English
Until the 23rd of March, the Catalunya National Art Museum, MNAC, inaugurates the interesting exhibition ´Ancient Gods and Myths´. The exhibition, that´s organized by the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia and commissioned by Marta Campos, its preservation chief. The exhibition delves into the outlook and the myths created by those who lived in the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th century BC until the Visigoths arrived.
The exhibition shows us the historical development processes of the Iberian Peninsula and the influence of the myths and beliefs in the configuration of their culture through a new point of view, which addresses its genesis and how it was transmitted through the coin, an object which has historically been used to make exchanges of products and services.
With the aim of giving it a dialectic content, the exhibition has structured itself into three thematic axis: the influence of Greek and Oriental cults, the religiousness of primitive cultures of the Iberian Peninsula and Romanization until the arrival of the Visigoths.
The area of Ibiza and the coasts of the Peninsula were colonized by migrations of Greek and Phoenician-Punic populations, who settled and created their habitat and reproduced their original culture, which meant that they also reproduced their beliefs, that revolved around gods. By generating ways of organization and creating the coin, they engraved their gods on it to give a divine backing to this exchange object, putting on them Zeus, Bes, Tanit, Athena, Artemis or Melkart.
Until not long ago there was ignorance on the gods who governed the imaginary of the populations of Hispania. Thanks to the images that have been found, it has been possible to make theories on its cosmogony. The representations of vegetable or animal elements engraved on the coins has allowed the understanding of the importance that nature had for them and that their interpretation on the origin of life was related with these elements that were part of their surroundings.
Romanization in Hispania is understood as the process of domination and implementation of Roman culture in the Peninsula, product of its expansion in the war for Mediterranean domination between Romans and Carthaginians.
During this process, the Romans settled their cultural and religious bases to create a hegemony that allowed them to dominate the area geopolitically. This is clearly shown in the iconography engraved on the coins that they used in Hispania until the arrival of the Visigoths, which had Roman cosmogony on show through their images of religiousness. Upon the arrival of the new invaders, these were substituted by the gods of the newcomers.
What´s interesting about this exhibition is that it shows us that the iconography engraved on coins aren´t just figures, they express the power of those who execute it and are worthy of being studied.
For more information: http://www.mnac.cat/exposicions/exp_futures.jsp?lan=002
Even if you don´t have a lot of money, a few days of relaxation in Barcelona are always necessary, so come to the Mediterranean and rent apartments in Barcelona where you can relax because the prices there are affordable for everybody.
