The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece
The Getty Villa reopens to the public five and a half months after its Palisades Fire closure with this international loan exhibition dedicated to the Greek Mycenaean civilization and the kingdom of Pylos, which Homer immortalized in the Iliad and Odyssey. It's the first major museum show in North America devoted to the Late Bronze Age Mycenaeans. See treasures excavators unearthed from Messenia, the Palace of Nestor and burial sites including the tomb of the Griffin Warrior (1450 BCE)—think clay tablets, gold cups, ornate weapons and tiny signets and sealstones adorned with awe-inspiring amounts of detail.
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Time Out
a day ago
- Time Out
The Getty Villa is finally back open after the Palisades Fire
Five and a half months after it shut its doors in the midst of the Palisades Fire, the Getty Villa —one of the city's cultural crown jewels—has finally reopened. Thanks to the efforts of both security and facilities staff and firefighters, the museum is still intact —a beacon of hope amid the surrounding landscape. And as of June 27, the Getty Villa is officially welcoming the public again, albeit with limited hours: Friday to Mondays from 10am to 5pm. (You can reserve free tickets here, though the first couple of weeks are already booked solid.) We got to preview the grounds and the Villa's new exhibition, ' The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece,' earlier this week. Here's what you can expect from a visit to the newly reopened museum. Driving to the museum on Tuesday night, I felt a mix of anticipation and trepidation. I hadn't been close to the Palisades since the wildfires, and I wasn't sure what to expect. After turning a corner on Sunset heading toward the Villa, I suddenly found myself driving through swaths of destruction—innumerable burnt trees, barren hillsides, empty lots where houses once stood, crumbled and hollowed-out buildings. The drive up made me emotional—I was full of both sorrow and love for our city. Once I turned onto the cobblestones of the Getty Villa entrance from PCH, I felt on more familiar ground. At first glance, not much seemed different about the museum grounds. Thankfully, the art and buildings themselves were untouched and are still standing proud. The surrounding landscape, however, didn't fare as well. According to the Getty's website, some 1,415 trees had to be removed due to fire damage—that amounts to 44 percent of the Villa's forest—though thankfully the plants in the courtyards weren't harmed. Sure enough, the hillsides behind the museum building are sparser than you might remember, and the ocean is a bit easier to see from the back of the property. The difference was especially stark in the East Garden, behind the mosaic fountain. Some of the fire-damaged trees have been salvaged and will potentially be used in a memorial, as an art installation or furnishings. In the meantime, the Getty's grounds and garden director and his team are replanting and placing an emphasis on native, more flame-resistant plants and trees. The Palisades Fire also covered the Villa's grounds with ash. Once it was deemed safe to do so, a specialty cleaning company was brought in, who used a multistep process to wash and sweep the ash off of the roof and roads, as well as the balconies and patios—the gorgeous outdoor spaces that make the Getty feel like such an oasis. It took a little more finesse to clean the murals in the Outer Peristyle, though—the colorful paintings reminiscent of ancient Roman frescoes that surround possibly the most photogenic part of the Villa's grounds. To do this involved calling in conservators to vacuum soot off the walls, wipe them down with wet sponges and then carefully inpaint, or fill in, the murals to make them more vivid and bright. Inside the museum—besides an acknowledgment inside the Atrium thanking staff members for their service during and after the fires—you'll find the same permanent collection of Greek and Roman antiquities that fully transports you to ancient times (oil industrialist and collector J. Paul Getty wanted the Villa to emulate a first-century Roman country house). On the second floor, though, is a brand-new exhibition. 'The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece' is dedicated to the Greek Mycenaean civilization and the kingdom of Pylos, which Homer immortalized in the Iliad and Odyssey. It's the first major museum show in North America devoted to the Late Bronze Age Mycenaeans (we're talking 1700–1070 BCE). Three rooms and a hallway are filled with art and artifacts that excavators unearthed from Messenia, the Palace of Nestor and burial sites including the tomb of the Griffin Warrior (1450 BCE)—think clay tablets, gold cups, ornate weapons and tiny signets and sealstones adorned with awe-inspiring amounts of detail. It's hard to wrap your head around the intricacies of these treasures that are thousands of years old. A slate of public programming will accompany the exhibition, including an opening lecture by archaeologists Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis on June 28 and a Bacchus Uncorked wine