{"id":3770,"date":"2014-05-16T16:42:28","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T15:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/?p=3495"},"modified":"2015-03-09T16:52:42","modified_gmt":"2015-03-09T16:52:42","slug":"here-be-monsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/2014\/05\/here-be-monsters\/","title":{"rendered":"Here Be Monsters!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3500\" title=\"Dragon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Dragon-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/>When we heard that monsters were loose in Rome, we despatched our most experienced monster-hunter, in the intrepid shape of Gavin Baddeley, to investigate post haste. He returned with the following report&#8230; <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This summer, Italy\u2019s National Rome Museum is playing host to a temporary exhibition dedicated to Monsters: Fantastic Creatures of Fear and Myth, featuring over a hundred artefacts depicting mythical beasts drawn from the Ancient World, from the lethally seductive Sirens to the grotesque, snake-haired Gorgons. \u2018Monsters are part of the myths of every culture, every civilization,\u2019 the exhibition\u2019s co-curator Elisabetta Setari told Art Daily. \u2018They have characterised our civilization from the dawn of time until now.\u2019 Housed in a gallery constructed to resemble a Minotaur\u2019s labyrinth, each twisting shadowed corridor leads you to a chamber dedicated to a different example of the many curious and fearsome entities to be found in classical folklore and legend.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3508\" title=\"Satyr\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Satyr-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/>Clear, informative plaques fill you in on the background to each imaginary beast, from their birth \u2013 usually the progeny of unholy couplings between mortals, gods and animals \u2013 to their ultimate fate, conventionally slain by a valiant hero. Some monsters enjoyed diverse reputations in different times and places \u2013 for example, the sphinx was regarded by the Ancient Egyptians as a benevolent guardian, but dreaded by the Greeks as \u2018the strangler\u2019 who despatched and devoured all who failed to answer her fiendish riddles. \u2018Monsters are aggressive creatures,\u2019 explains Setari. \u2018They are part animal so they have an animalistic force. Monsters in antiquity were above all protectors, for example of tombs where they appear on gravestones.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3509\" title=\"Gorgon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Gorgon-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/>The exhibition has borrowed pieces from over 40 collections \u2013 mostly from Italy, but also from as far afield as the USA\u2019s J. Paul Getty Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each artefact is skilfully displayed to bring out its unique character \u2013 some are beautiful, others whimsical, a number still somewhat sinister \u2013 they reflect changing attitudes to the monsters they depict. We have always enjoyed an ambivalent relationship with monsters \u2013 somewhere between fascination and dread, between hatred and pity \u2013 that\u2019s evoked powerfully in this captivating exhibition.<\/p>\n<p>Monsters: Fantastic Creatures of Fear and Myth is only on until June 1st, so time is running out for anyone hoping to explore the labyrinth at the National Roman Museum. For further information,<br \/>\n<a title=\"click here.\" href=\"http:\/\/archeoroma.beniculturali.it\/en\/exhibition\/mostri-creature-fantastiche-paura-mito-monsters-fantastic-creatures-fear-and-myth\">click here.<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3502\" title=\"Sea Monster\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Sea-Monster-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we heard that monsters were loose in Rome, we despatched our most experienced monster-hunter, in the intrepid shape of Gavin Baddeley, to investigate post haste. He returned with the following report&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3770"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5191,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770\/revisions\/5191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}