Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

"You are beautiful," an antique mirror tells us

The Archaeological Museum in Burgas presents an intriguing exhibition of miniature mirrors

Photo: BTA

A display case with small mirrors is part of an exhibition dedicated to the theme of female beauty in antiquity, presented in the Archaeological Museum in the city of Burgas. The exhibition is entitled "Whims through Antiquity. Look in the mirror" and was created on the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day. In antiquity, there were two types of mirrors - functional and votive. The first were used by high-ranking ladies, and the latter were placed as a gift to the goddess when women asked her to grant a wish. The discovery of similar objects in burials in the region is evidence that there was a shrine to one of the goddesses from the Greco-Roman pantheon nearby.

The mirrors presented in the Burgas museum have been restored and date from the II-IV century. They are made of lead. One will find interesting the inscriptions on them. Some of them read: "You are beautiful", "Nice things belong to beautiful women", "Beauty, take me."


On one of the most interesting mirrors presented in the exhibition, there is no inscription, but there is an image of a goddess, presumably Hera, Aphrodite or one of the three nymphs.

Some of the mirrors were found during archaeological works near the village of Rouen, the village of Yabalchevo, Aquae Calidae, the region of Pomorie, etc.

The exhibition can be seen until the end of March.

See also




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Metropolitan Seraphim of Nevrokop leads the festive liturgy in town of Delchevo, Republic of Macedonia

This morning, in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the town of Delchevo, in the Republic of Macedonia, His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Nevrokop led the holy liturgy, together with the superior of the Delchevo - Kamenichka..

published on 8/28/24 12:18 PM

Bulgarians mark the Assumption of the Theotokos feast in the old calendar

Today, August 28, Bulgarians in many parts of the country celebrate the Assumption of the Theotokos in the old style calendar along with almost the entire Orthodox world.  The Assumption of the Theotokos glorifies the immense love of the Mother of..

published on 8/28/24 9:01 AM

Unique ancient Thracian temple in Plovdiv can be completely restored

A Thracian temple from the 3rd century BC, unparalleled in Bulgaria, can turn 10 acres of Plovdiv's South region into an archaeological park. The site is located at the base of the Great Mound, which a team of the Plovdiv-based Regional Archaeological..

published on 8/23/24 11:45 AM