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"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.

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