Larissa Bonfante

"The Barbarians of Ancient Europe deals with the reality of the indigenous peoples of Europe, in contrast to many publications that explore these peoples in the context of the Greek idea of 'barbarians' as the 'Other'. These varied groups--Thracians, Scythians, Celts, Germans, Etruscans, and other peoples of Italy, the Alps, and beyond--had contact with one another and with Greek culture during its flowering. Images on the spectacular gold and silver objects buried in royal tombs show how the horse-riding nomads and the barbarian women warriors known in antiquity as Amazons saw themselves. Archaeological discoveries show how they dressed, what they ate and drank, where they lived, and how they honored their dead kings with barbaric splendor and human sacrifices, allowing us to change, correct, or confirm the picture given in Greek and Roman literature"--

The foundation of the American Academy in Rome dates back more than one hundred years to the early decades of the last century. Over the years, the Academy has acquired a study collection of material goods from antiquity, including coins, statues and figurines, lamps, stucco and other architectural fragments, jewelry, and inscriptions. While most are Roman in origin, some pieces are Greek or Etruscan. Some were gifts, others come from long-ago excavations, a few were bought. The Collection of Antiquities of the American Academy in Rome, the latest addition to the Supplements to the Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome series, focuses on highlights of the collection.