Experiencing the "Cyrus Cylinder" at the Getty Villa

This past week I was back in Los Angeles for a conference - and took an hour on the way there to see the "Cyrus Cylinder" at the Getty Villa.

The Getty Villa is located in the Pacific Paliades district of Los Angeles. Admission is free - but you do need to make a reservation ahead of time. On the weekday I went, I was able to make a reservation the day of.Apparently, weekends are much more crowded. Make the reservation on-line, print your ticket, and you're good to go.

Parking at the Villa is $15 - which is about right for Los Angeles. In an agreement with local residents, you absolutely can NOT park in the adjacent neighborhood and expect to get in.

However, there is one way to save some $$. I parked about a mile away at the corner of Los Liones and Sunset Blvd. 

I walked down Sunset Blvd a few blocks to the Pacific Coast Highway, caught the 534 going north. 

Got my Getty ticket from the bus driver. This is super important - you need this if you're walking in (as well as the on-line reservation ticket). 

Two stops up I got off at the Getty Villa. If you're solo like I was, nice way to save some cash. 

By the way, the building to left in the photo above is NOT the Getty. It's a private residence called "Villa de Leon." Here's a previous post with some addtional information. 

Keep in mind that parking on Los Liones Drive walking along Sunset to the PCH and taking the bus took time - and involved walking along a small section of Sunset Blvd that literally has no sidewalk. 

In other words, I would not recommend trying this on a "first date", or with kids, etc. 

Regardless is you go the cheap-o route as I did, or just pay the $15 to park on site, the Getty Villa is as stellar as ever. 

Thanks to the Getty Trust, the combined Getty Villa and Getty Center (located a few miles to the east just off the 405 Freeway in Brentwood) is the wealthiest private museum in the world.

If you've never been the Getty Villa, it's definitely worth a trip. Here's a link to a previous post on a visit I made a few years back with my wife and kids.

The reaon I went was to see the Cyrus Cylinder - which is on display until December 8th. As a Christian, I was excited to see something with a direct connection to biblical history. 

The Cyrus Cylinder is a 2500 year old clay cylinder with a declaration from the ancient Persian King Cyrus the Great. Discovered in Iraq in 1879, it is one of most celebrated discoveries of the ancient world.

The cylinder describes Cyrus' policy of allowing his subjects to worship according to their local customs. As a result, it is been called the oldest known charter of universal human rights. 

To Jews and Christians, the cylinder is seen as corroborative evidence of Cyrus' policy of allowing the Jewish people to return and rebuild the Temple, as described in the biblical texts in the Book of Ezra. 

To the massive Persian-American community in Los Angeles, the cylinder is seen as national symbol of Iran - and was put on public display by the Shah in 1971. 

Corroborative evidence of biblical history. Not something one normally thinks of when they think of Los Angeles. Like archeology itself, Los Angeles is actually very multi-layed and complex, including:

∙ a massive Persian community due to political upheaval on the other side of the globe.

∙ the world's riches private museum due to an oil tycoon's preference for the city's climate.

∙ and, described in many numerous posts on this site, a 24/7 global influence due to a little something called the entertainment industry. 

Here's a link to the Cyrus Cylinder at the Getty. 

If you miss is, the Getty Villa is still woth a trip. And another way of experiencing L.A. 

© 2013 www.experiencingla.com


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Not the Getty

High above the Pacific Coast Highway, sporting incredible ocean views, sits the Getty Villa. It's the former home of billionaire J. Paul Getty, and was the original Getty Museum. The much larger Getty Center in Brentwood now houses most of the artwork, but the Getty Villa Malibu (technically in Pacific Palisades) still features the Getty Greek and Roman Collection.

You can easily spot the Getty Villa on the hill driving up or down the PCH. It's a recognizable landmark to both visitors and residents alike. There's just one problem.

It's not the Getty.

The building you're looking at is known as Villa de Leon. Built in 1926, it's a large private residence overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Ever since J. Paul Getty began opening up his estate to the public in the mid 1950's, people have assumed that the huge mansion perched on the hill is "the Getty." Even among people who live in the area, it's probably one of the most mis-identified buildings in Los Angeles.

Villa de Leon sits above the entrance to the Getty Villa, hence the confusion. The Getty Villa is actually not visible from the street and is located up a private road off the PCH.

The Getty Villa (above) is in an incredible setting, with amazing Greek and Roman artifacts, and best of all - free admission.

