The Tabula Chigi quoting Alexander

“Kings have knelt before my spear, and their peoples too,
how many are the embraces of the Ocean around the earth.
I am the son of Philip, by Heracles a descendant of Zeus,
and of my mother Olympias, of the race of the Aeacids.”

This inscription is in Greek as it appears on the Tabula Chigi, in which Alexander speaks in the first person. 

This Tabula Chigi is a tablet made of antique yellow marble, 15.5 x 9 cm and 1.5 cm thick, from between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD. It belongs to a series of “tabula iliaca” named after the Iliad because most of the scenes tell episodes from Homer’s book. 

[Picture from Rai Cultura, Arte]

We don’t know for whom or why these panels were created. They may have served to decorate some libraries or to disseminate a story, or they simply had a votive function. The latest opinion is that they were a kind of conversation piece for the ‘nouveaux riches’ who had no access or the skills to read literary texts. 

Another study has suggested that the Chigi iliaca were meant to be read and understood by a selected group of connoisseurs of Greek calligrams (sets of words arranged in such a way that they form a thematically related image). So far, we know twenty-two tabulae iliacae existed. Italy has the largest collection with seven tablets spread among the Capitoline Museums, the Villa Albani, the Vatican Museums in Rome, and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. 

The Tabula Chigi was discovered in 1777 in a quarry belonging to the Chigi family. Over the years, the tablet disappeared and was known only from 19th-century illustrations. In 1928, the last member of this powerful family gave the tablet to his American wife. It was officially called lost in 2012. However, it resurfaced recently in New York and was handed over to the Italian State in the name of the last daughter of the Chigi family. It ended up in the National Roman Museum,Palazzo Massimo, in Rome.   

The tablet shows two female figures facing each other, Europa and Asia as mentioned in the inscriptions. Between them stands an altar with a relief of a cithara player, probably Apollo, flanked by two dancers, Muses or Graces. With one hand, they hold up a tondo (round relief) with various figures; and with the other hand, they hold a dish for libations and offerings. A Greek inscription fills the space between the roundel and the altar, Europa and Asia, and this is the text mentioned above. The Tabula Chigi has survived in excellent condition. 

This unique tablet has been on display during the exhibition “The instant and eternity. Between us and the ancients” together with 300 exceptional artifacts from Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Italic, medieval, modern, and contemporary civilizations. For the occasion, a section of the Baths of Diocletian, part of the National Roman Museum in Rome reopened after decades of closure. 

Roman soldiers in China

Entering China from the depression of Mongolia, the modern visitor is in for a remarkable surprise. High on top of a Corinthian column stand two bronze figures, a Chinese and a Roman soldier greeting each other. Behind it, two rows of white columns line up in sharp contrast with the cloudless blue sky. 

A short distance away, a group of eleven, life-size Roman legionaries is immortalized in bronze. Behind it is the entrance gate to a Roman world in the style of Disneyland. The monument is a mixture of a Buddhist and a Roman temple with Ionic columns holding a pediment. A unique way to attract tourists to the Chinese frontier! What happened here? What triggered this staging? What is the truth behind this story? 

We have to go back to 60 BC when Rome’s First Triumvirate between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus was formed. Pompey was envious of Caesar’s successes in Gaul and resented his friendship with Crassus. They were three very different men who came together to achieve their own goals. Once they agreed to their role in this new form of government, Caesar returned to Gaul, Pompey stayed in Rome and Crassus went east. 

Crassus was the richest man in Rome but he was not a military man. Still, he sought glory on the battlefield similar to that of his co-rulers, and decided to attack Asia Minor. His army was defeated by the Parthians and Crassus was killed at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC (see: Harran, better known under its Roman name Carrhae). Some 20,000 soldiers died on the battlefield and 4,000 returned to Syria. 

Yet 10,000 of his troops were taken prisoner by the Parthians (see: Who were the Parthians?) and sent to Margiana to man the frontier. In 36 BC, the Parthians forced the Roman prisoners to participate in the Battle of Zhizhi, Kazakstan, against the Chinese. The victorious Chinese of the Western Han Dynasty were so impressed by the fighting skills of their opponents that they took them to the city of Liqian or Li-chien – maybe a transliteration of Alexandria or the Roman word Legion - in the region of Gansu in western China. 

A number of inscriptions discovered in the Kara-Kamar caves on the border between eastern Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were written in Bactrian, Greek, Arabic, and Latin. The latter one was composed of three lines and was left by the Roman soldiers of the Pannonian Legio XV Apollinaris around the 2^nd century AD (see: First contacts with China). A proof that the Romans had been there? 

