Happy Birthday, Frist Center!

Yesterday was the Frist Center’s 9th birthday, and in hopes to get a ton of people to show up to the party, they let everyone in for free!

I was already interested in seeing the “Heroes, Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece” exhibit, and figured, why not go for free? Plus my sister-in-law is in town and she, nor my husband has ever been. Woo field trips!

The exhibit was awesome. There were ancient artifacts, helmets from war, burial stones and even a “family tree” of the relationships among the Greek gods. (Some gods weren’t exactly…moral.)

As you entered the exhibit, there were 2 computers where you could take a quiz and figure out which Greek god you were most like. I was hoping to get Athena but I (and my husband, hahahaha) got Helen. Apparently, I am a captivating person! Alright!  Oh, and I also love drama and being the center of attention. Pssh.

The lives of the ancient Greeks were stories told on vases, bowls and various ceremonial items. You could follow their stories by following theur paintings. You could see how they lived and died simply by looking at a vase used to hold water.

My favorite part of the exhibit was how they compared Greek heroes to modern day heroes. For example, an ancient Greek hero was considered a hero mainly after his or her death. And to be considered a hero, you did not have to save a million lives or invent anything revolutionary. You could simply be a virtuous person. Do you know how many people we could consider heroes if we went by this standard?

The exhibit also gave us little interesting bits of information. The death of a hero was rarely depicted in Greek art. It was always the burial, events leading up to the death, events directly after, but never the death itself.

Also, boxing was an original olympic sport! (I got that answer wrong at one of the interactive quiz stations set up.)

I think Ancient Greek history is awesomely interesting. Every story captivates me and being able to physically see part of that history, for FREE, deepends my interest and appreciation for the era.

The Frist Center is always having “free days”. I would encourage you to follow them on twitter, as a lot of the time, you have to mention Twitter to get in for free. But it is totally worth the money to go and check out something you are interested in. There is an art station updtairs for kids (and big kids, like me) to draw, paint, and even make movie animations! It is a great place for all ages.

Going on tonight: FREE music & artmaking in the Grand Lobby and To Kill A Mockingbird screens at 7:00.