If you visit the museum for the first time, you will be surprised by the pyramid-shaped entrance. Use the time you lose to pass the bomb check and buy a ticket to look at it, because it is a monument of the first order.
I already mentioned the Egyptian department, where you can easily spend a full day. There are portraits of the Egyptian kings and objects from daily life, and what is even better: the full history is dealth with, so you will also find objects from the first millennium BCE. The Greek, Roman, and Coptic age are not ignored either, although you need to go to Greek department for the royal portraits of the Ptolemies.
The Egyptian department is deservedly famous, and attracts many visitors, who are usually exhausted when they are half-way their tour. Usually, they will take the shortest route to the exit, which brings them through the departments of Cypriote, Arab, Palmyrene, and Phoenician art – which are, as a consequence, full of people who are not interested in the objects. That is a pity, because these rooms alone justify a trip to Paris. Still, if you manage to ignore the crowd of tired visitors to the Egyptian department, you will certainly enjoy coffins from Sidon, Byblos, and Carthage, Nabataean inscriptions, and statues from Cyprus. One of my favorites is a relief of one of the divine triad of Palmyra. You will need half a day to study it well.
Next to it is the Oriental department. The most famous object is, of course, the Code of Hammurabi. Don’t concentrate on the diorite monolith only, but also look in the small display in the same room, because there you will see cuneiform tablets with the same text – one of them written more than a millennium later and proving that these laws had become some kind of Mesopotamian classic, and it is probably no coincidence that the division of these Old Babylonian laws returns in the Ten Commandments.
The Roman department is surprisingly small. Yet, there is a lot of fine sculpture, including a nice series of portraits of Roman rulers. Next to it is a comparatively small Etruscan department. A gallery of rather mediocre statues brings you to the room devoted to Roman art that was later restored, which is great fun: usually, you can immediately see which part is ancient and which is an addition. (Here, you will also find Canova’s famous Amor and Psyche.) You need about half a day to see it all, read the explanatory signs, and take your photos.
The Greek department is larger – you again need a full day to study it all. The two most famous pieces are the expressive Nike of Samothrake and the famous Venus of Milo. The latter is more or less the museum’s raison d’être. Napoleon had looted the Italian museums, but after he had found his Waterloo, all those works of art had to be returned. In an age in which it was believed that inspiration by great art created great minds, and that Greek art was the most inspirational, the emptying of the Louvre was believed to be a national disaster, but fortunately, the Venus of Milo was found. Now, France could compete again with the British, who had the Elgin Marbles. That the armless deity was a Hellenistic and not a Classical statue, was ignored – the inscription which proves it, is now conveniently lost.
The crowds are very large, and you may count yourself lucky that I did not bring you to the paintings. This makes a visit to the Louvre a bit difficult, and you must prepare yourself well; fortunately, the museum’s website is excellent. Four days is the minimum for the ancient departments.
Finally, I must mention one little gem that is often ignored and where you can, consequently, quietly look at the objects: the room with metal objects. There is some fine silver work, but you will also see the helmet of a gladiator, a nice statuette of the Tyche of Antioch, the head of Demetrius Poliorcetes, a hoplite’s panoply, a curse tablet from the Crimea, Roman military diplomas, and so on.
But unfortunately, that’s the only part of the museum where you will not meet many other people. In fact, the museum is too big, and I think that it would be wiser to split it into smaller museums.
This museum was visited in 1984, 1989, 2008, 2010, 2020.
