Exhibition in Canberra tells stories of Greek mythology, ancient Olympics

People view exhibits during a media preview of an exhibition exploring the theme of competition in the Ancient Greek at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, Australia, Dec. 16, 2021. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

The exhibition, namely Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes, features more than 170 objects from the British Museum that date back from 800 BC to 200 AD.

CANBERRA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- People in Australia who find it hard to travel internationally due to COVID-19 concerns would be able to learn about ancient Greek in Canberra.

An exhibition exploring the theme of competition in the Ancient Greek opened at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) on Friday. It will run until May 1 next year.

The exhibition, namely Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes, features more than 170 objects from the British Museum that date back from 800 BC to 200 AD.

"The legacy of Ancient Greece endures in our society today, and visitors will be mesmerized by the stories of competition in the Ancient Greek world and by the beautiful depictions of athletes, the ceramics, sculptures, armor and jewellery on show," said Mathew Trinca, director of the NMA.

"Australians have endured months of lockdown and uncertainty, and we are thrilled to give them such a magnificent international exhibition experience after what has been one of the most difficult periods in our nation's history," he said.

People view exhibits during a media preview of an exhibition exploring the theme of competition in the Ancient Greek at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, Australia, Dec. 16, 2021. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

Lily Withycombe, curator of the exhibition with the NMA, was in a team who had worked in the past two years to bring the objects to Australia.

One of the highlights she mentioned in the interview with Xinhua was the statue of Goddess Nike at the entrance, the personification of victory.

"She's absolutely unmissable and she's the first object that you see as soon as you come into the exhibition," said Withycombe.

Dating back to about 100 BC, the marble statue was once framed by two large wings and realistically colored to show the goddess descending from Mount Olympos. Although some parts of the statue have been missing, visitors could still see the beauty and elegance of the figure.

Another object was a blue gemstone from about 350 to 300 BC, which might be used as a seal. It shows Goddess Nike setting up a trophy of captured arms and armors gathered from the battlefield. "Finally there is the name of the gemstone cutter," said the curator. "It's really exquisite."

Photo taken on Dec. 16, 2021 shows an exhibit during a media preview of an exhibition exploring the theme of competition in the Ancient Greek at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

In fact, many people growing up reading Greek mythology could find their familiar scenes on the objects: potteries showing Odysseus trying to persuade Achilles into going back to the battlefield in the Trojan war, and Goddess Artemis demanded King of Mycenae Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter.

In the exhibition hall there is also a section that looks at sport in the ancient world.

"It (sport) had such a critical role," said Withycombe. "Gymnasium were connected to religious sanctuaries, and religion and sport were intertwined deeply and closely."

She noted that next year the Winter Olympics will be hosted. "One of the fascinating things about the Olympics is that still on one side of the medals (of the Summer Olympics) you have a representation of the ancient Greek goddess Nike."

People view exhibits during a media preview of an exhibition exploring the theme of competition in the Ancient Greek at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, Australia, Dec. 16, 2021. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

A series of objects at the exhibition showed sports in ancient Greek.

"You see the incredible Greek vases that depict sporting competition, like long distance running, pentathlon, chariot racing, and the unusual Greek games that I've never heard of before, games involving balls sitting on people's shoulders, and types of horse-racing that looked really perilous, racing without saddles or without stirrups," said the curator.

The horse-racing she talked about, known as keles, was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 BC. The scene was depicted on an amphora.

One of the marble sculptures at the exhibition showed winners of a torch race, in which six to 10 athletes ran a relay with a lit torch for the baton. The winner was the first to arrive with his torch still alight.

Marble statue of a discus thrower, made between 120 and 140 AD, portrayed a young athlete preparing to throw a discus.

"So we have these incredible insights into sports in the ancient world that we both recognize, and also can be really surprised by," said Withycombe.■