The talk began with a description of why the museum of plaster casts exists and considered questions such as 'Why are the men naked?'. Our guide drew our attention to the fact that Greek statues do not usually show emotion.
Then the story from an Olympia temple pediment was told. They heard how King Oenomaus held a chariot race and claimed anyone who beat him could marry his daughter Hippodamia, but anyone who lost the race would be executed. The King however cheated by using magical horses that could not be beaten and decorated his palace with the heads of the losers. Pelops fell in love with Hippodamia and a stable boy was pursuaded to replace the bolts on Oenomaus' chariot with wax bolts (in return for Pelops giving him half the kingdom). The wax bolts melted during the race, the chariot fell apart and the King died. Pelops and Hippodamia married, Pelops became King, and Pelops murdered the stable boy. The children were told that Greek "heroes" are not what we think of as "heroes" today.
After the talk HB completed a worksheet that considered how Greek statues were once brightly painted.
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