Onassis Cultural Ctr Ancient Dion, City of Zeus- Objects Never Before Seen in America

The Onassis Cultural Ctr is located in the Olympic Tower at 645 5th and is open to the public, free of charge.  The current exhibit of the Ancient City of Dion presents objects of religious & daily life.  The Onassis Center exhibits Ancient Greek & Roman Art, Byzantine Art and Greek Modern & Contemporary art.  Now is a very exciting exhibit of rare artifacts from ancient Dion; Mt Olympus which date back to 10th C BC to 4th C AD. This collection is being shown in America for the 1st time.  The amazing preservation of such ancient statues, written tablets, ceramics, mosaics, jewelry and utensils is astonishing.  On display is a compass that was used for architectural renderings and a vaginal specula.  Gynecological advances were being made and architectural innovations.  The glass bottles & ceramic bowls were skillfully crafted and intact.  There are brilliant gold coins used in burials to pay passage for the dead.  And there ancient tablets with writings.  The beautiful mosaics had colorful stones & intricate designs.  These mosicas have never before been exhibited.  The mosaics are comprised of found colorful stones and adhered to the tablets by a cement mixture.  The Greeks are credited with inventing the 1st cement mixture.  The architectural expansion commenced (r. 413-399 BC) under Achelaus I.  Archelaus promoted a religious festival honoring Zeus and his Muses which was celebrated at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia.  If Ancient Greek & Roman history or mythology are of interest, this exhibit will be endlessly fascinating for you.  Or you could simply marvel as did the 6th graders with sensible skepticism who wanted to know "Really, how old are these? And how could they possibly have survived?"