Detail of a Late Archaic kylix (drinking cup), about 510-500 BC. Period: Archaic Greek: 'An octopus hiding from a fisherman.' According to Aristotle, an octopus would gather crustaceans, eat their meat, and throw the shells and small fish remains outside its den. For a fisherman, these scraps were telltale signs that gave away the creature's underwater hiding spot. That's why hunting an octopus was different from catching a fish swimming out in the open. It wasn't enough to just spot the prey. You had to know exactly which crevice along the rocky shore was occupied, which hole had shells piling up in front of it, and exactly where to wait. Also, there isn't just a single catch in the scene. The fish on the line is one catch, and the octopus is another. The kylix was used in Ancient Greek symposia. A symposium was a gathering where men reclined to drink wine, talk, and have fun. The tondo inside the kylix - its circular central area - would slowly appear as the wine was drunk. The scene would fully emerge as the drinker emptied the cup. There isn't a grand mythological event here. No heroes, battles, gods, or ceremonies. Instead, the painter chose an everyday task: a young figure fishing / hunting for an octopus.

This Minotaur was at the bottom of a wine bowl. As the drink went down, the black-figure scene gradually emerged, and the person drinking from the bowl would see the Minotaur. The piece is an Attic kylix - a two-handled ancient Greek drinking cup - that combines black-figure and red-figure techniques, and it's currently in the collection of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional in Madrid. Inside the tondo, the Minotaur is depicted alone in a pose resembling a running stride, with one knee close to the ground. Theseus isn't in the scene. There's no sword. There's no thread of Ariadne either... In both hands, he holds round objects that look like stones. The vase painter made the Minotaur the focal point here. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a Cretan creature - born to Pasiphae and the bull Poseidon sent to be sacrificed to Minos - who was locked inside the Labyrinth built by Daedalus. In most accounts, he's killed by Theseus. The letters placed around the figure form a kalos inscription. On ancient Greek vases, kalos inscriptions were short phrases praising beauty. The phrase 'ho pais kalos' here means 'the young man is beautiful'.

Inscription from the dome of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:11] Ἄνδρες Γαλιλαῖοι, τί ἑστήκατε βλέποντες εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν; οὗτος ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὁ ἀναλημφθεὶς ἀφ’ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οὕτως ἐλεύσεται ὃν τρόπον ἐθεάσασθε αὐτὸν πορευόμενον εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.

“The Seraglio Point” From The Beauties of the Bosphorus by Miss Pardoe, illustrated in a Series of Views of Constantinople and its Environ from original Drawings by W.H. Bartlett (1838)

Little Owl as a Hoplite Warrior This piece is an oinochoe, a small vessel used for pouring wine in the ancient Greek world. It's just 6.4 cm tall. According to Louvre records, it was crafted in Athens and dates to around 425-375 BC. The figure on the front is Athena's owl. But here, the bird is equipped with a helmet, crest, shield, and spear, depicted as a little hoplite warrior. In Athens, the owl was everywhere, appearing on vessels, coins, and public imagery. There was even an ancient Greek idiom about 'bringing owls to Athens.' It meant bringing something to a place where it's already abundant.

Mosaic of centaur and rabbit on wall in the Archaeological museum of Rhodes Greece.

Ephesus

Temple of Concordia in Agrigento, Italy.

Ruins of ancient Kourion, Cyprus.

Delphi, Greece.

Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Greece.

Delphi, Greece.

Raphael Sanzio - Bacchante and Satyrs. 1515-1516

Cosmati pavments in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore These opus sectile floors were influenced by Byzantine pavements.

Two latest

Greek Bronze Corinthian Type - "Helmet of Miltiades" the Athenian General who defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The inscription on the lip of the helmet cheek section reads in Greek "Miltiades dedicated to Zeus".

Illustration of ancient Greek house - Oikos (Oikia, plural): This is the typical term for a Greek house. Most houses in ancient Greece were oikia, designed to provide a comfortable living space for a family

Helmet of Corinthian type. Culture/Period: Archaic Greek Date: 600-550 B.C. Place of origin: Italy, Puglia (Bari province)

A 5th Century BC, Greek "Cooker" three (or four) stoves, an oven and grill; found on Greek island of Delos.

The “magic sphere” of Helios Found in the Theater of Dionysus in 1866, this mystical object, dating back to the ~2nd-3rd century AD, is made of marble, shaped like a sphere, and depicts Helios, Greek Solar God.