Religion

Objects tied to spiritual beliefs and practices, from sacred icons to ritual tools. This category reflects the diversity of faith and devotion that has shaped cultures across millennia.

Ancient stone monument with detailed carved floral and leaf motifs on a rectangular pedestal with an informational plaque

Omphalos of Delphi (c. 300 BCE–300 CE)

Antiquities Europe Greece Sculpture

This marble omphalos from Delphi is one of the most powerful surviving symbols of ancient Greek religion. Its rounded, almost beehive-like form represents the omphalos, or “navel,” the point the ancient Greeks identified as the center of the world.

Bust sculpture of a woman wearing a helmet and draped clothing on a round pedestal

Bust of Athena (c. 100–200 CE)

Antiquities Europe Rome Sculpture

This bust shows Athena, or Minerva to the Romans, as a calm but powerful divine presence. Her face is uncovered, yet she wears the helmet that identifies her as a goddess of strategy, protection, wisdom, and war.

Hygeia Statue (c. 200-300 BCE)

Antiquities Europe Rome Sculpture

This marble figure of Hygeia, daughter of Asclepius, survives in a fragmentary but still remarkably clear form. Though the head and arms are lost, the statue retains the quiet authority expected of a healing goddess.

Ancient Greek statue of a seated female figure wearing a crown and flowing robes, holding an object in her left hand

Cybele Statue (c.60 BCE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Europe Rome Sculpture

This marble statue of Cybele presents the goddess as an enthroned and highly formal divine presence. Seated frontally, wrapped in heavy drapery, and crowned with a tall turreted headdress..

Ancient cylindrical stone pillar with inscriptions in Greek

Inscribed Colonette (2nd–3rd century BCE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Europe Rome

Carved in marble and still preserving its inscription in full, this small inscribed colonette records a personal act of thanks in the Roman city of Tomis. The text tells us that a man from Sidon, dedicated the object to the Syrian Goddess.

Ancient winged statue of a female figure standing on a stone base with arms extended

Nike Figurine (c. 300-200 BCE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Europe Greece Sculpture

This Nike figurine presents the Greek goddess of victory in a form that is both graceful and slightly unusual. She appears as a winged nude figure with the body of an ephebe.

Ancient marble relief depicting a seated woman holding a bird

Attic Funerary Relief of Mynno (c. 430-400 BCE)

Antiquities Europe Greece Sculpture

An Attic funerary relief dedicated to Mynno, now in the Altes Museum in Berlin, turns a seemingly intimate domestic scene into an image of death, memory, and social identity.

Ancient stone relief depicting a lion attacking a human figure while others flee or react

Gigantomachy Frieze, Delphi (530–525 BCE)

Antiquities Europe Greece Sculpture

This frieze at Delphi is one of the most vivid surviving images of divine combat from ancient Greece. Carved around 530–525 BCE, it shows the Gigantomachy, the mythic battle in which the Olympian gods confront the Giants.

Ancient circular stone relief depicting a central figure surrounded by warriors and musicians in dynamic poses

The Strangford Shield (200–300 CE)

Antiquities Europe Rome Sculpture

This compact marble relief shield preserves the memory of one of the most celebrated images of Athena in the ancient world. Known as the Strangford Shield, it is a Roman copy of the shield..