We are only a month or so away from the Rio Olympics. While the world will soon be focused on that, in Japan many will also be thinking four years ahead to the Tokyo Olympics. It is easy, then, to see why the Tokyo National Museum is holding "A Journey to the Land of Immortals: Treasures of Ancient Greece."
Ancient Greece is almost synonymous in the popular mind with the first Olympic Games, held in Greece from 776 BC until they were shut down in the 4th or 5th century. "Treasures of Ancient Greece" naturally tries to capitalize on this association, with a section dedicated to "The Ancient Olympic Games."
The section features Attic black-figure pottery, depicting various sports, such as javelin throwing, chariot racing and a rather brutal form of boxing. There is also a bronze figurine, "Wrestling group with Ptolemy V Epiphanes" (2nd-1st Century BC), a portrayal of a Macedonian king of Egypt who was much more successful as a sportsman than a leader.