 Eshnunna, Relief of Ištar
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 Marib, Dedication to Almaqah
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 Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Babylonian)
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 Susa, Middle-Elamite model of a sun ritual
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 Lagash, Vulture Stele, Sumerian phalanx
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 Susa, Neo-Elamite decoration (dragon)
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 Corinth, Small painting of Poseidon
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 Domitian
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 Informal portrait of Sobekhotep IV
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 Keki, the courtier
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 Choga Zanbil, Model
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 Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a Dionysiac head
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 Ostracon with a Coptic Writing Exercise (Thebaid)
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 Edessa, Mosaic of a lady
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 Osorkon I
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 Assos, Temple of Athena, relief, Triton
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 Apries
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 Cleopatra VII Philopator in Egyptian style
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Immortal, Counterweight of a spear
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 Wadi Miyah, Palmyrene triad: Aglibol (Moon), Ba'al Šamem (Lord of Heaven), and Malekbel (Sun)
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 Statuette of a hippopotamus
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 Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a musician
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 Senusret III
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 Susa, Middle-Elamite basrelief of warrior gods
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Susa, Silver rhyton
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 Aegis of Osorkon IV
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 Julia Mamaea
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 Susa, Stone fish
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 Arsinoe II
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 Relief of a scribe
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Lion
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 Corbulo
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 Mask of a Sumerian
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 Delos, Portrait of Alexander the Great
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Flowers
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 Ugarit, Alphabet tablet
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 Gortyn, Inscription with laws
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 Achmim, Funerary stela of Pamim
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 Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Old Persian)
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 Yemen, Woman's head
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 Matidia
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 Caere, Sarcophagus of the Spouses
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 Ur, Foundation statuette of Amar-Sin
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 Assos, Temple of Athena, Relief of a symposium
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 Idalion, orientalizing gold dish
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 Ptolemy X Alexander
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 Susa, Funerary portrait
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 Utica, Oil lamp with a lion and a panther
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 Socrates
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 Susa, Stone relief with a banquet scene
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 Sippar, Victory stela of Naram-Sin
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 Agrippa Postumus
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 Figurine from Bactria
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 Demetrius Poliorcetes
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 Figurine of an Etruscan warrior
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 Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurine of a bull
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 Khorsabad, Foundation Tablet
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 Yemen, Dromedary pendant
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 Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Foundation Inscription
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 Ptolemy IV Philopator or Ptolemy VI Philometor
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 Susa, Relief with the sacrifice of goat
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 An Egyptian poem about the battle of Kadesh
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 Susa, Achaemenid administrative document
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 Herodes Atticus
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 Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Relief of Arbela
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 Saqqara, Serapeum, Relief of Isis and Nectanebo II
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 The Azara herm
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 Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Sumerian-Akkadian Dictionary
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 Gladiator helmet
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 Coptic jar with decoration of a woman with wild animals
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 Khorsabad, Lion-taming spirit ("Gilgameš")
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 Old Paphos, Epitaph of King Echetimus
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 Susa, Weight from Didyma
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 Fayyum, Coptic chalice
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 Statuette of Raherka, inspector of the scribes, and his wife Merseanch
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 Sobekhotep IV
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 Portrait of a man, third quarter of the first century CE (the so-called "Vitellius")
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 Rhodes, Head-shaped aryballos
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 Suovetaurilia
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 Dibon, Mesha Stela
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 Greek plate with a picture of the Chimaera. Louvre, Paris (France)
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 Susa, Sasanian cup
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 Marib, Dedication to Almaqah, detail
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 Berenice II
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 Valerian Jr
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 Palmyra, Tombstone of a priest
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 Pupienus
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 Heraclius and Khusrau
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 Cherchell, Inscription of Micipsa
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 Susa, Dedication to Inšušinak
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 Rhodes, Mycenaean cup (LH IIIa2)
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 Smyrna, Attalus II Philadelphus
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 Pittacus
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 Idalion, statue of Melqart
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 Titus
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 Justinian I (Barberini Ivory)
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief: the bull-man
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 Smyrna, Diadumenianus
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 Bowl from Tepe Hesar I
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 Sippar, Contract from the reign of Xerxes about a canal
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 Drawing of Amenhotep I
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 Psammetichus I
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 Susa, Hellenistic or Parthian figurine of a harpist
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 Nectanebo I, wearing the crown of Upper Egypt
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 Ptolemy IV Philopator
