As I approach the statue the automatic lighting comes on and it springs out of the darkness. He stands before me, with that unmistakable wavy hair, curly beard and majestic frame. His confident bearing is that of a man who enjoys ruling the world. The eagle which is his symbol of power is with him as always. On the plinth I read the words: Zeus, marble, Roman period, 2nd century AD, Perge. Inventory number 3729, Antalya Museum. Zeus, father of the gods and mankind, is naturally not alone. He is accompanied by other members of the divine dynasty who are seated on the summit of snowy Olympus: Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Athena, the Dioscuri, and the Kharites or Three Beauties. A statue of a Roman emperor. His name is Marcus Ulpinus Trajanus, or Trajan for short, and he lived in the 2nd century AD. At his feet crouches a slave who is diminished in size. The statue was made to commemorate the victory over Dacia (Romania). On the emper'sr armour is depicted the snake-haired Medusa.

That fearsome severed head, the sight of which turned people to stone, was believed to protect wearers from their enemies. In fact Medusa was an unfortunate mortal who lived with her immortal sisters on the boundary between night and day. She was a descendant of the earth goddess Gaia, the infinite force which created the skies and seas and by being constantly pregnant renewed and transformed life. But the bosom of the mother goddess did not offer comfort since every new generation of offspring sought to destroy that which came before them. 'Zeus could no longer contain his rage... He shot lightning from the heavens and Olympus... On every side Mother Earth who gave animation to living creatures was burning.' So wrote Hesiod in 700 BC, in his description of the war of the gods, which ended only when Zeus defeated Gaia's youngest child Typhon, half-man half-snake, who was descended from the Titans. In this way Zeus won sovereignty over the heavens.

Marsyas is one of the satyrs, half man and half goat, who symbolise nature. One day he finds the flute dropped by Athena, and plays it so well that he enters a contest against Apollo to see who is the finest musician. When he is defeated the god shows no compassion, but lashes him to a tree and flays him alive. Artemis, goddess of the forests, hunters and wild animals, and sometimes also of the moon, helps fruits to ripen and plants to grow. Her most distinctive mark is the quiver she carries over her shoulder. She remains forever a virgin and forever young, and her body seems to have been made for running swiftly. The god Hermes, son of Zeus and a rain nymph, who is the messenger of the gods, Castor and Pollux, the twins born of Leda who was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan, the Kharites or Three Beauties who represent grace, beauty, compassion and gratitude, and Aphrodite created from sea foam are among the best loved gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus.

* Nermin Bayçin is an archaeologist