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You know the BEST thing about ancient history? All that pristine grey-white stone! SO CLASSY AND REGAL. Look at this gorgeously monochrome scene from 'Gladiator'. Just look at how *right* it looks. Yeah. Except - no. Get ready for a shock. 1/
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In the middle of the Parthenon in Athens, the ancient Greek sculptor Phidias (480 – 430 BC) built a gigantic statue of Athena Parthenosos, about 11 metres high. Alas, nothing remains of it today. But there are enough accounts of its construction to make a replica... 2/
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...so someone did that: sculptor Alan Le Quire, in (of all places) Nashville. Not quite what you were expecting, mayhaps? Well, it was built around a core of cypress wood, and then panelled with gold and ivory plates. That's the description. That's what they did. Blimey. 3/
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Greek temples had paint on them as well. They were *painted*. Here's a reconstruction of the entablature on a Doric temple (drawn up in 1883). (Isn't it weird that this colour scheme's been known about for more than a century - and yet we're this surprised at it?) 4/
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This is a statue of a Trojan archer in the Temple of Aphaia, discovered on the Greek island of Aegina: excavated in 1811, dates back 2,500 years. You don't want to see what he originally looked like. Really? Well...okay, if you insist? 5/
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HOLY S*** HE'S WEARING YOGA PANTS. According to scientific analysis of the traces of pigments & patterns left, this is what he looked like. It's like the walls of Troy were being defended by Willy Wonka. 6/
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