Palermo - Archeological Museum Museo Archeologico Nazionale

The Casuccini Collection in the adjoining rooms contains Etruscan pieces from Chiusu; particular mention should be made of the following: Room 1: Gravestones with banqueting scenes and death-dances (530-480 B.C.). Room 2: Sculptures from the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. Room 3: Burial urns and alabaster sarcophagi. Room 4: A statue of the god Canopus (6th century B.C.), as well as ceramics which include an oinochos (water-jar) showing the Myth of Perseus.

Terracotta decoration from Temple C at Selinune, with the central figure of Gorgo Medusa (550 B.C.), as reconstructed by Ettore Gabrici.

Along the north and west corridor the exhibits are arranged according to where they were found. These include the Punic sites at Panormos (Palermo), Solunto, Motya and Lilybaeum, places in Elymer (Segesta, Monte Jato, Poggioreale) and Sikinos (Castronovo).

In the Great Cloister can be seen inscriptions, a colossal statue of Zeus (second century B.C.) and architectural fragments from Solunto, as well as a group statue from Tyndaris, probably members of the Julian and Claudian imperial family.

Oblatory inscription from Temple G in Selinunte, giving thanks for the way the town prospered after a victory achieved with the help of the Gods; there is also a large inscription from Tauromenion (Taormina).

In the room containing Greek marble sculptures there are some Attic grave-reliefs and a copy of the water-pouring Satyr of Praxiteles. The Roman sculpture in the next room includes some major portraits, including one from a Roman villa near Partinico from the second century B.C. In the center of the room is a Late Roman floor-mosaic from Lilybaeum showing the Four Seasons (third century B.C.).

Underwater archeological finds are displayed in the small 17th century cloister and in the room to the right. Exhibited in two adjoining rooms are Egyptian and Phoenician items, including the "Palermo Stone", the hieroglyphic inscription on which includes a list of Egyptian Pharaohs of the Ancient Empire (3238-2990 B.C.); also on display are a Punic torso from Motya (sixth century B.C.), two anthropomorphic sarcophagi from Pizzo Cannita, the ancient Solunto, and a votive column dedicated to the god Baal, from Lilybaeum.

On display in the Pirro Marconi Room are a cyma moulding from the temple of Himera and lions' head water-spouts (480 B.C.).

The pottery department contains a fine terracotta collection, including many votive statuettes from Selinunte, especially from the Shrine to Malophoros. The bronzes are of Etruscan, Greek and Roman origin; particular mention should be made of the Etruscan mirrors and a large kerykeion/ceryceum (Mercury staff carried by heralds) attributed to the town of Imachara. This room also houses a large, bronze ram from the Hellenistic period, which was once kept with its counterpart in the Castello Maniace in Syracuse. Another bronze shows an athlete overcoming a stag; this was once part of a fountain in Pompeii.

This is a collection of twin-headed votive steles (inscribed and sculpted pillars) from the sixth-fourth centuries B.C., some 10,000 of which were discovered in the shrine to Zeus Meilichios near Selinunte.

The north gallery and adjoining rooms contain the prehistoric collection. There are stone objects from the caves at Lévanzo and Addaura (Late Palaeolithic), an impression taken of some graffiti in the Addaura caves, and some Late Stone Age vessels from the Stentinello civilization. There are numerous pieces from the Copper Age in western Sicily, especially from the Palermo region, embracing the civilizations at Conca d'Oro, Serraferlicchio, Malpasso and Castelluccio. The collection of Greek ceramics includes vases of Corinthian, Ionic, Spartan, Attic, Etruscan and Italic origin. The exhibits of ceramics from Apulia, Campania and Sicily provide a good idea of development in this field in the fourth and third centuries B.C. Also to be seen are remains of wall-decorations from a house in Solunto, as well as floor-mosaics from Palermo and other towns, including an Orpheus mosaic from Palermo, Piazza Vittoria (third century B.C.).

This, unquestionably the most important room in the museum, is a worthy setting for primitive and classical sculptures from the temples at Selinunte.

On the left wall are two daedalic heads (images of the gods) from c. 600 B.C. and a giant's torso from Temple G (end of sixth century B.C.). From Temple F the lower sections of two metopes have been preserved; these depict Dionysos slaying a giant, and Athena struggling with Enkelados. Most impressive are the three metopes from Temple C; these portray the four-horse chariot of Apollo, Perseus slaying the Medusa, and Hercules and the Kerkopes.

The rear wall is devoted to Temple E, and includes a reconstruction of parts of the Pronaos Frieze, an example of Selinunte art at its very best (470-460 B.C.). The metopes show Hercules fighting the Amazon women, the Marriage (hieros gamos) of Zeus and Hera, Artemis and Aktaion, Athena and Enkelados. In the center of the room stands the Ephebe of Selinunte, a bronze statue by an artist from Selinunte (c. 470 B.C.).

The oldest pieces are on the right: the four Salinas metopes (frieze panels) from c. 575 B.C., showing the Gods of Delphi (Artemis, Leto, Apollo), a sphinx, the Abduction of Europa as well as Hercules and the Bull from Marathon. There are also two recently discovered metopes which were later used in the building of the fortifications of the Acropolis at Selinunte; these represent a deity on a chariot and the offering of sacrifices to goddesses.