Touring the Greco-Roman Galleries at
the CLEVELAND MUSEUM of ART
Suggestions for going solo
 last update 13 February 2008

Note that this does not apply until 2009, when the CMA will reopen the Greek and Roman art galleries.
Meanwhile, see the link for the "virtual tour" of these museum collections.

  1. Preliminaries:
    1. The Museum has free admission, and is open most days from 10 AM and also WF evenings
    2. Parking on the street is tight, but they have a lot that costs $3. If you do that, keep your receipt if you would like to be reimbursed.
    3. Allow yourself 60-90 minutes for your self-guided tour
  2. What to do & see when you get there:
    1. Rent one of the headsets ($4 for non-members) with the recorded tour for the Greek, Roman, & Early Christian art galleries (208-210); keep your receipt if you would like to be reimbursed.
    2. Find the galleries (basement, roughly below the Museum Store)
    3. Either on your way in or out of the galleries, take a walk through the Ancient Assyrian & Egyptian collections, in particular noting:
      1. The Assyrian “Winged Genie” which shows one of the influences upon Judaism for depicting “angels” with wings
      2. The three Roman Period portraits in the last Egyptian gallery (1, 2, 3)
    4. In the gallery with the large pieces of both Greek and Roman provenance (#208)
      1. What do you notice when you first walk into the room?
      2. What do you notice about the posture & clothing of the over-life-size bronze? What do they tell you about the subject? What was the sculptor trying to convey by making the statue this size? (Cf. Mk 10:42)
      3. Note the way the sculpture of the athlete is painted to match his skin color. This statue was made to celebrate a victory, but note that only the bust was unique; the body was “pre-fab,” depicting the “model” athlete.
      4. Compare the Greek-style bust of Marcus Aurelius with the Roman ones on the opposite diagonal. Notice the idealization in the former and the ultra-realism of the latter ones (wrinkles, etc.). This shows the Roman interest in the individual, reflected also in the popularity of biographies in the first century, and in the invention of the gospel genre.
      5. Notice the bust of the Phrygian soldier with the head covering and beard, whereas the Roman men (including Augustus in this cameo) are clean-shaven and bare-headed. (Augustus wears the laurel wreath crown, but no other head-covering; cf. 1 Cor 11:4.)
      6. Note the Imperial Eagle, symbol of Roman authority, that caused a riot in Jerusalem when Pontius Pilate installed it on public buildings---including the Temple
      7. Take a look at the small sculptures that would have been decorations in an aristocratic home
        1. Apollo Sauroktonos ("Lizard-Slayer")
        2. Aristocratic Woman
        3. Athlete Making an Offering
        4. Beggar
        5. Dancing Dwarf
        6. Dionysos
        7. Hercules (Herakles)
        8. Reclining Courtesan
        9. Piping and Dancing Satyr
        10. Sacrificing Woman
        11. Wrestler
      8. Note the differences in the way female figures are portrayed in sculpture compared to male figures (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 11:14)
      9. Note the differences in the way Aphrodite is depicted in contrast to the women in the Grecian Grave Stela (cf. 1 Cor 11:5-6)
      10. Find the ram, the representative animal of Zeus (cf. 2 Cor 6:16-17)
      11. Note the size of the hydria and Panathenaic-shaped Amphora near there, which would be used for water and oil or wine, respectively; water storage jars (like those mentioned in John 2:6) could be twice the size of this hydria (e.g., 6' high x 3' diam.)
    5. In the second room are the smaller artifacts that would be used in aristocratic homes
      1. Many of the pieces are eating dishes, but some are simply knick-knacks; see if you can find the baby bottle, the oil containers (1, 2) that were used much like a roll-on deodorant, and the satyr figure that would have been perched on this stand to be used in the koddobos drinking game
      2. Note the way that using the kylix, a rhyton (1, 2), the Janiform Kantharos, or some other drinking vessel would transform your face (cf. Eph 5:18 & Rev. 16:2)
      3. The sistrum is a liturgical percussion instrument, similar in sounding to a tambourine, and sometimes called a "rattle"
      4. Find the alabastron Perfume Bottle, probably quite similar to the Alabastar jar used by the woman who anointed Jesus to proclaim him the Messiah King of Israel (see Mark 14)
      5. Note the poses of the figures represented, their clothing (or lack thereof), the activities depicted (cf. Rev. 17:2 & 18:3). Where do you think you would be like to have seen figures like these?
        1. The Woman with the Sistrum
        2. Grave Stele of a Warrior
        3. A Seated Woman
        4. Krater with Column Handles (be sure to look at the reverse side)
        5. Architectural Bracket with Wrestlers
      6. See the two banqueters (1, 2) reclining on the couches as would be the case at a symposium. Whereas Roman dinner parties were mixed affairs and, therefore, somewhat more sedate, Greek symposia were all-male events except for slaves and hired courtesans; note that it is in a letter to a Greek city that Paul expresses his concern about the connection between food and fornication (1 Cor 6:13, 15)
      7. See the mirrors, their decorations and composition (cf. 1 Cor 13:12)
      8. Note the “lar” figure representing the patron deity of a household (cf. Gen 31:19)
      9. The large bowl (a krater)in the center was used for mixing wine to its desired strength; the stronger the wine, the more honored was the guest of the party (cf. 1 Cor 11:21)
      10. Note the hairstyle in the Portrait of Octavia, wife of Nero
    6. The third gallery (#210) has pieces dating from the third century and later.
      1. What kinds of images are not present in this art that were present in the previous two galleries
      2. Note the ones that are mostly pagan pieces (e.g., the Suspension Lamp with Griffin Head) but that have been “Christianized” simply by adding crosses or a Chi Rho (XP)
      3. Aside from the Jonah set (1, 2, 3, 4) and the Good Shepherd, how many 3-D sculptures do you see in this gallery? How many 2-D pieces do you see here in comparison to the Greco-Roman galleries? Why do you think there is such a shift from the Greco-Roman galleries?
      4. Note the three sets of busts for the high-ranking couple from Asia Minor (probably Phrygia), ca. C.E. 270-280 (1, 2, 3). See the realism with which they are depicted (slight changes in facial features from one set to the next), the richly decorated clothing that shows their aristocratic (and perhaps senatorial) rank, and the intricate braid in the woman’s hair, which is piled up on top of her head (not hanging loose like that of a prostitute; cf. Lk 7:38-39). How many hands do you think it would take to make a braid like that? In other words, how many serving girls does the woman have, based on her hairstyle? How do you think this influences the advice in 1 Tim 2:9-10 & 1 Pet 3:3-4?
      5. Note the non-realistic way the Madonna and Child are depicted in the fiber icon. Why do you think they are made this way? By the way, the inscription above Mary’s head is spelled wrong--–“Ha Ha Maria” rather than “Hagia (Holy) Maria”--–which tells us that the weavers were illiterate.)
      6. What do you think of the friezes (e.g., this "Frieze with Foliage and Grapes" that served as crown moulding, or this "Lunette with Two Angels Supporting a Pendant Cross" that decorated the area above a door or window)? How are they different from the ones of the Hellenistic and early Imperial periods? Why are they different?
      7. Can you find the illuminated manuscript of the Bible? (Cf. this Miniature from a Latin Bible: St. Luke [Provenance: France, Burgundy, Abbey of Cluny, early 12th Century
        c. 1100].)
      8. Why do you think there are no depictions of the crucifixion in Christian art prior to the 6th century?
  3. Complete your Reaction Paper, and attach any receipts for reimbursement.