The ancient Mediterranean world was one of considerable diversity among the people lived around and in the vicinity of what Homer calls the wine dark sea. Despite the considerable diversity of peoples, it is common for the ancient world to be reduced to the Greeks and Romans, and to further assume that both of those people were racially "white". In fact, the peoples of the ancient world - while at times certainly xenophobic and bigoted against those they considered the "other" - for the most part did not consider skin color as a category for describing or sorting people, as we do today. Just because ancient authors do not necessarily comment on the race of the different peoples of the ancient world does not mean that they were all white. Further, Greeks and Romans have come to represent the totality of the ancient world for many people today, with much of the geographic and chronological diversity erased. One goal of this exhibition is to highlight the geographic and chronological diversity of the ancient world. 

In the following selection from his Natural History, the Roman Pliny talks about the diversity of the ancient world.

"We have spoken about humanity in general at great length in relation to the tribes of men. Nor will we recall again the numerous rituals and customs of men, which are almost as varied as the people themselves. Nevertheless, I think certain peoples can hardly be omitted, especially those dwelling beyond the sea. I doubt very little that some of what I recount about them will appear unnatural and absolutely unbelievable to many. For who believed in stories about Ethiopians before he saw them? Or what is not considered a miracle when it first becomes known? How many things are judged impossible before they happen? Truly, the power and majesty of the nature of things lacks believability at all times if someone embraces in their minds only a portion of the universe and not the whole. I need not mention peacocks. Nor the spots and stripes of tigers and panthers, nor the embellishment of so many animals – little things to speak of, but immeasurable in their extent. So many languages among people! As many languages as there are tongues. There are so many varieties of ways of speaking that an outsider is often hardly considered human to someone in the next town over! Already in form and face, where there is scarcely more than ten distinctive parts to combine. There exists no two men among a thousand who share the same features – a feat no art could strive to surpass in a majority of instances even among a few men only. Nevertheless I will not swear by the stories, but rather in questionable cases I will ascribe them to the authors who rendered the accounts. May it not be distasteful that in some cases I follow those Greeks whose diligence and care in this study is by far greater than my own."

Pliny, Natural History 7.6

The goal of this exhibit is to counter the narrative of the ancient world described above by highlighting the voices of individuals from around the Mediterranean basin. The objects and texts chosen for display highlight the geographic and chronological diversity of the ancient world. Moreover, the legacy of the ancient world - intellectual ideas, art, architecture, religion, and more - comes from not just Greece and Rome but also Egypt, Babylon, North Africa, Spain, and more.

Learn more about the appropriation of the ancient world by white supremacist groups at Pharos.

The objects on display in this case are meant to highlight the geographical and chronological diversity of the ancient world, the exhibit, and the Wilson College Antiquities Collection. They have also been chosen for their use of maritime and sea related imagery, as we prepare to set sail on our journey around the wine dark sea.

The wooden bird comes from Egypt and dates to approximately 2000-1500 BCE. The bird depicted here is a falcon, a bird associated with many different gods in Egyptian religion, including the sky god Horus. Falcon cults were common in Egypt, and evidence demonstrates their presence from the predynastic period onward.

One of the gods associated with the falcon was Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis. His name means "He who is above" and "He who is distant." Horus was often depicted in the form of a falcon. His right eye was the sun or morning star, and his left eye was the moon or evening star. The sun represented power, the moon, healing. Pharaohs were thought to be manifestations of the god Horus in ancient Egypt; the most important of an Egyptian king's names (most had between three and five) was the name that associated him with Horus.

The three coins on display all feature maritime and sea imagery. They span a period of nearly a millennium and come from Greece and Rome.

The earliest is a Greek stater from Aegina, dating to between 700 and 550 BCE. The term "stater" comes from a weight unit, borrowed from the Phoenician shekel. It weighed about a third of an ounce. Ancient Greece was not one monolithic political entity, as we think of it today - rather, it was composed of many, many sovereign city-states, each of which would have minted their own coinage. Staters were produced in many different poleis (city-states), including Aegina, and were generally worth between two and three drachmas. The Athenian drachma, at 4.3 g, eventually became the standard. This coin is struck in silver; based on the value of the silver today, it would be worth between six and seven dollars at face value.

This coin has a tortoise on the obverse side (shown here) and has an incuse square of the sail mill pattern on the reverse. The imagery on coins was chosen carefully and deliberately, as symbols to represent the sovereignty and authority of the polis, which was the guarantor of the value of the currency. The ability to mint coins is a significant attestation of a state's sovereignty. Aegina was an island of maritime and commercial importance from the Archaic Period (c. 700 - 500 BCE) onwards. The turtle, an animal sacred to Aphrodite, was a common image on Aeginetan coins; the sea turtle was later replaced by a land tortoise during the First Peleoponesian War.

The incuse square refers to an inverted or indented stamp, which would cut a design into the coin, rather than a design that is raised above the surface of the coin (a relief). The "mill sail" pattern was common on the reverse side of coins.

Also on Display:

Greek Drachma, c. 400 BCE: Taras riding a dolphin (Reverse), a horseman crowning horse (Obverse)

Roman Denarius, silver, c. 31 BCE: Galley with rowers and a standard at the prow (Reverse), Three standards (Obverse)

Pottery Dragon

Red Figure Fish Plate decorated with three large fish

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