It is a fact that about 50% of the population of Liqian has green and blue eyes and a Roman aquiline nose. This may be wishfully attributed to the Roman presence some 2,000 years ago. Another theory circulates that the Chinese mingled with people from Siberia. As so often, it is unclear where history and legend start or end.

[top and bottom pictures from That's Mags]

An important update on Side

These days, the main attraction of Side seems to be centered on what is called the Monumental Nymphaeum, opposite the main city gate. 

[Picture from Turkish Archaeological News]

This fountain belongs to the 2^nd century AD when Side prospered and its Roman occupants did not shy away from making a statement. The richly decorated construction was three stories high and adorned with many statues, which have been moved to the local Museum. The three niches on the lower floor above the water basin are still standing, but otherwise, the Nymphaeum has been heavily reconstructed. Originally, the water would have cascaded down through the slots in the façade, not unlike what we can see in Sagalassos (see: Sagalassos in Alexander’s campaign). 

The Roman architects built an aqueduct to supply the water for the Nymphaeum. It also fed the public baths, fountains, and cisterns, whereas the wealthiest citizens had running water and a sewer in their homes. 

The water came from the Manavgat River, whose waterfalls are another modern tourist attraction. The source of the river was in the Taurus Mountains, some 40 kilometers from the city center of Side. The renovation of the aqueduct in the early 3^rd century AD was financed by Side’s benefactor Lollianods Bryonianos and his wife Quirina Patra. Today, sections of the aqueduct are still visible in the landscape. Also in an opening in the city walls pipes and water channels made of marble, terracotta, and lead can be seen. 

[My own picture taken in 2009]

The above is proof, if needed, that it is not enough to visit a site just once. New excavations are carried out, even intermittently. I realize that my last post on Side was written ten years ago with Alexander as the focal point (see: Side didn’t put up any resistance to Alexander). It happened after my more in-depth exploration done earlier, in 2009. 

The more recent exploration and excavations focusing on the Roman aqueduct and the monumental Nymphaeum triggered the present update.

Museum of Tripoli, Libya

There are several reasons to write about the Archaeological Museum of Tripoli. It is one of those ‘must-see’ places that sadly are off the beaten track for the average tourist, especially since Gaddafi has been eliminated and the country has not regained its stability. 

I was privileged to visit this wonderful collection just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring, unaware of the quantity and high quality of artwork that awaited me. It must be said that I discovered these treasures on my first day in Libya, and, as always, I should have returned after my tour of the archaeological sites as well. 

Anyway, I took in as much as I could fully aware that the best pieces from any excavation made their way to the museum in the country’s capital. Tripoli was no exception. 

The bulk of the collection comes from Leptis Magna, second to Rome (see: An introduction to Leptis Magna in Libya). 

The first statues I see are two magnificent Roman copies of Praxiteles’ originals from the 4th century BC. One is the Diadumenos, a young athlete who is tying the ribbon of victory around his head. The other is Apollo-Antinous hinting at Dionysus, combining the body of Apollo with the head of Antinous, the lover of Emperor Hadrian. Both life-size marbles were recovered from the Baths of Hadrian in Leptis Magna. The arched vaults of these baths from the 2nd century AD, have simply collapsed burying and saving its precious statues in the process. 

Stealing the show is the marble Apollo playing the lyre. He is a little taller than life-size and as true to life as imaginable. Apollo’s delicate hands and fingers seem to strike the strings as he holds his instrument with his left hand and the plectrum in his right. The lyre is intact, except for the strings, and it is a unique opportunity to have a close-up look. His eyes, whose traces of paint make them alive, stare melancholically into the distance. They are a vivid reminder of all the painted statues in antiquity. Apollo’s body is truly worthy of a god. 

The elegant Muse Calliope is sitting nearby listening carefully to his tune. More remarkable statues gather around Apollo. An unspecified sea goddess is looking up to him and Mars is standing in a niche behind him. The slender Isis is wearing a diadem, and Venus is very similar to other copies of the famous Aphrodite of Cnidos (see: Was Alexander the Great aware of Cnidos?). Hadrian definitely had an outspoken taste for beauty! 

Another large group of statues and busts is brought together from the theater of Leptis Magna, consisting mainly of Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, etc. Even Augustus' wife Livia, and granddaughter, Agrippina the Elder are present. Upstairs, in the Mezzanine there is a statue of Faustina, the wife of Marcus Aurelius. 