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 Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Sphinxes
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 Bottle from Tepe Hesar level II
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 Cirta, Sanctuary of El-Hofra, Votive stela
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 Susa, Stela of Adda-hamiti-Inšušinak
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 POWs being led away on an Akkadian victory stele
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 Alexander I Balas
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 Coptic tunic
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 Alexandria Troas, Psyche on a dromedary
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 Susa, Apadana, Capital
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 Alexander, Statuette from Lower Egypt
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 Messalina
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 Drawing of Ramesses VII
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 Giza, Diner of Nefer
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 Tepe Sialk, Pot from the fourth millennium BCE, decorated with an ibex
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Yemen, Relief of a bird eating grapes
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Head of Croesus on a Greek vase
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 Lascuta, Imperator inscription
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 Relief of a Roman officer
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 Tombstone of Iglum, son of Sa'adillat
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 Ptolemy XII Auletes
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 Megara, Figurine of two hoplites
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 Beirut, Christian phylacterium, invoking the protection of several celestial beings to protect one Alexandra
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 Tayma, Relief of a sacrifical meal; Assyrian influence
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 Susa, Gold plate with royal warrior
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 Senusret III
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 Taharqo venerating the falcon-god Hemen
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 Amulet of Darius
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 Mithridates V Euergetes
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 Salonina
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 Ptolemy III Euergetes
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 King Djedefra
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 Byzantine, Dromedary-shaped lamp
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 Dedication by Ilîmagud Mayfa
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 Ptolemy I Soter
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 Nicomedia, Hellenistic Funerary relief
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 Antiochus VI Dionysus
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 Merenptah
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 Kition, Figurine of a woman
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Lion
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 Nefertiti and Akhenaten
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 Persian nobleman; statue from Egypt
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Inscription
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 Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib, king Sargon
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 Tayma, Nabataean votive stela
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 Ramesses IV
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 Fausta
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 Khorsabad, Relief of two courtiers
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 Baalbek, Mosaic of the Birth of Paris
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 Beirut, Tombstone of Valerius Rufus of VII Claudia
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Goddess
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 Hermopolis, Portrait of a Cleopatra I, Cleopatra II, or Berenice III
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 Rhodes, Mycenaean jar with a bull (LH IIIa2)
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 Ugarit, Temple of Baal, Stele with the king of Ugarit in front of the god Baal Saphon
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 Montuhotep II wearing the red deshret crown
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 Portrait of a Roman man (CE 070-100)
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 Aššur, Annals of Tikulti-Ninurta II
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Crassus
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 Seleucus I Nicator
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 Tyre, Hellenistic building inscription from Al-Ma'shook
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 Tayma, Aramaic funerary inscription
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 Uruk, Cuneiform tablet with first use of a zero
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 Julia Domna
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 Olympia, Temple of Zeus, Model
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief
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 Cyrene, Statue of Antinous
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 Timna, Dedication by Rathad'il
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 Amasis
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 Saba, the Arab warrior Mushayqat Hamayat ibn Yusuf on a dromedary
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 Leo I
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 Assos, Temple of Athena, Relief of two bulls
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 Chalouf, Darius' DZb inscription
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 Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib, prince Sennacherib
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription DSm
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 Lambaesis, Rules for the trumpetters of III Augusta
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 Kition, Egyptianizing capital
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 Theodosius II
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 Susa, Rim of a cup with the name of Xerxes
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 Horus, Osiris, Isis
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 Ladjvard, Sasanian king, perhaps Peroz
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 Cartouche of Osorkon I
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 Ugarit, Stele of the "smiting god"
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 Hadrumetum, Sanctuary of Baal Hammon, Punic stela with three baetyls
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 Vase painting of an archaic Greek galley
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 Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Elamite)
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 Annius Verus
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 Corinth, Hoplite battle (Tydeus painter)
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 Furnos Minus, Christian funerary mosaic
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 Shabaqo
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 Thyatira, Relief of a gladiator (thraex)
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 Antiochus III the Great
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 Arsinoe III
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 Aelius Caesar
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 Alexandria, Alexander the Great as City Founder
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 Susa, Stela of Šutruru
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 Hadrumetum, Sanctuary of Baal Hammon, Punic stela
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 Utica, Oil lamp with a lion and a crocodile
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 Apollonia, Relief of two hoplites
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 Alexandria, Tombstone of Longinus of II Traiana
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 Oea, Punic sphinx
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 Moabite warrior god
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription
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 Utica, Funeral stela
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 Agrippa
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 Babylonian map of the western Zagros. A road, a mountain, and a river are indicated.
