I only took one small wrong turn en route. At this time of night, on a weekday, there was hardly any queue, and I went through the fast track anyway, as an exhibition ticket holder. So I entered the museum about five minutes before my scheduled time slot, and headed to the floor plans in the central court - the exhibition, I discovered, is in a long room at the far end from the main entrance. Now, it's a massive building, so by the time I got all the way over there, I was a couple of minutes late - that wasn't a problem, of course.
The exhibition is housed in a darkened room, and from the start, you can hear music. It's cleverly sorted, starting with a section about Greek bardic tradition:
(That's supposed to be Homer.) This leads into a long section depicting the various bits of the Iliad and Odyssey:
Urns are accompanied with clever visuals that explain the scenes depicted on them. And you might notice some wooden structures, in the background of that photo - in a nice touch, they've kind of reconstructed the Trojan horse, for that bit of the story!
Gorgeous statuary and pottery abound. Famous names also abound, but you don't have to swot up before you come - there are plenty of explanatory texts, with large-print versions available. Mind you, as someone near me said, it was very crowded.. it could be a trial to get to see anything properly, particularly in this section! The above statue of Achilles proved popular though - certainly, there are enough versions of it in the special giftshop they've set up for the exhibition, which you walk through to the exit!
Clever touches include this handy graphic of which gods were on whose side:
After this section, we come to a very interesting bit (sadly, not very large) about the excavation of Troy, including some artifacts:
The final part of the exhibition is a fascinating collection of artistic depictions of the Trojan war - the chanting that is audible through much of the exhibition turns out to be from a production of The Trojan Women that's being projected on a screen, around this side.
Above, we see Helen on the left, admiring her beauty in an intact Troy: Cassandra on the right, tearing her hair as Troy burns. And below, we see Clytemnestra, who when her husband, Agamemnon, got back from the battle, had a bone to pick with him over sacrificing their daughter for a victory..!
The exhibition includes several contributions from organisations that work with the victims of modern-day wars:
And there are plenty of points of view that don't go with the traditional narrative:
An interesting survey is available at the exit (does take a while, mind), and so to the giftshop. Saw a couple of books I might be interested in - which are cheaper on Amazon. And they have Trojan Horse erasers:
It's an excellent exhibition, which I spent over an hour in, and could have spent a lot longer - runs till the 8th March, recommended. And I was delighted with my brave little phone, which eked out the last of its battery life, having had a busy day, and lasted all the way to the bus stop - nearly. Anyway, it did what I needed it to! Also delighted to take a seat while I waited - I'd been on my feet for over two hours by that stage. Just had a nice rest before the bus came.
Tomorrow, Ken's Walks and Social Events and London Art, Comedy & Walks (essentially the same group, with two sets of members) are off to the Winter Lights Festival at Canary Wharf. Excellent idea, sez I - it's always been great before, and this is the last night. Not that I'll darken their doors - I'll go on my own, thanks. Downloaded the map today.
And on Sunday, London European Club is staying pretty local (to me) - they're headed to a tap dance jam session in Gigi's in Hoxton. And so am I. It'll be my first event of the year with them.. Tickets from Design My Night again, and cheaper in advance.
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