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The British Museum

British Museum

The Second Floor Galleries

Some artifacts are quite small but still detailed and restored to perfection. One thing about Greek artifacts and literature that has always baffled me is the inclusion of “mythological” animals. It’s quite obvious from the above picture that the ancient Greeks knew what a bull looked like because their representations of bulls were accurate and proportional. Why is it that when they made representations of beasts like griffins or centaurs or hippocamps that the ancient artists are said to have lapsed into some sort of imaginary realm? I’m suggesting that these “mythological” beasts were just as real as bulls and horses in ancient times. Before you dismiss this possibility as preposterous, consider the fact that the ancients knew what these animals looked like because their representations were always consistent. You have to remember that the ancient Greeks could predict eclipses, accurately measured the earth and had an advanced grasp of human anatomy. How is it that these same people could become delusional when it came to the creatures they encountered in their daily lives?

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