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 Boy with hoop and rooster
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 Tayma, Dedication to Salm
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 Alexander IV
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 Eretria, Two-headed phial
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 Sallustia Orbiana
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 Athens, Heliaia, Allotment plate
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 The Azara herm
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 Rhodes, Dish with a sphinx
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 Susa, Statue of queen Napirasu, wife of Untaš-Napiriša
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 Rome, S. Pietro, Sarcophagus with Christ as Lawgiver
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Mythological creatures
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 Smyrna, Honorific decree for an officer of VI Ferrata
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 Ptolemy XI Alexander, gold sealing ring
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 Rhagae, Dancers on a piece of pottery
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 Susa, Inscription of Nicocles
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 The Albani Alexander
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 Bawit, Coptic church, Model
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Khorsabad, Iron tool
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 Egypt, Byzantine textile, Erotes picking grapes
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 Athens, Black-figured dish with a Scythian archer
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 Sardes, Temple of Artemis, Relief of the "Mistress of the animals". (The archer partly visible to the right must be Heracles.)
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 Bawit, Icon of Christ and St.Menas
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 Bishapur, Palace, Stucco apse
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 Sarcophagus with the body of Hector
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 Nectanebo I wearing the war crown
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 Choga Zanbil, Ziggurat, Doorknobs (Paris)
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 Antonia Minor
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 Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib
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 Nimrud, Relief of an Anatolian fort
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 Tepe Sialk, Sherd from the fourth millennium BCE
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Achaemenid jar with representation of Bes
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 Khorsabad, Lamassu
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 Cleopatra II or III as Isis
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 Antioch, Judgment of Paris
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 Pharsalus, Funerary stela with a relief of a flower offering
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 Livia (Paris)
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 Apollonia, Relief to commemorate the battle of Actium
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 Pompey the Great. Louvre, Paris (France)
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 Statuette of a Libyan
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 Antinoopolis, Coptic textile, Nilotic scene (including nilometer)
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 Sphinx of king Siamun
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Bawit, Portrait of a lady
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 The Azara herm
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 Soknopaiou Nesos, Stele of Isis, Horus, and Cleopatra VII Philopator
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 The Azara herm
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 Antinoopolis, Coptic textile, Praying man with candelaber and ankh
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 The Azara herm
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 Ajax and Cassandra.
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 Enkomi, Late Bronze pectoral with sphinxes
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 Statues of Sekhmet
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 Geta
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 Madaba, Funeral inscription of Itaybel
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 Susa, Letter from Artabanus II, requesting the appointment of one Hecataeus as treasurer
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 Susa, Treaty between Naram-Sin and Elam
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 The Tyche of Antioch (figurine)
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 Didia Clara
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Bosra, Nabataean altar
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 Demetrius I Poliorcetes
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 Byblos, Relief of a lion
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 Susa, The Awan King List
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 Susa, Battle axe
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 Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurines
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 Faustina II
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 Esarhaddon and his mother attend the restoration of Babylon
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 Thelsae, Nabataean altar
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 Upper part of the Codex of Hammurabi; taken from Babylon to Susa, it was excavated in what is now Iran.
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 Girsu, Tablet with a fragment of the Sumerian Creation Epic
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 Sobekhotep IV
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 Tayma, Taymanite inscription
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 Caere, Banditaccia necropolis, Wall painting of an archer
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 Artemis and Apollo killing the Niobids
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 Cyprus, Bilingual Greek-Phoenician inscription
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 Pyla, Temple of Apollo, Portrait of a man
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 King of the Eleventh/Twelfth Dynasty
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 Ptolemy II Philadelphus
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 Fragment of the sarcophagus of Sety II
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 Charlemagne
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 Sippar, Cylinder with a building inscription from the reign of Hammurabi
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 Statuette of Bes, dedicated by Pakher, chancellor of king Psamtek I
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 Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of man dressed as an ostrich
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 Khorsabad, Relief of rafts on a great river
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief
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