Sterling silver plaque-paperweight depicting Achilles, Lycaon and the river god Scamander ( from Iliad )

In this 925 silver plaque,(on the Belgian Black marble , an elegant natural stone that is extracted form Belgium and usually presents an intense black background with a light white sparkling pitting) obtained from an ancient stone carving. We can see a scene from the Iliad: near the bank of the Scamander river (the river god represented on the right) Achilles is about to kill Lycaon, who kneels in front of him , asks for mercy. Achilles does not take pity, he kills him, and throws his body into the river. The river, however, rebels. It is a bearer of rights (the integrity and purity of its waters) and strongly claims them. In Homer the natural element is "god". Winds, storms, rivers, woods are gods, and are in turn populated by creatures that have the character of the sacred. The relationship between Greek man and nature is rich in religious connotations. This does not mean that it is always serene and idyllic, because the feeling in front of natural phenomena can be one of fear, or even of conflict, as in the case of the struggle between Achilles and the river.