Mediterranean Identities

Across the wine-dark sea

Homer named the Mediterranean ‘wine-dark sea’, its dangers disguised by its beauty. Discover the ancient cultures that thrived on its shores.

Overview

Ancient poets had many names for the Mediterranean; none more evocative than Homer’s. The sea’s dangers were disguised by its beauty; its ebb and flow could bring fortune or catastrophe.

Although sailing was treacherous in winter, for the rest of the year the Mediterranean was a highway of traders, colonists and armies. Each traveller brought their own sense of self and community, but the sea's basin was like a mixing bowl (krater) in which cultures and identities were transformed.

This exhibition looks at the cultures of the Hellenic world, the Italian peninsula, and their Mediterranean neighbours. Different themes explore the ways in which identity was expressed through the material cultures of the Mediterranean in the first millennium BC.

'Mediterranean Identities', Chau Chak Wing Museum.

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Three people look into the cabinets as part of the Mediterranean Identities exhibition Link

Curator
Candace Richards

Designer
Studioplusthree

Exhibition Manager
Luke Parker

Details

When

Open seven days a week
Mon - Fri: 10am - 5pm
Sat - Sun: 12 - 4pm

Closed on Public Holidays

Ongoing exhibition

Location

Level 2, Nicholson Galleries
Chau Chak Wing Museum

Cost

Free

Header image: Mediterranean Identities, Chau Chak Wing Museum, 2024. Photo by Fiona Wolf.

Get
in touch

Contact us

Phone: +61 2 93512812

Email: ccwm.info@sydney.edu.au

Chau Chak Wing Museum
University Place
Camperdown NSW 2050

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