Ex voto of the Attalids (Delphi)
Alright kiddo, so you know how sometimes when people are really grateful for something good that happened to them, they want to give a gift to show their thanks? Well, that's kind of what the Ex Voto of the Attalids is all about.
A long, long time ago in ancient Greece, there were these people called the Attalids. They were really powerful and rich, kind of like kings. They believed in a bunch of gods and goddesses, and one of the most important places for them to worship was a city called Delphi. There was a temple there devoted to the god Apollo, who was really important to the Attalids.
Now, here's where the Ex Voto part comes in. See, sometimes when the Attalids would go to Delphi and ask Apollo for help, he would come through for them. Maybe they were really worried about a battle they were about to fight, and then they won thanks to some help from Apollo. Or maybe they were really sick, and then they got better. Whatever the reason, the Attalids were super grateful to Apollo for helping them out.
And so, to show their thanks, they would give gifts to the temple at Delphi. But they didn't just give any old gifts. They gave really special ones, called Ex Votos. These were usually little statues or paintings or other kinds of artwork. They would show Apollo doing something awesome or powerful, like shooting a bow and arrow or driving his sun chariot across the sky. And then they would put an inscription on the Ex Voto, saying something like "To Apollo, from the grateful Attalids, for his help in our time of need."
The Ex Votos were kind of like a way of saying "thanks" to Apollo, but they were also a way for the Attalids to show off how rich and powerful they were. They would commission really talented artists to make the Ex Votos for them, so they were always really beautiful and impressive.
And that's pretty much the story of the Ex Voto of the Attalids at Delphi. It's just a fancy way of saying that these ancient Greek rulers liked to show off how grateful they were to their gods by commissioning really cool artwork to give as gifts.
A long, long time ago in ancient Greece, there were these people called the Attalids. They were really powerful and rich, kind of like kings. They believed in a bunch of gods and goddesses, and one of the most important places for them to worship was a city called Delphi. There was a temple there devoted to the god Apollo, who was really important to the Attalids.
Now, here's where the Ex Voto part comes in. See, sometimes when the Attalids would go to Delphi and ask Apollo for help, he would come through for them. Maybe they were really worried about a battle they were about to fight, and then they won thanks to some help from Apollo. Or maybe they were really sick, and then they got better. Whatever the reason, the Attalids were super grateful to Apollo for helping them out.
And so, to show their thanks, they would give gifts to the temple at Delphi. But they didn't just give any old gifts. They gave really special ones, called Ex Votos. These were usually little statues or paintings or other kinds of artwork. They would show Apollo doing something awesome or powerful, like shooting a bow and arrow or driving his sun chariot across the sky. And then they would put an inscription on the Ex Voto, saying something like "To Apollo, from the grateful Attalids, for his help in our time of need."
The Ex Votos were kind of like a way of saying "thanks" to Apollo, but they were also a way for the Attalids to show off how rich and powerful they were. They would commission really talented artists to make the Ex Votos for them, so they were always really beautiful and impressive.
And that's pretty much the story of the Ex Voto of the Attalids at Delphi. It's just a fancy way of saying that these ancient Greek rulers liked to show off how grateful they were to their gods by commissioning really cool artwork to give as gifts.