#Exhibit of the Month

The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character. The first involves the image of the head of the young Heracles (Heracles - Ἡρακλῆς) (beardless), the most favorite hero of antiquity, wearing on his head the skin of the Nemean lion - Λέων της Νεμέας, a vicious monster from Greek mythology who lived in Nemea and was eventually killed by Heracles. The first labor of Heracles, of the twelve set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to kill the Nemean lion and bring his skin to the king. It is also known from Greek mythology that the lion of Nemea took the form of a beautiful woman in order to seduce the inhabitants of neighboring villages, who wanted to save the girl from danger. Upon entering the cave, a man saw the woman, who usually pretended to be wounded, and rushed to help her. When he approached her, the woman turned into a lion and killed him. Then the lion devoured the man, giving his bones to Hades - ᾍδης, the god of Hell, who lived in the kingdom of shadows. The second version of the anthropomorphic image interpretation suggests Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia in the second half of the 4th century BC, one of the most famous heroes of the Greek world, who sometimes is depicted as Hercules - wearing a lion's skin. Some researchers consider the custom of wearing the skin of a slain lion a sign of royal power. The word βασιλεύς itself, translated from ancient Greek, means "walking the path of the lion", that is, the king. This title was held by the Greek kings from the Homeric period, and later, starting from the 7th century AD - by the Byzantine emperors.

The item can be dated to the 5th-6th centuries AD, and, possibly, it originates from Asia Minor.

It is kept in the collection of the museum for about 10 years. The gray granite stand does not belong to the original item.

Metric characteristics: height 330 mm; width: 112 mm.

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International Scientific Conference “Polish-Moldovan relations to the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland”

22 October 2018

The National Museum of History of Moldova hosted on Monday, October 22, 2018, starting at 10:00, the international scientific conference „Polish-Moldovan relations to the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland".

The conference was organised at the initiative of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Moldova, in collaboration with the National Museum of History of Moldova, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova.

The purpose of the conference was to analyze the content of Polish-Moldovan relations in their multilateral dimension. The reason for reflection is the 100th anniversary of the regaining of independence by Poland. The celebrated anniversary allows us to reflect on the influence exerted and to be exercised by the existence of the independent and modern Polish statehood on the Polish-Moldovan relations, on their ampitude, sphere and dynamics. It is also worth noting the role played by Poland and Poles in the political, social, cultural and economic transformations that take place in the lands of the former Principality of Moldova. The presence of Polish culture and language as well as the Polish-Moldovan collaboration in regional or continental aspect (Eastern Partnership, European integration, creation of international security structures) are also of great importance.

More than 50 scholars and researchers from different scientific institutions from Moldova, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Israel participated in the scientific event (National Museum of History of Moldova, State University of Moldova, State Pedagogical University of Moldova, Institute of Cultural Heritage, Institute of History, University of Warsaw, „Adam Mickiewicz" University of Poznań, Jagiellon University, University of Silesia, University of Bucharest, Catholic University of Lublin, Polish Institute of International Affairs, National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad, "Maria Curie-Skłodowskia" University and representatives of the Polish community in Moldova (Polish organizations: Liga Polskich Kobiet, Polska Wiosna w Moldawii, Krakowianka etc.), journalists, politologists, writers, students, and so on.

The event was moderated by Dr. Hab. Prof. Eugen Sava, Director of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Wlcoming messages are expected from E.S. Bartłomiej Zdaniuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Moldova; Monica Babuc, Minister of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova; Acad. Gheorghe Duca, President of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova; Anton Coşa, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chişinău.

In the plenary session were presented 4 reports: Lilia Zabolotnaia (National Museum of History of Moldova, Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) - The Poles in Moldova; Svetlana Cebotari, Violeta Cotilevici (State University of Moldova, Department of International Relations, Political and Administrative Sciences, Chair of International Relations) - The Moldovan-Polish Relations in the Context of the New Geopolitical Metamorphoses; Kamil Całus (Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia w Warszawie) - Republika Mołdawii w polityce zagranicznej Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej / Bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Republic Poland: political and economic dimensions; Igor Caşu (State University of Moldova) - Poles as victims of the Communist Terror in MASSR and MSSR, 1924-40, 1940-41.

The conference continued in four sections: Section 1 - Archeology. Middle Age and Modern History; Section 2 - Art. Culture. Church. Personalities; Section 3 - Modern History; Section 4 - Contemporary History. Political Section.

The reports included studies on the history of the Poles in Moldova and the Moldovan-Polish secular relations (political, economic, cultural, military, dynastic), important personalities of Polish origin, activity of the Polish public organizations in Moldova, spiritual life, etc. The issue of contemporary Moldovan-Polish relations was addressed in particular in a geopolitical and international context.

As part of the conference there was opened the exhibition „Polish-Moldovan relations to the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland". The opening took place in the hall of the National Library between 11.00 and 12.00.