Horseman, Greece, B.C., from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This small chromolithograph was produced around 1888 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as part of a series of collectible cards. Here we see a Greek horseman, his helmet adorned with horns, which were potent symbols of strength and virility across many ancient cultures. These horns resonate with earlier Minoan representations of bull-leaping rituals, where the bull symbolizes raw, untamed power. The warrior’s cuirass, or breastplate, is decorated with medallions, perhaps echoing the Aegis of Athena, a shield bearing the Gorgon's head, meant to terrify enemies. Observe how the motif of the horn, originally linked to divine or supernatural authority, reappears in later eras, often secularized but retaining its primal allure. These images tap into a collective memory, evoking deep-seated fears and desires, a primal call that transcends time. Even in the modern age, the echoes of these ancient symbols persist, reminding us that the past is never truly gone; it lingers in our cultural subconscious, ever-present and ready to be awakened.