High Museum

For Valentine's day, I finally visited the High Museum in Atlanta. We were fortunate enough to visit when they were hosting both a collection from the Louvre, and Terracotta soldiers from the famous site in Shaanxi Province of China.

The current Louvre exhibit that was being show was en exercise in learning what makes a masterpiece. There were several fine pieces, and in some instances, interesting comparisons. It wasn't quite as interesting, surprisingly, as a similarly themed exhibit of Tiffany stained glass that I once saw at the Frist in Nashville. Still, I enjoy art of all but a some of the modern kind, and found it very interesting. The exhibit continues through September of 2009.

The Terracotta army was fascinating to me. Not only are these life sized soldiers part of one of the most impressive archaeological finds ever made, not only are they ancient pieces of art from one of the world's great civilizations, but they are part of an army of individuals. Through the interpretive displays, this exhibit explains both the different roles represented by the statues, and the way in which they were each built, much like cabbage patch dolls, such that, from a limited set of faces, hairstyles, etc, each piece was a different combination, and in the final details, are unique. Visiting displays like this are always a Catch-22 of sorts. Everyone wants to see them, but they want to see them alone. The site these soldiers originated from now has a solid place on my list of places to see, and I can only hope that in the most populous country in the world, the exhibit won't be as crowded. But despite the crowds, don't miss this. The exhibit closes April 19th.

Valli Dei Templi: How the Greeks know God

After leaving Syracusa, we headed west across Sicily towards Agrigento, and the Valle Dei Templi. As we headed across Sicily's newly improved highway's tunnels and bridges, the stone shifted from limestone to sandstone, and the land turned from green to golden.

When we arrived, it was late afternoon, and the sun was casting a golden glow over an already golden earth; the sky was a clear blue. Despite the name, the temples actually line the crests of small ridges That run almost in a line, rather than being in a valley. Across the road from the parking area lie 3 temples. The first, is the Temple of Herakles, later called Hercules by the Romans. This ruin is mostly toppled with only a few towers left amongst the rubble, and there are no barricades preventing us from exploring the climbing over the ancient carved rock. This temple is oldest of the 3 here, having been built around 510 BC, while the other two temples below were built during the 400's.

Further up the slope is the temple of Concordia, a Goddess of agreement whose name shares the same roots as concur and discord. Today, this temple is largely intact, though several columns are missing their capitals. However, still more complete is the temple of Hera, wife of Zeus. This Temple sits imposingly upon the hill and is the most noticeable temple from the road.

On the other side of the road, just beyond the car park, lay the remains of a very impressive temple. Compared to its neighbors, and many other Greek temples built, this temple of Zeus was massive. Its base was nearly the size of a soccer field, and it's height can best be understood by viewing the telamons, which formed partial columns set into the temples walls. There is one example of these laying on the top of the temples base, but don't miss the museum on the hill of the city, which houses, among other artifacts, a reconstructed erect telamon, made even more impressive by two things. A grand piano that sits near its feet, and models showing how it is believe the temple looked when whole, which reveals that these massive humanoid columns were mere decorations on the temple.