Back to the exhibition page. Preface to the Exhibition Catalogue by Elie Borowski Aquila translated the Torah into Greek in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, and they applauded him saying, "Through Grecian grace you are making its beauty known among men." – Talmud Yerushalmi, Megillot 1:9 The Torah with its emphasis on ethical and moral behavior, is the essence of all human spirituality. Greek culture, with its emphasis on beauty and the human body and the glorification of athletes, is the essence of physical aesthetics. In short, Jerusalem symbolizes the soul, and Athens the body. At the opening of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem we emphasized the presentation of the Lands related to the Bible with artifacts of the Ancient Near East. The civilizations related to Athens with representative examples of Cretan, Mycenean, Cypriot and Hellenistic works of art, were minimally represented. Now with this exhibition, "Glories of Ancient Greece", we present three thousand four hundred year old Minoan necklaces and Greek finger rings of unparalleled and fascinating beauty. A choice selection of Minoan vases from the Islands of Crete and Santorini, as well as Mycenean vases from the Greek mainland represent the origins of the developments which became known as the great aesthetic classical art one thousand years later. To the selection of vases we added a rare Larnax/Sarcophagus with its striking, eloquent painting of marine life to further enrich this exhibition. While the museum visitor will enjoy the beauty of the classical vases, the scholar will discover unparalleled masterpieces of the seventh century BCE, the Daedalic period of the Island of Crete. I wish this exhibition to be an eye opener for the appreciation of classical art, to encourage the quest for knowledge of history and culture. It is my personal dream that the display of this collection in the context of the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem will inspire future generations to explore the concept of ‘Athens as the body and Jerusalem as the soul’ – which united represent the quintessence of ethical monotheism. Credit for the beautiful photographs goes to David Harris. We thank G. Max Bernheimer, the author of the catalogue, for his beautiful presentation of the collection. We are grateful for his clear, concise and scholarly introduction to this collection. Elie Borowski May 2001 Back to the Esxhibition page.