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.
 Susa, Weight from Didyma
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 Susa, Inscription of Nicocles
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 Susa, The Awan King List
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 Lagash, Vulture Stele, Sumerian phalanx
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 Assos, Temple of Athena, relief, Triton
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 Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a musician
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 Valerian Jr
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 Thelsae, Nabataean altar
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Antonia Minor
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Lion
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 Senusret III
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 Artemis and Apollo killing the Niobids
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 Amulet of Darius
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 Tayma, Dedication to Salm
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 Assos, Temple of Athena, Relief of two bulls
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 Ladjvard, Sasanian king, perhaps Peroz
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 Heraclius and Khusrau
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 Thyatira, Relief of a gladiator (thraex)
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 Domitian
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 Antioch, Judgment of Paris
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 Eshnunna, Relief of Ištar
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 Utica, Oil lamp with a lion and a crocodile
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 Dedication by Ilîmagud Mayfa
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 Susa, Treaty between Naram-Sin and Elam
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 Apollonia, Relief to commemorate the battle of Actium
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 Beirut, Tombstone of Valerius Rufus of VII Claudia
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 Ugarit, Alphabet tablet
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 Relief of a scribe
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 Demetrius Poliorcetes
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 Susa, Achaemenid administrative document
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 Pittacus
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 Corbulo
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 Ur, Foundation statuette of Amar-Sin
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 Old Paphos, Epitaph of King Echetimus
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 Kition, Figurine of a woman
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 Tombstone of Iglum, son of Sa'adillat
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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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 Amasis
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 Tepe Sialk, Pot from the fourth millennium BCE, decorated with an ibex
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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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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Goddess
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 Byzantine, Dromedary-shaped lamp
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 The Albani Alexander
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 Alexander IV
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 Salonina
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 Smyrna, Attalus II Philadelphus
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 Geta
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 Yemen, Dromedary pendant
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 Alexandria, Tombstone of Longinus of II Traiana
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Informal portrait of Sobekhotep IV
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 Madaba, Funeral inscription of Itaybel
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 Relief of a Roman officer
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 Cirta, Sanctuary of El-Hofra, Votive stela
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 Charlemagne
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 Marib, Dedication to Almaqah
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 Julia Domna
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 Ptolemy X Alexander
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 The Azara herm
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 Agrippa
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 Tyre, Hellenistic building inscription from Al-Ma'shook
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 Mask of a Sumerian
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 Head of Croesus on a Greek vase
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 Gortyn, Inscription with laws
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 Montuhotep II wearing the red deshret crown
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription DSm
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 Susa, Funerary portrait
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief
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 Caere, Sarcophagus of the Spouses
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief
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 Antinoopolis, Coptic textile, Nilotic scene (including nilometer)
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 Antinoopolis, Coptic textile, Praying man with candelaber and ankh
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 Ptolemy IV Philopator
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Crassus
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 Cyprus, Bilingual Greek-Phoenician inscription
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 Statuette of Raherka, inspector of the scribes, and his wife Merseanch
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 Bawit, Coptic church, Model
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 Dibon, Mesha Stela
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 Statuette of Bes, dedicated by Pakher, chancellor of king Psamtek I
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 Alexandria Troas, Psyche on a dromedary
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 Sippar, Contract from the reign of Xerxes about a canal
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 Beirut, Christian phylacterium, invoking the protection of several celestial beings to protect one Alexandra
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription
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 Susa, Middle-Elamite model of a sun ritual
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 Susa, Dedication to Inšušinak
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 Susa, Relief with the sacrifice of goat
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 The Azara herm
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 Wadi Miyah, Palmyrene triad: Aglibol (Moon), Ba'al Šamem (Lord of Heaven), and Malekbel (Sun)
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 Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib, king Sargon
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 Apollonia, Relief of two hoplites
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 Nefertiti and Akhenaten
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 Susa, Stone fish
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 Tayma, Aramaic funerary inscription
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 Statues of Sekhmet
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 Sphinx of king Siamun
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 Alexandria, Alexander the Great as City Founder
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 Susa, Gold plate with royal warrior
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 Horus, Osiris, Isis
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 Khorsabad, Relief of rafts on a great river
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 The Tyche of Antioch (figurine)
