Achilles

Greek Heroes at the Onassis Cultural Center

Filed under: Events, Art

Hero worship in the ancient world was nothing like our own. Whereas we are quick to denounce athletes, politicians, and celebs with very human flaws, the Greeks had a different take. Theirs was a broader view that didn't require total moral excellence. Their concept of heroes and heroines was complicated, changeable, and perhaps more forgiving than our own.

What makes someone a hero or heroine? That's the context for this new exhibition of 90 exceptional artworks focusing on Archaic, Classical, and the Hellenic periods (6th-first century BC) at the Onassis Cultural Center in midtown Manhattan. "Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece" explores the Greek interpretation of heroism with decorated pottery, marble reliefs, bronze statues, and carved gemstones. As this intriguing show emphasizes, virtue was not necessarily a qualification to be considered a Greek hero or heroine. To us, the gods and heroes in the Greek myths were invented by poets and storytellers, but to the Greeks they were real people who lived, died, and in many cases transcended death as immortals.

Tags: Achilles, art, Greek myths, Helen of Troy, Herakles, mythology, Odysseus, onassis, onassis cultural center, sculpture

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Gaggia Achilles Espresso Machine

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Gadgets

Gaggia is one of the most respected names in espresso today, and for the use of home espresso machines we can thank Achilles Gaggia, who patented the first electric pump motor - vital for consistently creating enough pressure to produce good espresso - in 1938. Prior to this invention, the operators of manual espresso machines used pistons to manually adjust the pressure - The Gaggia Achilles is named after the man. It is almost identical to the design used back in the 1930s, a lever-operated machine with a stainless steel body, chromed brass group head and filter and a 32-oz water reservoir. The machine performs best with freshly roasted and ground beans, but will also work with special espresso pods, though if you're going to get a Gaggia, it is worth knowing the intricacies of the coffee bean as well as the machine itself. Price: $1,499.95.