medievalpoc:Ancient Art Week!Roman: Artemis of Ephesus early second century.Alabaster, bronze, 2
medievalpoc: Ancient Art Week!Roman: Artemis of Ephesus early second century. Alabaster, bronze, 203 cm. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy The choice of dark skin for the statue of Artemis may also reflect a broader, positive response to blackness in the ancient world. In Greek, the concept of black or darkness is signified by melas, as opposed to leukos, meaning light or whiteness. Unlike the dire moral encumbrances later placed on these distinctions by Christian theology, to the Greeks they connoted the extremes of primary experiences such as good or ill fortune, life or death, and triumph or defeat. Blackness could symbolize courage, characterized by the martial prowess of dark-skinned Nubians. In a similar vein, the term “blackness of heart” served as a metaphor for compassion and warm feelings.Read More at TheRoot.com -- source link
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