Marble lion

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The sphinxes and other animals that guarded tombs in the archaic period tend to convey immobility and permanence. In classical lions, however, movement is implicit: they appear to be watching, lying in wait, preparing to spring. With the suggested potential for imminent motion comes a concomitant emphasis on the animals' strength and litheness. The lion here looks to his left, as we anticipate the movement of his muscles and of the tufts of his mane when he takes off after his prey.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art