug made its way around the office this past week, taking out several of us. It definitely slowed me down, but I'm fighting back and believe I am on the mend. There is just something totally unfair about summer colds...

The month of June promises to be pretty uneventful. I will continue to miseducate the public as usual, and Eric will begin teaching his summer class at UCLA next week. The one anticipated event for me this month is the day school groups end. The end date is currently set for June 27th, I believe. That will indeed be a day of celebration and the beginning of a much needed break from teaching school audiences. They are in many ways the audience that takes the most energy, and the summer break is the time to recharge and recuperate before returning to the fray in early October.

Speaking of recuperation, I'm going to set aside my computer so I can make myself a comforting cup of hot tea. It's the beverage that cheers but does not inebriate, as one of my favorite literary heroes would say.

When Mom Came to Town

Sandy, Kara, and I

Last week Mom came out to L.A. for a visit. We had no particular plans, but somehow every day was filled with plenty to do. Her first night in town we went out for a girl's night with my friends Sandy and Kara. A great time was had by all, although we narrowly avoided an encounter with angry fans when Kara decided to (loudly) heckle the Lakers and cheer Denver.

One day during her visit was "bring Mom to work day." We hung out at the Villa and I showed Mom around and she got to follow me on my gallery talks. She saw my talk on religion in Greco-Roman Egypt and attended my hour of the gem handling session for that day. The gem handling sessions, as we call them, are associated with our "Carvers & Collectors" exhibition on ancient engraved gems and modern copies. We have a "touchable" collection of various gemstones and engraved gemstones in different stages of completion that we discuss and pass around amongst visitors who stop by. It is very different from the other kinds of teaching I do in that these are times when I just sit down and converse with visitors for an hour. As with most teaching, I find it exhausting but fun. Mom also got to meet some of my coworkers, who later told me my mother could pass for my sister.



All things considered it was a great visit. Now Eric and I are getting ready for his sister's wedding this weekend. All sorts of friends and family are converging on the Wells household at the moment, since the big day is tomorrow. This morning Eric and I packed and loaded the car so we can leave straight from the museum and head for the South Bay. It will be a crazy busy couple of days, I'm sure, but hopefully a lot of fun as well!