Courtesy Joint Sepphoris Project

Sign of a growing pagan presence in Sepphoris, this bronze figurine dates to the second to third century C.E. Archaeologists uncovered it in a cistern beneath a house in the city’s residential section. This figure shows Prometheus, who, in Greek mythology, incurred the wrath of Zeus by stealing fire from heaven and offering it as a gift to humans. For his theft, Prometheus suffered the punishment depicted here: Chained to a rock, he found himself at the mercy of a bird that perpetually tore away at his liver.