Antiquities: Art & Design During the Time of Alexander the Great + FOOD Fall for Mixed-Drinks

Limestone metope with battle scene.
Greek, Hellenistic period, late 3rd-mid-2nd century b.c.

ART
Antiquities: 
Art & Design
during and after 
Alexander the Great

(From the Met Museum of Art NYC Exhibition: 

Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms 

of the Ancient World)

The Hellenistic Age that followed the conquests of Alexander the Great witnessed unprecedented cultural exchange and a burst of creative activity. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., his generals, known as the Diadochi (Successors), divided his vast empire, which stretched from Greece and Asia Minor through Egypt and the Near East to the Indus River Valley, into multiple new kingdoms. Over the next three centuries, the concentration of wealth and power in these kingdoms fostered an unparalleled growth in the arts, while the melding of traditions led to new standards and conventions in style. Hellenistic royalty were major patrons of the arts and sciences, and formed the first great libraries, art collections, and museums. It was primarily through the Hellenistic kingdoms and illustrious city-states such as Athens that ancient Greek art was transmitted to the Romans.

The Acropolis of Pergamon

This above graphic shows a photograph of the ancient Greek Acropolis and citadel of Pergamon: "Today" and with an overlay drawing, then a digital recreation painting of what it was like at  "Pergamon while it flourished." 

(Pergamon Panorama, by Yadegar Asisi for Met Museum NYC)

The only known ancient illustration of the famous altar to Zeus and Athena

that was once considered one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Roman Medal, Severan period, a.d. 193-211

(Above) Bronze medal with image of the Pergamon Altar

This bronze medallion is part of a series of coins that celebrated the city of Pergamon in the Roman period. The reverse side represents the Great Altar with a central vaulted element on a high podium accessible by a wide staircase and flanked by two porticoes. Although miniature in scale, it is the only known ancient illustration of the famous altar to Zeus and Athena that was once considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. 

Alexander astride Bucephalos

Roman, Late Republican or Early Imperial period, 

second half of the 1st century b.c.; 

a copy of the Greek bronze statue c. 320-300 b.c.

(Above) Bronze small statue of Alexander astride Bucephalos

This dynamic sculpture is thought to be a miniature copy of the statue of Alexander in the life-size equestrian group made by Lysippos commemorating the Macedonian horsemen of Alexander’s elite cavalry who fell during battle of the Granikos against the Persians in 334 b.c. The original monument featured twenty-five men on horseback and was set up in the sanctuary of Zeus at Diaon on the slopes of Mount Olympus.

Philetairos of Pergamon

Philetairos of Pergamon
(Roman, late 1st centry B.C. copy of a Greek state of c. 250 B.C.)

Philetairos of Pergamon

(Above) Marble herm of Philetairos of Pergamon

A Roman copy of a full length Greek State, this portrait depicts Philetairos, the founder of Attalid dynasty that governed Pergamon from 282 to 133 B.C. The thick neck and powerful jaw emphasize his role as a military commander, while the intent gaze of his deep-set eyes speaks to the shrewd maneuverings of an unlikely dynast who secured power by retaining an immense treasury on the citadel of Pergamon.

Greek Funerary Vase

Greek Funerary Vase, 

Terracotta, Late Classical period, 

last quarter of the 4th century b.c. 

Found in the cemetery of Amphipolis.

(Above) Terra-cotta hydra with cover

In Greece, hydra traditionally contained water but often also ashes. The scene depicted here is the Amazonomachy, the mythological battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. The Amazons were warrior women believed to reside far to the northeast of the Greek heartland. Amazonomachies became popular after the Greek defeat of Persia in the Persian Wars (490-479 b.c.) providing a metaphor for the historic confrontation. The vase is extraordinary for its lead cover, dynamic composition, and superbly preserved polychromy and gilding.

Plate with Elephants
Greek, Hellenistic period, 3rd century b.c.
Discovered at the Necropolis of LeMacchie, Capena, chamber tomb #233, in 1917.

