Marble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and Acheloös

Marble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and Acheloös

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The relief represents Hermes escorting three nymphs and, at the back, the forepart of the river god Acheloös who is represented in the form of a bull. A mound stands for a rustic altar. The retrospective style of the relief imitates works of the Archaic period (ca. 600–480 B.C.). Numerous votive reliefs of this type, dedicated to Hermes, Pan, and the nymphs, have been found in Greece. In most of these scenes, a grotto marks the locality; this relief is unusual for its architectural frame.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Marble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and AcheloösMarble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and AcheloösMarble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and AcheloösMarble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and AcheloösMarble relief of Hermes, three nymphs, and Acheloös

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.