Meanwhile, Villa de Leon sits overlooking the Pacific, continuing it's job as one of the most mis-identified landmarks in Los Angeles. According to International Listings.com it's currently for sale for $15 million. Not sure if the foundation has been worked on since these pictures were taken a couple years ago, as closer inspection reveals:

Major cracks. Click on the image above, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

The problem ultimately isn't the house - it's the hillside it was built on, part of which has collapsed during winter storms, taking an entire garden terrace with it. Ouch. Reminders of "building your house on the rock" (see the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:24-27) come to mind.

The home is located at 17948 Porto Marina Way, Pacific Palisades, 90272. Here's a view from the top showing the extent of the collapse of one of the hillsides.

Zillow gave the home an estimate between $3-$5 million since 2001. It apparently sold for 10 million dollars in 2007. Zillow currently has it valued at around $8.9 million.

These pictures were taken a couple of years ago. Looks like a lot of work was being done on it.

Obviously the owners of this property are in a completely different league than most of us.

Thanks to google (which I've used many times on this blog) mere mortals like us can have an idea what the interior looks like.

photo credit: http://www.intlistings.com/listing/10000062.html

Nice floor. Reminds me of Hearst Castle but, ironically, on a "smaller scale."

Can't argue that the street it's on, Porto Marina Way, has a great view of the Pacific Ocean. This is looking south towards the PCH with Santa Monica in the distance.

Getting back to the original idea - calling 17948 Porto Marina Way "the Getty Villa" doesn't make it the Getty, even if a majority of people do so.

As a Christian, I'm reminded that Christianity isn't based on popular opinion, or what a majority of people think, but on historic fact. Almost two thousand years ago, St. Peter, an eyewitness to Jesus' life, ministry, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension wrote:

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (II Peter 1:16).

The resurrection of Jesus isn't true because Christians believe it - we believe it because it's true.

I found yet another website incorrectly listing Villa de Leon as the Getty Villa: Angel City Art

photo credit: http://www.angelcityart.com/so-cal-ACA.html

And while on-line "stories" and (much more common) "word of mouth" continue to perpetuate that the big house on the hill is the Getty Villa, the facts reveal something else.

A trip to the actual Getty Villa is worth your time (visit the website ahead of time - you need a parking reservation). Here's some thoughts and tips from a previous blog post.

And be sure and give a shout out to Villa de Leon when you visit.

originally posted 11/18/08

© 2010 www.experiencingla.com

A Boy Named Martial: The Getty Villa, Part I

One of the most moving and impressive pieces of art in Los Angeles is a nineteen hundred year old marble bust of a young boy named Martial, located at the Getty Villa.
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The Getty Villa is the original campus of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The museum now consists of two campuses: the Getty Villa and the much larger Getty Center a few miles away. More on that later. The Villa's collection focuses exclusively on Greek and Roman antiquities. It's an amazing place and definitely worth a visit.


What I found so compelling about the bust of Martial wasn't just how incredibly life-like and detailed the artwork is, or the fact that this piece is almost two thousand years old, but the actual young boy behind it all.

In Rome, as today, only the very wealthy could commission artwork of themselves or their family. In contrast, this little boy, who we know as Martial, was a slave. The tombstone, paid for by his owners, tells us that he died when he was 2 years, 10 months and 8 days old.

As a father of two children, I was emotionally moved thinking of this beautiful little boy dying at such a young age. I realize that historically, death among children has been common and tragically that's true today among children in the Third World. Yet putting a name with a face, as it were, and knowing the exact age when this child died, makes it so much more real.

As a Christian, I'm reminded how un-natural death is.

I wonder about Martial's family: were they polytheists - as were most Romans - or were they followers of the one true God? Did they have a hope in eternity? Of life beyond the grave? Of the resurrection of the death?

The bust of Martial is a reminder to me that the Christianity of the 1st and 2nd centuries wasn't simply an ethical code or a way to pass an hour on a Sunday morning. It was - and is - based on the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Christians of Martial's day were so convinced of this fact that they were willing to lay down their very lives for it.

I wonder if Martial's family had this same hope - or knew anyone who did.

Next to the bust of Martial, is another bust of a young boy from North Africa. We know much less about him (no inscription). My question here is how was the artist able to sculpt the marble of the boy's hair so intricately and realistically? Amazing.


Also interesting is that while Martial, who was European, was a slave, this young boy from North Africa was free. Unlike the New World, slavery in the Roman Empire wasn't based on race.


