Thread by @VeraCausa9

A thread on Greco-Roman engraved gems with Greek mythological figures:

Sardonyx cameo engraved with a club-wielding Theseus looking at the defeated Minotaur whose dead body hangs out from the arched brick gate of the labyrinth-1st c. BC early Roman Imperial.

The sardonyx cameo engraved with Theseus & the Minotaur is at Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna [1]

Sardonyx intaglio engraved with the hero Bellerophon after taming the divine winged steed Pegasus with a bridle given to him by the goddess Athena-1st c. AD Roman Empire -Walters Art Museum.

Orange-red carnelian engraved with Trojan spy Dolon on his knees pleading with Odysseus for his life while Diodemes is about to decapitate him with his sword-Late Hellenistic 2nd-1st c. BC-MFA Boston.

Carnelian intaglio engraved with the Trojan princess Kassandra, nude & kneeling while holding the statuette of armed Athena or the Trojan Palladion-1st c. BC Late Hellenistic- MFA Boston.

Carnelian engraved with a siren with human arms supported on the hips, outstretched wings and splayed bird's legs. She wears a short, decorated with scale pattern jerkin, which is completed at the neck and hem of ribbon-Greek 6th c. BC-Kunsthistorisches, Vienna.

Carnelian engraved with Omphale, she holds the club of Herakles over her right shoulders, and has a lion skin draped around her shoulders like a shawl. Head of the lion skin falls at her mid-back-Early Roman Imperial 1st c. BC-MFA Boston

Oval sard engraved with Hermes holding a lyre-he wears his winged sandals [talaria] ,a cloak fastened around his neck & a broad-brimmed hat [petasos] hanging down his back-Hellenistic 3rd–1st c. BC-MFA, Boston.

Dark orange carnelian engraved with Hercules sitting on a rock, covered with the Nemean lion's skin, his club leaning on it. The hero looks back captivated at the boyish winged Cupid, who ties his muscular arms behind his back-1st c. BC Roman Republican-Kunsthistorisches, Vienna.

Light brown sard engraved with the half figure of Psyche with her butterfly wings, erotically lifting the chiton over her chest-1st c. BC Early Roman Imperial-Kunsthistorisches, Vienna.

Orange carnelian engraved with the god of wine Bacchus looking at a Silenus mask- in-between the thyrsus staff. His hair adorned with an ivy wreath while his fine curls softly fall on his shoulders-1st c. AD Early Roman Imperial-Kunsthistorisches, Vienna.

Purple sardonyx engraved with cameo of Zeus in profile with his Olympian coiffure adorned by an oak wreath & heavy beard falling in wavy tresses. His downward martial gaze as if passing judgment to mere mortals-Roman Imperial 1st c. BC-1st c. AD-Hermitage Museum.

Finishing this thread with a magnificent sardonyx cameo of Minerva sculpted in 4 layers: goddess face/shoulder in white, crested helmet in brown/white w/ Victoria on chariot, brown long wavy hair w/ brown aegis centered by a gorgon in white-1st c. AD Roman Julio-Claudian period.

This Minerva layered cameo is a masterpiece of Roman craftsmanship. Possibly my favorite engraved gem from antiquity-sold at Christie's for $60,000 in 2010 [1]