Ancient world

This section covers a vast distance in time and geography, from the third millennium BC to the 2nd century AD, from Rome to Southern Arabia. The works of art explored here inform us about many aspects of the civilizations that produced them.

Find out about great and powerful rulers of the Ancient World: Ramesses III and Amenemhat III of Egypt, the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal, and Alexander the Great of Macedonia whose conquests in the 4th century BC stretched from Greece to India.

Read about ancient religion and myth – the Egyptian deities Tawaret and Bes, the great Greek hero and 'protector from evil' Herakles, and Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and culture.