The Roman National Museum at Palazzo Massimo is hosting an original exhibition called “Mostri, creature fantastiche della paura e del mito” (Monsters, fantastic creatures of fear and myth).
The exhibit brings together more than one hundred archaeological finds that tell the myths of classical tradition upon which modern and contemporary art, above all the movies, still draw their inspiration.
Each "monster" is explained starting from literary sources and, through their images, the exhibition explores the meaning and reasons for the persistence of mythological figures in modern culture and the contemporary world.
The loans of artefacts arrive from all over the world: Athens, Berlin, Basel, Vienna, Los Angeles and New York. In addition, many Italian museums have contributed to sending valuable archaeological finds, which show the rich iconographic landscape of fantastic creatures in ancient cultures.
There are griffins, chimeras, gorgons, centaurs, mermaids, satyrs, harpies, sphinxes, minotaurs, newts, Pegasus, Scylla and the Hydra of Lerna, all represented by different types of objects: sculptures, architectural terracotta, vases, weapons, paintings and mosaics. They come from different cultural and historical worlds, from the East to Greece, to the Etruscan, Roman and Italic civilizations, all united by the imaginative myths.
Where: Rome, Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo, Piazza dei Cinquecento 67.
When: until June 1, 2014
