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Museum unpacks Greek visitorsBy LENNIE BENNETT© St. Petersburg Times published January 17, 2003 TAMPA -- He sat in a rubbish heap for several centuries, but when Zeus was unearthed by modern archaeologists, he was still smiling, even without his right arm and most of his left. He smiles still from his temporary perch at the Tampa Museum of Art. The terra cotta statue, ca. 530-520 B.C., was unpacked Thursday, part of "Magna Graecia," a major exhibition opening Feb. 2 at the museum. Eighty rare antiquities make up the show, loans from eight museums in southern Italy where Greeks immigrated from the eighth through the fourth centuries B.C. and established prosperous city-states that rivaled those of their mother country. The area came to be known as Great Greece or Magna Graecia (pronounced greh-kia). "All of them are masterpieces, some the finest examples of their kind in the world," said Aaron Paul, curator of Greek and Roman art for the museum and a co-organizer of the show. "Most will probably never be seen outside Italy again." Representatives from the Italian museums brought the exhibition from a run at the Cleveland Museum of Art, its only other venue, and are setting it up in galleries at the Tampa museum, 600 N Ashley Drive. The objects range from a massive wall from an underground tomb, painted with a delicate funereal scene and weighing 2,000 pounds, to finely wrought gold necklaces. The exhibition will continue through April 20. For information, call (813) 274-8130 or go to www.tampamuseum.com.
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