Call me biased, I admit it, but of the 300 masterpieces on display from today to Baths of Diocletian in Romein the exhibition entitled “Moment and Eternity”, organized by our own Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades of the Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture of Italy, I single out as the most beautiful exhibit Tera’s archaic daughter.

It is 2,700 years old and has eternal power, like the flawless whiteness of its Naxothian marble. Imposing, with a 2.3-meter vertical body, it looks down on all the other treasures (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Renaissance, modern and contemporary) that literally surround it from above. Pure beauty, although a small piece of her nose and right hand is missing.

First trip

Her presence in Italy is moving for a different reason. This is her first trip outside of Greece. From the 7th century BC which was scrawled by a skillful hand, its traces were rediscovered by the archaeologist Charalambos Sigala, who discovered it in the cemetery of ancient Thera in November 2000.

It was one of the most important archaeological finds of recent decades, but it spent many years locked up in a warehouse until it was put on display in Santorini for the first time last fall thanks to the efforts of the ephorate and the municipality of Thira. . And now it was her turn to disappoint the Italians.

Together with Gorgo of Paros, another great archaic sculpture, they are the two “Greek stars” of the exhibition at the Baths of Diocletian.

Together with Gorgo Paros, another great archaic sculpture, they are the two “Greek stars” of the exhibition that opens today at noon to take us on a journey to the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans so that we can see what they bequeathed to Byzantium, in renaissance and of course in us today.

This is the present, built into the past, a walk through the centuries, in which there is a lot of “back and forth”.

Works belonging to different eras are combined into groups due to eclectic aesthetic, rather than chronological proximity between them. Byzantine icon next to Etruscan sculpture and finds from Pompeii show a common origin through other forms.

And the space, which houses hundreds of masterpieces, is unique. It remained out of the public eye for 120 years. It is part of the visited Baths of Diocletian, next to the National Archaeological Museum of Italy, but over the decades it was turned into a warehouse and is now in use again.

Cooperation

This is a dedication with a solid foundation, an interesting subject matter, a little sideways glance and, above all, a collaboration that shows the way. For the third time, Massimo Osana, head of all archaeological museums in Italy, and the rector of the Cyclades, Dimitris Atanasoulis, have joined forces, strengthening the good dialogue between Greeks and Italians about cultural heritage. The two archaeologists met in 2017 and since then they have organized two more exhibitions: “The stories of the vanity of jewels from the Cyclades”, which was also presented in Pompeii after Greece, and a tribute to “Pompeii and Santorini. Eternity in one day”, which took place at the Scuderia del Quirinale in Rome. “Moment and Eternity” will run until the end of July, and another form of it may go to Greece later.