program on August 9 and 10. Outside, starting September 4, the Villa's Outdoor Classical Theater will spring back into action with the musical Oedipus the King, Mama!, a mash-up of Sophocles's Oedipus the King and Elvis Presley's music. Seeing a play in the ancient Greece–style amphitheater as you feel the Pacific Ocean breeze is a special experience. My visit to the Getty Villa did a lot to restore my hope in L.A.'s resilience. And the Getty is leading by example, sharing advice on emergency preparedness with institutions around the world. Pacific Palisades and L.A. at large still have a lot of healing to do in the wake of the wildfires, but the Getty Villa's reopening—right on the heels of PCH fully reopening in time for the summer—can serve as a beacon in the city's ongoing recovery.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Matt Damon arrives in Scotland ahead of The Odyssey filming
The Odyssey - an adaptation of Homer's epic Greek poem - boasts an all-star ensemble cast, with Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron starring alongside Matt Damon. Slated for a July 2026 release, Universal Pictures describe it as "a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology", while Jim Orr, the studio's distribution chief, said it will be 'a visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would quite likely be proud of.' Principal photography began at Aït Benhaddou in Morocco in February before filming moved to Pelopennese in Greece and the island of Favignana off the coast of Sicily - believed by some scholars to be one of the locations described in Homer's epic poem. Earlier this month, it was revealed that scenes for the film will be shot at Findlater Castle overlooking the Moray Firth in Aberdeenshire. It came after Variety named Scotland among the list of 'announced locations' for the film, while actor Jesse Garcia confirmed in an interview that The Odyssey would be filmed in Scotland - and Ireland. Speaking about the film, Garcia said: "The locations are beautiful. It's been fun to work with all the actors that we're working with, and everyone is putting everything into it. We're literally emptying the tank every day. "It's epic. There's going to be some groundbreaking stuff on screen that's really never been done before. [Nolan] keeps upping the game with everything that he does, and the way it's going to look on screen is just going to be incredible." Back in February, Universal unveiled a first look at Matt Damon as Odysseus in The Odyssey. The side-angle shot showed Damon, who worked with Christopher Nolan in Oppenheimer, clad in military armour. Nolan is no stranger to Scotland, having filmed parts of The Dark Knight Rises in the country. The opening scene, where supervillain Bane hijacks a plane, was filmed over the Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms National Park. News of Matt Damon's arrival in Scotland for filming comes after Deadline confirmed that Joel Coen's next film, Jack of Spades, will shoot in Scotland this summer. The movie will star British actor Josh O'Connor - primarily known for his portrayal of Prince Charles in The Crown - in the lead role. Coen is best known of course for his collaborations with his younger brother, Ethan. Among their most acclaimed works are Fargo, True Grit, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and No Country for Old Men. The film will follow Coen's previous solo release, 2021's The Tragedy Of Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. Plot details for Jack of Spades remain under wraps, but there are reportedly offers out to two British actresses to star alongside O'Connor. The Herald understands that Coen is already in Glasgow ahead of filming starting. In an interview with The Herald in 2009, Coen, who has visited Skye repeatedly on holiday, hinted of a possible future shoot in Scotland. He said: 'I love Scotland, I visit there a lot for the countryside, the landscape of it. I go up to the Isle of Skye. "Who knows, maybe some day we will do a movie set in Scotland. It will probably have an American character in it though.' In other film news, Deadline also reports that Russell Crowe has joined Henry Cavill's Highlander reboot. The Oscar-winning actor is set to play Cavill's mentor in a variation on the part played by Sean Connery in the 1986 original. Earlier this month, director Chad Stahelski confirmed that filming is due to commence by mid-September in London, before production heads to Scotland. READ MORE:
Time Out
3 days ago
- Time Out
The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece
The Getty Villa reopens to the public five and a half months after its Palisades Fire closure with this international loan exhibition dedicated to the Greek Mycenaean civilization and the kingdom of Pylos, which Homer immortalized in the Iliad and Odyssey. It's the first major museum show in North America devoted to the Late Bronze Age Mycenaeans. See treasures excavators unearthed from Messenia, the Palace of Nestor and burial sites including the tomb of the Griffin Warrior (1450 BCE)—think clay tablets, gold cups, ornate weapons and tiny signets and sealstones adorned with awe-inspiring amounts of detail.
