Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that once held the cat's mummy, preserved for the afterlife. Egyptians honored cats—even
giving them gold earrings like those on the statue. They believed cats helped the goddess
Bastet keep watch over the household. Now, more than 2,500 years later, we remember
the Egyptians for these sturdy, dignified statues, built for eternity.
Greece and Rome (500
B.C.-A.D.
500):
The black-and-red Greek vase (calyx-
crater), decorated with scenes of half-human satyrs chasing human women, reminds us of
the rational Greeks' struggle to overcome their barbarian, animal-like urges as they inven-
ted Western civilization. Alexander the Great (r. 336-323
B.C.
, seen on a coin) used war to
spread Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean, creating a cultural empire that would
soon be taken over by Roman emperors (seen on medallions).
Journey even further back in time to the very roots of civilization: Mesopotamia (mod-
ern Iraq), where writing was invented. Five thousand years ago, the cylinder seals were
used to roll an impression in sealing wax or clay.
Islamic World (700-1500):
The Muslims who lived in Portugal—as far west of
Mecca as you could get back then—might have decorated their homes with furnishings
from all over the Islamic world. Imagine a Moorish sultan, dressed in a shirt from Syria,
sitting on a carpet from Persia in a courtyard with Moroccan tiles. By a bubbling fountain,
he puffs on a hookah.
The culture of Moorish Iberia (711-1492) was among Europe's most sophisticated
after the Fall of Rome. The intricate patterns on the glass lanterns are not only beauti-
ful...they're actually quotes (in Arabic) from the Quran, such as “Allah (God) is the light
of the world, shining like a flame in a glass lamp, as bright as a star.”