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 Julia Mamaea
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 Bawit, Icon of Christ and St.Menas
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Aegis of Osorkon IV
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 Figurine from Bactria
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 Soknopaiou Nesos, Stele of Isis, Horus, and Cleopatra VII Philopator
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 Ptolemy I Soter
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 Ptolemy III Euergetes
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 Cleopatra II or III as Isis
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 Drawing of Amenhotep I
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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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 Olympia, Temple of Zeus, Model
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 Antiochus III the Great
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 Agrippa Postumus
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 Theodosius II
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 Khorsabad, Iron tool
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Lion
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 Vase painting of an archaic Greek galley
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 Corinth, Small painting of Poseidon
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 Tayma, Taymanite inscription
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief: the bull-man
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Sphinxes
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 Achmim, Funerary stela of Pamim
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 Keki, the courtier
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 Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Foundation Inscription
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 Persian nobleman; statue from Egypt
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 Susa, Stela of Šutruru
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 Athens, Heliaia, Allotment plate
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 Corinth, Hoplite battle (Tydeus painter)
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 Suovetaurilia
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 Titus
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 Hermopolis, Portrait of a Cleopatra I, Cleopatra II, or Berenice III
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 Susa, Stone relief with a banquet scene
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 Herodes Atticus
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 Khorsabad, Relief of two courtiers
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 Utica, Funeral stela
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 Lambaesis, Rules for the trumpetters of III Augusta
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 Greek plate with a picture of the Chimaera. Louvre, Paris (France)
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 Apries
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 The Azara herm
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 Demetrius I Poliorcetes
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 Portrait of a Roman man (CE 070-100)
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 Giza, Diner of Nefer
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 Marib, Dedication to Almaqah, detail
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 Byblos, Relief of a lion
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 Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurines
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Immortal, Counterweight of a spear
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 Lascuta, Imperator inscription
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 Rhagae, Dancers on a piece of pottery
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 Taharqo venerating the falcon-god Hemen
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 Achaemenid jar with representation of Bes
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 Pyla, Temple of Apollo, Portrait of a man
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 Merenptah
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 Susa, Letter from Artabanus II, requesting the appointment of one Hecataeus as treasurer
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 Ostracon with a Coptic Writing Exercise (Thebaid)
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 Drawing of Ramesses VII
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 Gladiator helmet
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 Ptolemy XI Alexander, gold sealing ring
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 The Azara herm
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 Bottle from Tepe Hesar level II
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 Susa, Apadana, Capital
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 Smyrna, Honorific decree for an officer of VI Ferrata
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 Messalina
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 Berenice II
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 Fayyum, Coptic chalice
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 Rhodes, Dish with a sphinx
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 Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib, prince Sennacherib
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 POWs being led away on an Akkadian victory stele
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 Nectanebo I, wearing the crown of Upper Egypt
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 Egypt, Byzantine textile, Erotes picking grapes
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 Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Elamite)
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 Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Old Persian)
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 Yemen, Woman's head
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 Idalion, orientalizing gold dish
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 Sippar, Victory stela of Naram-Sin
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 Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Relief of Arbela
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 Nicomedia, Hellenistic Funerary relief
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 Statuette of a hippopotamus
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 Ptolemy IV Philopator or Ptolemy VI Philometor
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 Ptolemy II Philadelphus
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 Susa, Statue of queen Napirasu, wife of Untaš-Napiriša
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 Khorsabad, Lamassu
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 Khorsabad, Foundation Tablet
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Bishapur, Palace, Stucco apse
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 Cleopatra VII Philopator in Egyptian style
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 Susa, Stela of Adda-hamiti-Inšušinak
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 The Azara herm
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 Delos, Portrait of Alexander the Great
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 Rhodes, Head-shaped aryballos
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 Girsu, Tablet with a fragment of the Sumerian Creation Epic
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 Fragment of the sarcophagus of Sety II
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 Annius Verus
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 Nimrud, Relief of an Anatolian fort
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 Bosra, Nabataean altar
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 Moabite warrior god
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 Nectanebo I wearing the war crown
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 Bowl from Tepe Hesar I
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 King Djedefra
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 Livia (Paris)
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 Ajax and Cassandra.
