Classical good looks

Even if you've avidly travelled to far-flung spots in Europe to view classical antiquities, the chances are you're unaware of a superb display of artifacts from ancient times on permanent display right here at home.

Tucked away on the second floor of the arts building, is one of UCD's best-kept secrets - Classical Museum, run by the department of classics. It's thanks to the Rev Henry Browne, UCD professor of Greek, that a teaching museum was established in UCD at the turn of the century. "He bought a lot of artifacts at auction and acquired things from friends and contacts in the Ashmolean Museum and the British Museum and from excavations," explains Dr Christina Haywood, the museum's research curator.

"In those days there were fewer restrictions on the exporting of antiquities. Most university collections were built up at this time." Browne was a classicist rather than an archaeologist. He was also a Jesuit - and the items in the museum's collection are devoid of decoration of a sexual nature, Haywood notes. In the 1930s, UCD bought a collection of Latin and Greek tombstone inscriptions which had been gathered by George Cockburn, owner of Shanganagh Castle in Bray, Co Wicklow. Cockburn, who was born in 1763, joined the army and travelled extensively in Europe, becoming a keen collector of antiquities.

The museum's wonderful marble sarcophagus (Roman, 3 AD) is part of the Cockburn collection. According to records left by the collector, the sarcophagus was discovered in Rome in 1821.

Reading the inscriptions on the tombstones allows the imagination to run riot. (If your Greek and Latin aren't up to scratch, Haywood will translate for you). Who, for example, was Aurelia Doris, described as a "most sweet and incomparable wife, well deserving"? Did she deserve her fate? Or Decimus, freedman of Augustus? He, at least, was a former slave, Haywood notes.

A number of the tablets are dedicated to children - the youngest only four years, 11 months and 12 days old.

Among the museum's collection of Cypriot artifacts is a model of a terracotta chariot pulled by four horses and driven by warriors with shields. Other figurines represent musicians, a warrior, a horseman, bearers of offerings and animals. The oldest pieces in the museum's collection are handmade, early Bronze Age vases, dating from 2,500 to 1,900 BC. "The colours have faded, but they were painted in very bright colours," says the curator. A clay model of the masks Cypriots wore during their religious ceremonies boasts painted eyebrows and beard. According to Hayman, Browne was building up the collection at the time when famous archaeologist Arthur Evans was discovering the Palace of Minos at Knossos. Through contacts with the excavators and acquaintances in the Ashmolean and British Museums, Browne managed to acquire pottery from Minoan, Mycenaean and Cycladic sites. The museum's great, late Bronze Age alabastron - a ritual vase made of stone - was one of four discovered in the throne room of the Palace of Knossos by Evans at the beginning of this century. "It's a reconstruction," Hayman notes, "but it contains a number of original pieces." UCD's Classical Museum is home to a vast range of Greek artifacts. "Different styles of pottery decoration were developed at different times," Hayman says. Early pieces boast geometric decoration but later the styles become "orientalised".

"They were influenced by styles from the east," she explains. "The style originated in Corinth. The Corinthians invented the design of the black figurine with incised details." Later again, Attic (Athenian) pottery was all the rage. "Deposits of clay were discovered in north Athens. The Athenians improved their techniques and produced wares with a shiny glaze and fine incisions. Designs were much more figurative and scenes from classical mythology became standard." Highly decorated pieces were also highly functional. "The Athenians loved to decorate." Potters then moved from the black figurine on a clay background to red figures on black backgrounds. "The details are now painted with a fine brush and the artist has much more freedom."

A number of vases are on long-term loan from the National Museum of Ireland. These are large and impressively decorated amphora - storage jars for wine. Decorations include Hercules fighting the three-bodied monster Geryon, Apollo with a lyre followed by muses and scenes depicting the departure of warriors - women watching their husbands go off to war. The museum's most famous vase depicts Achilles supporting the dying Queen of the Amazons. It is unique: "No other vase with that theme has been discovered," Hayman says. The museum also boasts an extensive Greek and Roman coin collection, including a complete series of coins from the reigns of the emperors Augustus to Marcus Aurelius.

UCD's Classical Museum is open to the public. Telephone (01) 706 8576 or 706 8166.

The Classical Association of Ireland has branches in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick. It promises newsletters, talks, seminars, play readings and a summer school. Contact the department of classics at UCD (tel: (01) 706 8166; email: andrew.smith@ucd.ie).