Animals in Ancient Art
This lesson explores the depiction of animals in ancient pottery, sculpture, and jewelry and introduces students to the variety of meanings that animal images had, from symbolic and protective to healing. Students will gain an understanding of the many ways animals were incorporated into the daily lives and myths of ancient Greeks and Romans. They will also develop close looking skills as they examine and describe the ways in which artists in antiquity represented animals.
Content Standards: History-Social Science; Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing

Artists of Antiquity
This lesson brings the ancient workshop into the galleries and explores how artists created works of art such as marble sculptures, Greek pottery, and Roman frescoes. Through interactive discussion of historical artistic techniques, students will build observation and description skills and art vocabulary. Hands-on experiences with touchable objects like tools, materials, and replicas will be incorporated.
Content Standards: History-Social Science; Science: Earth Sciences; Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing

Art of Persuasion
Visual images were a potent means of communication in ancient Greek and Roman societies. This lesson examines how art and architecture was used to symbolize ideas and inform, persuade, and shape opinion. Looking closely at objects like sculpture, portraits, and the Villa itself, students will examine the use of materials and visual language to express ideas of power, wealth, and status. 
Content Standards: History–Social Science; Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing

Conserving the Past
How does history get buried underground? How are ancient works of art and artifacts unearthed, and what considerations do conservators make when treating, stabilizing, and reconstructing individual objects? This lesson topic investigates how ancient works in the Villa’s collection have been conserved, and asks students to consider what these restored objects tell us about the people who made and used them.
Content Standards:	History-Social Science; Science: Earth Sciences; Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing

Daily Life in the Ancient World
This lesson explores the daily lives of the ancient Greeks and Romans through the artifacts they left behind. Examining objects like pots used to store water, art depicting athletic competitions, wall frescoes buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and funerary objects used at the end of life, students will explore topics such as meal preparation and food, daily activities, ancient living spaces, and religion.
Content Standards: History–Social Science; Science: Earth Sciences, Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing

Mythology in Art
This lesson explores Greek and Roman myths through the depiction of these stories on works of art from antiquity such as pottery and sculpture.  Students will develop close looking skills to help them identify ancient myths and the various Greek and Roman gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters. They will also gain a better understanding of the role of myth in ancient society, and how these stories affected the lives of ancient Greeks and Romans.
Content Standards: English-Language Arts: Literary Response and Analysis; History–Social Science; Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing