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| Nereid Monument. |
When I first
walked into the room in the British Museum which contained the Nereid Monument,
it took my breath away. To see this grand temple from ~400 BC displaced in a
room was amazing. The amount of work and perfection that went into classic Greek
and Roman sculpture always impresses me. Not only are the Nereids themselves
beautifully sculpted, careful attention going to the drapery of their cloth and
the emotion of their stances, but the Ionic columns, the pediment with some
whole scene depicted, and the base with yet more engraved figures, everything
is just beautifully done. Also, that so much of the monument has survived over
2,000 years is incredible, and a testament to the power and influence humans
can possess.
Apparently
the story is that Erbinna, ruler of Lycian Xanthos, wished to be buried in a Greek-styled
temple. I feel like fascinations with a culture not your own often involves
folkloric ideas, as there must be stories and such that cause someone to love
another culture enough to wish to be buried in it. Also the folklore and
mythology of sea nymphs (the Nereids) and the other scenes depicted is
relevant.
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