(Above) Terracotta plate with elephants

Exotic animals such as elephants were among the novelties that the Greeks encountered in the course of Alexander’s campaigns as far away as India. Here, the adult animal equipped for battle advances with a baby in tow. Recent research has shown that this and several other comparable scenes commemorate the defeat of the Greek general Pyrrhos by the Roman consul Marcus Curius Dentatus — and his elephants — at Beneventum (Italy) in 275 b.c.

The Darius Krater
(detail)

(Above) Terracotta volute-krater

(The Darius Krater) 

Greek - South Italian, Apulian - Late Classical or Early Hellenistic period, c. 330-320 b.c.

Herakles

(Above) Heracles

Greek, Hellenistic Bronze 3rd century b.c. 

Wreath with myrtle leaves.

(Above) 
Wreath with myrtle leaves

Greek, Hellenistic, gold crown, 325-300 b.c., Greek, 7 1/2" diameter.

(Source: Photos by ARTSnFOOD staff and supplied by the Met Museum NYC, Text came from the Met Museum press dept. and the wall plaques next to each work of art at the exhibition. All photos were taken with permission.)

FOOD
FALL for
MIXED-DRINKS

Old-Fashioned

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon water
Two dashes angostura bitters
One slice orange rind
2 ounces Canadian Club whiskey
Ice
One maraschino cherry

Preparation: In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the sugar, water, bitters, and orange rind together until the sugar has dissolved. Fill the glass with ice, add the whiskey, and garnish with the cherry. Serve with a cocktail straw.

Bloody Mary

Ingredients:
1-1/2 parts Grey Goose Original
3 parts Bloody Mary mix
1/2 parts lime juice

Preparation: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled collins glass filled with ice and present with cocktail onions.

Dry Gin Martini

Ingredients:
2 parts Plymouth Gin
3/4 parts Dry vermouth*
One olive (optional, to garnish)
Lemon zest twist or pickled and green olive

Preparation: Shake ingredients with ice and pour into a very chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with either a lemon twist or an olive.

*Experiment with your quantities of gin and vermouth as desired—more vermouth makes a “wetter” drink; more gin dries it out.

J&B Sour

Ingredients:
50 ml J&B
20 ml lemon juice
20 ml sugar syrup
Half egg white (optional)
Dash Angostura bitters

Preparation: Add all ingredients, apart from the bitters, to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake hard. Strain into a 10-ounce tumbler filled with fresh ice. Add the dash of bitters and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Vodka Gimlet

Ingredients:
3 parts Stolichnaya 80
2 parts lime juice
1 part simple syrup

Preparation: Shake and pour into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with lime.

Mai Tai

Ingredients:
1 part Bacardi Superior Rum
1 part Bacardi Gold Rum
1/2 part orange curaçao
4/5 part freshly squeezed lime juice
4/5 part orgeat syrup
Several cubes of ice
Scoop of ice
Tumbler
Hawthorne strainer
Fine Strainer

Preparation: Put all ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice, and mix well. Strain into a glass full of crushed ice. Garnish with mint sprig and orange wedge.

(Source: Six Mad Men inspired cocktails, divinecaroline.com)

Until later,

Jack

ARTSnFOOD is an online magazine dedicated to providing artists and collectors around the world with highlights of current art exhibitions, and ARTS&FOOD is an online magazine dedicated to providing artists and collectors around the world with highlights of current art exhibitions, and to encourage all readers to invest in and participate in “The Joy of Art” and Culture. All Rights Reserved. All concepts, original art, text & photography, which are not otherwise credited, are copyright 2016 © Jack A. Atkinson, under all international, intellectual property and copyright laws. All gallery events', museum exhibitions', art fairs' or art festivals' photographs were taken with permission or provided by the event or gallery. All physical artworks are the intellectual property of the individual artists and © (copyright) individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees. 
Trademark Copyright Notice: ©ARTSnFOOD.blogspot,com, ©ARTSnFOOD,
©ARTS&FOOD, ©ARTSnFOOD.com, ©ARTSandFOOD.com, ©ART&FOOD, ©ARTandFOOD.com, ©ARTnFOOD.com)