Transformation
People of the ancient Mediterranean loved—and loved to fear—“monsters”: hybrid creatures who mixed human and animal qualities, confusing and also demarcating the boundaries between species.
In the ancient Middle East, mixed beings symbolized the chaotic forces of the universe, manifesting sometimes in aid of human beings and sometimes as their adversaries. Even when friendly to humans, they lived apart from society in liminal spaces of wilderness and desert.
In Greek and Roman mythology, human-animal hybrids were almost always hostile, serving as foes for heroes and foils to state power. Greek and Roman monsters were often women (like the gorgons in this exhibit), symbolizing fear of the feminine, especially women’s sexual power.
Despite the threat human-animal hybrids could pose to human beings, representations of them were used in everyday decorations, where their power was believed to protect people from disease, evil spirits, and the jealous thoughts of their neighbors.
Gorgon Faces In Greek myth, gorgons were powerful feminine monsters with fangs and snaky hair whose gaze could transform living beings into stone. Later authors speculated that Medusa, the most famous gorgon, had once been human. According to the Roman poet Ovid, Neptune raped Medusa in Minerva’s temple. Minerva blamed Medusa, Neptune’s victim, because the assault defiled her temple. She punished Medusa by turning her once beautiful hair into “filthy snakes.” These two gorgons open their mouths to show terrifying fangs. Blue pigment (left) and gold leaf (right) would have originally made them more vivid and effective at averting evil. Ancient Greece 500–300 BCE Ceramic; terracotta, with pigment/gilding 1900.11.0018 1923.03.0001
Sarcophagus with Gorgon Face This terracotta sarcophagus (also known as a larnax) is unique. While others of its type are known from Bronze Age Greece, none have been found in the Middle East, where this sarcophagus originates. The Roman-style gorgon on one end is accompanied by other, more mysterious images: a pair of human figures surrounded by frolicking animals, two spheres hanging above them. The sarcophagus once held human remains. The gorgon face, like others in this exhibit, was probably intended to keep the deceased safe from evil. Roman period Middle East 100–300 CE Ceramic; terracotta 1985.20.0001
Centaur Centaurs are Greek mythological figures that combine the torso of a human (usually a man) with the hindquarters of a horse. Born after the human king Ixion raped the cloud-nymph Nepehele, centaurs had a mixed reputation: generally considered violent and uncivilized, a few were honored as musicians and the teachers of heroes like Achilles and Herakles. Centaur figurines have been found in Egypt after the period of Greek contact and may have been used as toys, decoration, or religious offerings. Though broken at the torso, this centaur’s dynamic pose, left leg extended, can still be seen. Two sets of genitalia are visible, perhaps reflecting the maker’s uncertainty about monstrous anatomy! Ptolemaic or Roman Egypt, Faiyum Oasis or Abydos 300 BCE–300 CE Ceramic; earthenware 1912.01.0010
Minotaur In Greek mythology, the minotaur combined the head of a bull with the body of a human man. The two halves of the minotaur reflect his two parents: the Cretan queen Pasiphae and the bull she had sex with. Pasiphae deceived and seduced the bull by wearing a cow suit made by Daedalus, the artisan who would later build the labyrinth in which the minotaur was imprisoned. This intricately sculpted minotaur may be a forgery. If authentic, traces of red paint indicate how the creature’s hair and eyes would have stood out against his green skin. Ancient Greece/Ancient Rome 19th–20th c forgery Marble with traces of pigment 1930.01.0002
Tetraobol with Gorgon Like the terracotta gorgon faces in the exhibit, the gorgon on this coin from the city of Neapolis was believed to guard the owner—and perhaps the city itself—from evil. The reverse of the coin represents a young woman, perhaps a stand-in for the city. Users of the coin would have enjoyed the contrast between horrifying monster and beautiful lady. Ancient Greece or Macedon 411–350 BCE Silver 1900.63.0030
Cylinder Seals with Bull-Man Hybrids
Cylinder seals are tiny, intricately carved objects that people in the Middle East used to sign their names and guarantee documents made of clay. While each seal is unique, most draw on common motifs from mythology, including human-animal hybrids like those pictured here. Seals were often worn close to the body, a practice that kept the seal safe from misuse and protected its owner from evil forces. Both of these seals were pierced lengthwise to fit a chain or cord.
The seal on the left pictures a hero dominating a bull: his left hand holds the bull’s hind legs while his right grasps its tail and his right leg holds down the bull’s head. To the hero’s right is a parallel scene, a bullheaded creature holding the tail of a griffin. Other animal motifs fill in the gaps: a bull-head floats next to the hero’s face while a grasshopper sits by the griffin’s feet.