Wonders of the World: A Journey through Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece – 4th March 2023

“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts; the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.”
 John Ruskin

 

The British Museum houses some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring statues, paintings and artefacts from ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. While these extraordinary civilisations no longer exist, the ideas that existed at the time are embodied through the wonders of their art works.  These ancient civilisations observed the movements of the heavens, discovered how to map time and realised the power of the image through beauty and symbol.  The focus on the body as expressing deeper philosophical ideas and where the image was created to both draw down, and ascend to the gods, began in ancient Egypt and flourished in ancient Greece. Seeing the human body as part of vaster cosmos had a profound effect at the time and is something which can still have relevance for us today. 

We will explore the ancient Egyptian sculpture and wall painting in the main hall, move on in time to the ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon, and finally explore some of the sculptures from ancient Rome. All of these are on the ground floor of the museum.  

We will meet in the main entrance at 10am. This half day visit will take place on Saturday 4th March 2023 and will run from 10.30am-1pm. At 1pm we will have lunch and discuss any observations and questions you might have. 

Numbers will be limited. £40 per person. Lunch is not included.

Note: If you have accessibility needs, this tour will only be taking place on the ground floor of the museum.

To book either click on the PayPal button below or email me directly: info@maryattwood.com