Inside the theater of Leptis Magna stood a small temple dedicated to Ceres-Augusta, goddess of the harvest – our word for cereal derivates from the name Ceres. A seated statue of this goddess also found its way to the museum. 

The goddess Cybele with the many breasts (or whatever they represent) as worshiped in Ephesos was unearthed in the sanctuary of the amphitheater. A Roman copy of a Greek original Diana/ Artemis, as displayed at the Louvre in Paris and the Archaeological Museum of Antalya is also exhibited. 

The Ancient Forum of Leptis Magna yielded a rather damaged Dionysus with satyr and panther, and a headless Lady Fortuna wearing a beautifully draped tunic. 

The museum’s impressive main hall also displays four delicate mosaics from a private villa in Leptis Magna. It dates from the 2nd century AD and depicts scenes of daily life in and around the Nile – hence its name Villa of the Nile. 

Upstairs, a special room holds the original reliefs of the Arch of Septimius Severus (see: A solid gold bust of Septimius Severus), proof of the political loyalty of the inhabitants of Leptis Magna in the 3rd century. The relief of Septimius Severus standing between his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, was meant to express the good harmony inside the imperial family. Here is also a statue of Caracalla as a child. 

The Cyrene Room has a wooden scale model of the Agora, which, unfortunately, is meaningless unless one has visited the site. Nearby are faceless goddesses believed to represent Persephone from the necropolis of Cyrene. Also, a rare Minerva wearing the Aegis tied to her waist as opposed to her Greek version Athena who wears it around her shoulders. She also holds her owl and carries the spear and shield. The statue is carefully carved in pure Greek tradition. 

The Archaeological Museum of Tripoli has a rich collection of mosaics from the 2nd century AD. Many villas were built along the Mediterranean coast by wealthy landowners who loved to show off. One such example is the Roman Villa of Zliten some 200 km east of Tripoli. It yielded a large floor mosaic executed in a wonderful combination of opus sectile and clearly outlined opus vermiculatum. The central panel is filled with different sorts of fish, and the border with less peaceful scenes of gladiator fights. From the same villa comes the floor mosaic representing the Four Seasons. Tajura is located closer to Tripoli where another Roman villa from the 2nd century AD has been spotted. A large mosaic with geometric figures and the head of the sea god, Amfitritus, in its center has been removed from the Villa of the Nereids. 

Unfortunately, I did not visit any of these villas since they were usually closed to preserve them. Under the present chaotic regime, I wonder how much of these precious villas have survived the revolt and looting in the wake of Gaddafi’s execution. 

From Ghirza, a Roman fortress near Misrata, an entire Mausoleum from the 4th century AD has been moved to the entrance hall of the museum. It has a strange mixture of different styles that can hardly be defined. 

It is, of course, preferable to leave such constructions and the precious statues and mosaics in situ but in case of political unrest and war, the artifacts are generally better protected inside the walls of a museum. It so happens that the Archaeological Museum of Tripoli is housed inside the so-called Red Castle of Tripoli. In 2011, following the outbreak of the Libyan Civil War, the museum was closed, but rebels managed to break into the museum and stole a few of Gaddafi’s belongings that were kept in a special room. Previously, the most valuable artifacts had been moved to a safer location. As of 2020, the museum is still closed.

A steam engine in antiquity?

We tend to think that inventions belong to our modern world, but deep down, we know that is not true. The wheel was one of the oldest inventions – somebody had to come up with the idea! 

The main problem may simply be that many inventions were not documented, and, if they were, the documents did not survive. They certainly were not patented. 

This being said, a special case is to be made for Hero of Alexandria (c. 10 – 70 AD), who was a mathematician and an engineer.  

Hero created the first steam engine ever, the Aeolipile, meaning “wind ball”. The concept was rather simple. He used a sealed caldron filled with water, which he placed over a fire. As the water boiled, steam rose through a pipe to fill the hollow sphere above. This sphere was equipped with two bent outlet tubes, and when the steam escaped through the tubes, the sphere started to spin. 

For Hero, this was only one of his inventions that he considered a toy or gimmick – a piece of conversation, who knows! 

Imagine what would have happened to our world if Hero or any of his contemporary inventors had sought a way to turn the Aeolipile into something useful. The industrial revolution started in the 18^th century when James Watt presented his steam engine. 

We lost 2000 precious years of evolution! Are there more examples of such lost chances?