Cassandra as a Sibyl and Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, in richly decorated costumes

Cassandra and Penthesilea, Heroines of the Trojan War.

The prophetic daughter of Priam is presented in the guise of the soothsayer Sibyl, but with a somewhat more majestic bearing and a richer costume. Her headdress with its pointed plume is executed in the Eastern style, and its height signals the might of Cassandra's gift. The edges of her tunic and cloak are richly embroidered, and the hem of the tunic is adorned with a band of royal ermine. In one hand the prophetess holds a book, while with the other she points to her breast in confirmation of the truth of her words.

The winged helmet of the Queen of the Amazons, the warrior Penthesilea, is distinguished by an equally extraordinary sumptuousness of decoration. Her intricate, highly artistic relief shield is astonishing. Over her armour Penthesilea wears a tunic gathered above the knees, with a cloak falling down her back. With her right hand she brandishes an enormous yataghan above her head, demonstrating the martial might of her people.

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Pope Leo XIV on the courage to do good, to forgive and to enter into dialogue

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Old colour photograph with cracks: adults and children resting on the grass on a slope under a tree.

Orientalist Grigory Kozakov with relatives and children at a picnic near the village of Zhikharevka in 1903

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Pope Leo XIV on the courage to do good, to forgive and to enter into dialogue

Orientalist Grigory Kozakov with relatives and children at a picnic near the village of Zhikharevka in 1903

Konstantin Ivanov's Cosmonautics Day poster, published in Moscow in 1977

Signs of violent death found on skulls from burials beside the royal tombs at Abydos