There's lots and lots to see in the Getty Villa, including these busts of wealthy or influential Romans (aka dead white males). These were the men who called the shots 2000 years ago (kind of like J. Paul Getty) ... but I was strangely moved by a little boy not yet three years old.

More on the Getty Villa in the next post.

© 2009 www.experiencingla.com
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Gardens & Columns: The Getty Villa, Part II

What's unique about the Getty Villa is that the buildings that house the artwork are part of the museum experience as well. This is the Inner Courtyard (or Peristyle) and the first view when you enter the museum.


The Getty Villa opened in 1974 as the original Getty Museum. When the larger Getty Center opened in 1997, the Villa was remodeled and reopened in 2006 with a focus exclusively on Greek and Roman Antiquities.


The Getty Villa is a a re-creation of the Villa of Papri at Herculaneum (near Pompeii) which was buried under tons of ash at the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.


The details of the buildings, fountains, and gardens are amazing.


The East Fountain.


The Outer Peristyle, looking north toward the main building.


Looking toward the Pacific Ocean (unfortunately barely visible in this photo) and the Villa de Leon. The Villa de Leon sits just above the Pacific Coast Highway, and is often misidentified as the Getty Villa.


Another view of the Outer Peristyle, this time looking south towards the ocean.


The small lily pond.


A final look across Inner Courtyard, looking back towards the entrance.

© 2009 www.experiencingla.com

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Mosaics: The Getty Villa, Part III

One of my personal favorites at the Getty Villa is the tile mosaics. I honestly forgot to write down (or photograph) the information of where these are from, or how old they are. Based on everything else in the museum, my guess would be that they're at least eighteen hundred years old.

I find the ability to make such lifelike images from pieces of colored tiles amazing.


While I'm impressed with marble statutes, the color mosaics remind me that the men and women of ancient Rome were real people, with real lives, real problems. This was the world in which the Christian church grew and developed.


Who were these men and women? What were their lives like? What were there religious beliefs like? Did Christianity have an influence in their city or village, among anyone they knew, or in their own lives?

More on the gardens and the museum itself in the next post.

© 2009 www.experiencingla.com
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Great for Kids: The Getty Villa, Part IV

The Getty Villa is a great place for kids.

We've been there several times as a family, and - trust me - if you have kids you'll want to spring for the $5 headsets. Worth every penny.


"Meet Herakles, the Super Hero of Ancient Greece" begins the narration especially designed for kids. Throughout the museum, our kids would tune into the specially designed kids' track on the headphones and listen along. In all honesty, I found the adult track of the same things a little dry and ended up listening to the kids version as well.

By the way, the entire museum was designed around this statue of Herakles (whom we know as Hercules).


The headsets made even little displays like this pottery behind glass interesting.


After lunch we turned in the headsets and headed over the "family room" - another real hit with our kids.


My son working on a Greek urn. Too bad the Greeks didn't have erasable markers. It would have made life so much easier.


My daughter working on a Greek urn as well. Hands on is always great with kids.


We were there on a Thursday. Weekends can be a bit more crowded.


Afterwards we explored the gardens. More on that in a bit.

© 2009 www.experiencingla.com

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Getting There: The Getty Villa, Part V

Getty to the Getty Villa is easy, but there are a few things you need to know.

First: admission is free. That's right. Free - every day the museum is open.


Second, you need to make a parking reservation ahead of time.

This can be done on-line or over the phone (310) 440-7300.

But you can't just show up and expect to get in. And, yes, they really do check (above).


Third, while admission is free - parking isn't. It now costs $15 per vehicle to park.


And, no, you can't park in the neighborhood and walk in. The only walk-ins allowed are people coming in by public bus or taxi. And, yes, they really check. Traveling with kids, we just made parking reservations and paid the $15.


Walking toward the entrance. Fourth, be sure and pick up a map, and schedule of the free tours, and - if you have kids - the guides for children.


Here's the main entrance to the museum.


I stopped and took a photo of the incredible marble tile work just before walking in at the entrance. Wow.


This is your first view as you enter. Fifth, I highly recommend the headsets rentals (esp if you have kids kids) which are found to the left.

As an aside, the Getty Villa refers to itself as being in Malibu, but it's actually located within the in the City of Los Angeles (in Pacific Palisades). In fact, the Malibu city border begins a mile west of the Villa.


Sixth, and finally, don't forget a camera.

Whether you live here in Los Angeles, or are an out of town guest, it's definitely worth a visit.

Here's the Getty website.

© 2009 www.experiencingla.com
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