In ancient Mesopotamia, being king meant many things. Kings were not just rulers of their kingdoms and empires; they were also expected to be religious leaders, warriors, hunters, scholars, lawmakers, and builders. All of these roles were embedded in a complex belief system that begins with the gods bestowing kingship on mankind. A Sumerian list of kings (some real and some mythical), says that kingship “descended from heaven.” It was a gift from the gods and the king was...

The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the world was populated by powerful demons—semi-divine spirits—that affected many aspects of human life. Sometimes these demons were identified with natural phenomena, such as winds or thunderstorms, but they could also represent the devastating illnesses that afflicted the population. Men and women, unable to understand the cause of diseases, viewed them as supernatural attacks or punishment from the gods and looked for ways to cure or...

Stories from Greek mythology are always fascinating. These timeless epic tales revolving around love, betrayal, loss, and vengeance have been adapted for TV and film since the beginning of the cinematic arts. We asked Getty Villa Museum antiquities curators to select TV shows and films based on classical Greek themes, taking a closer look at how the myths and images that inspired them were used to create new stories. In the mix are O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a favorite among the curators;...

How to Make Cuneiform CookiesEditor’s Note This activity complements the exhibition Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins.It’s time for me to practice Cuneiform, a 5,000-year-old writing form that’s considered to be the first known.I’m intimidated and intrigued; I have watched all the tutorials and it looks so fun, even meditative. I try to picture an ancient Mesopotamian scribe at work. A beginning scribe could be as young as 7 years old, whereas I am 37. An ancient scribe would likely use a reed...

An online exhibition explores the identity of a 2000-year-old mummified man A faded inscription in black paint above his feet identifies this mummified young man as “Herakleides, son of Thermos.” This detail is just one of many that provide clues about his identity and the time period in which he lived. Herakleides was an inhabitant of ancient Egypt when it was a province of the Roman Empire. He may have died around AD 120–140. Prior to this period, Egypt had been...

A simple answer could be that the Greeks believed nudity was powerful, ideal, and beautiful. But like so many things from ancient life, there is no easy answer. Greek art—including sculpture, vase paintings, drinking cups, frescoes, and mosaics—is known for depicting nudity, especially male nudes. According to Shelby Brown, senior education specialist at the Getty Villa Museum, “An idealized human male image was developed in Greek art that prized a slender, toned, ageless...

Ancient Athenian playwrights often made people laugh in ways we still do today, referencing genitals, sex, and obscenity, mocking and shaming regular people and politicians, and using exaggeration and unexpected events to surprise audiences. The playwright Aristophanes’s comedy Lysistrata, recently reinvented as LIZAstrata and running through October 2, 2021 at the Getty Villa, provides a good example. Aristophanes wrote for performances at Athenian festivals in honor of Dionysos (god...

University of Pennsylvania Receives $1.3 Million Getty Grant to Protect and Preserve Wupatki National MonumentThe Center for Architectural Conservation at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design has received a $1.3 million grant from Getty to develop a conservation and management plan and professional training program for Wupatki National Monument in Arizona.Wupatki National Monument and its sister Monuments, Walnut Canyon and Sunset Crater Volcano, are unique in North...

Growing up in Morocco in a small, little-known town, I’d heard stories about the wonders of the ancient city of Volubilis. It was only a two-hour drive away, but I never had the chance to visit. I still have a distant memory of first learning about it in my third-grade textbook. A page illustrated a stone wall with Arabic text that read: “I’m Volubilis. The ancient city of which only resilient ruins are left.” I remember it asking us: “Do you know my...

Introducing a New Home for Getty’s Stories Scribe Writing (Detail), probably Eadmer of Canterbury, about 1140–1150; Tempera colors, gold paint, and ink on parchment, Leaf: 7 × 4 1/4 in., Ms. Ludwig XI 6 (83.MN.125), fol. 2v Ten years ago, we held a contest, asking Getty staff to name our brand new blog. The winner was “The Iris,” because it signified seeing, and celebrated Van Gogh’s Irises, one of the Museum’s...