A Visit to Getty Villa

On August 25th I visited the Getty Villa in Malibu with friends, Sandy and Tim.  The morning marine layer was just lifting as we arrived.  The setting of the museum, a replica of a 2000 year-old villa built in Herculaneum near Pompeii, Italy and buried under tons of volcanic ash and debris from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. is a beautiful creation.  The antiquities from 1500 plus years ago are amazing and interesting to re-explore in detail.

Here is a bit of what I saw last week:

My friends in the beautiful Villa formal garden 

The mosaic fountain in the East garden 

Storage Jar with the Judgement of Paris, Greek, made in Athens about 360 B.C.
In this first episode of the story of the Trojan War, Paris, prince of Troy, chooses Aphrodite, who bribed him by offering him, Helen, queen of Sparta, who was consider the most beautiful mortal woman.  Paris took off with Helen and started the Trojan War..."the face that launched a thousand ships" according to Christopher Marlowe.

"Poet as Orpheus with Two Sirens,"  Greek, made in Taras, South Italy, 330-360 B.C.
Orpheus, son of Apollo (god of prophesy and music) was the most skilled singer in antiquity.  Sailing with Jason and the Argonauts, Orpheus was able to over power the Sirens, mythical bird women whose seductive singing lured sailors to their death.  Orpheus' singing despaired the Sirens who then threw themselves into the sea.

On the right is a statuette of a Goddess, probably Ceres, Roman, A.D. 50-75 on the left is a Statuette of a Fertility Goddess, Greek, made in Boiotia, 600-575 B.C., Terracotta, in the center is a Mixing Vessel with Triptolemos, Greek, made in Athens, about 470 B.C..   Triptolemos, a prince of the city Eleusis sits on a snake-drawn, winged chariot.  Demeter who appears behind him with stalks of wheat, gave him the chariot so that he could spread the knowledge of grain cultivation.  Her daughter, Kore, stands before him. In the center is an Applique with Ceres, Roman, A.D. 100-200, silver