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 Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Inscription
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 Assos, Temple of Athena, Relief of a symposium
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 Faustina II
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 Cartouche of Osorkon I
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 Kition, Egyptianizing capital
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 Susa, Battle axe
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 Cherchell, Inscription of Micipsa
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 Susa, Middle-Elamite basrelief of warrior gods
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 Rhodes, Mycenaean cup (LH IIIa2)
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 Susa, Rim of a cup with the name of Xerxes
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 Enkomi, Late Bronze pectoral with sphinxes
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 Smyrna, Diadumenianus
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 Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of man dressed as an ostrich
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 Tepe Sialk, Sherd from the fourth millennium BCE
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 An Egyptian poem about the battle of Kadesh
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Idalion, statue of Melqart
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 Arsinoe III
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 Seleucus I Nicator
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 Pharsalus, Funerary stela with a relief of a flower offering
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 Antiochus VI Dionysus
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 Rhodes, Mycenaean jar with a bull (LH IIIa2)
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 Sobekhotep IV
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 Ramesses IV
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 Caere, Banditaccia necropolis, Wall painting of an archer
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 Alexander, Statuette from Lower Egypt
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 Statuette of a Libyan
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 Utica, Oil lamp with a lion and a panther
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 Baalbek, Mosaic of the Birth of Paris
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 Mithridates V Euergetes
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Edessa, Mosaic of a lady
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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 Osorkon I
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 Susa, Hellenistic or Parthian figurine of a harpist
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 Sarcophagus with the body of Hector
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 Alexander I Balas
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 Sippar, Cylinder with a building inscription from the reign of Hammurabi
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 Athens, Black-figured dish with a Scythian archer
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 Chalouf, Darius' DZb inscription
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 Susa, Sasanian cup
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 Shabaqo
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 Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Sumerian-Akkadian Dictionary
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 Aššur, Annals of Tikulti-Ninurta II
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 Pompey the Great. Louvre, Paris (France)
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 Susa, Neo-Elamite decoration (dragon)
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 Socrates
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 Yemen, Relief of a bird eating grapes
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 Ptolemy XII Auletes
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 Eretria, Two-headed phial
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 Uruk, Cuneiform tablet with first use of a zero
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 Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Babylonian)
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 Pupienus
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 Furnos Minus, Christian funerary mosaic
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 Aelius Caesar
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 Sobekhotep IV
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 Babylonian map of the western Zagros. A road, a mountain, and a river are indicated.
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 Palmyra, Tombstone of a priest
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 Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus
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 Timna, Dedication by Rathad'il
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 Figurine of an Etruscan warrior
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 Saqqara, Serapeum, Relief of Isis and Nectanebo II
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 Bawit, Portrait of a lady
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 Matidia
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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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 Tayma, Nabataean votive stela
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 Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib
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 Arsinoe II
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 Senusret III
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Flowers
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Mythological creatures
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 Tayma, Relief of a sacrifical meal; Assyrian influence
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 Megara, Figurine of two hoplites
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 Saba, the Arab warrior Mushayqat Hamayat ibn Yusuf on a dromedary
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 Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurine of a bull
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 Rome, S. Pietro, Sarcophagus with Christ as Lawgiver
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 Portrait of a man, third quarter of the first century CE (the so-called "Vitellius")
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 Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a Dionysiac head
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 Choga Zanbil, Model
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 Fausta
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 Hadrumetum, Sanctuary of Baal Hammon, Punic stela
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 Coptic jar with decoration of a woman with wild animals
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 Leo I
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 King of the Eleventh/Twelfth Dynasty
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 Esarhaddon and his mother attend the restoration of Babylon
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 Boy with hoop and rooster
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 Coptic tunic
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 Susa, Silver rhyton
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 Choga Zanbil, Ziggurat, Doorknobs (Paris)
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 Justinian I (Barberini Ivory)
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 Khorsabad, Lion-taming spirit ("Gilgameš")
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 Didia Clara
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 Sallustia Orbiana
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 Cyrene, Statue of Antinous
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 Psammetichus I
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 Oea, Punic sphinx
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 Susa, Soldiers' Relief
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