205 - Gold pendant with a moss agate gem. Roman, 1st–2nd centuries A.D. 12.57 g, L 3.2 cm. A highly oval gem of reddish-green moss agate set in a gold pendant; the intaglio depicts a bearded, naked man holding branches, kneeling on the back of a turtle. A wide suspension loop at the top of the pendant. The edge of the pendant is decorated with pseudo-twisted wire and granulation beads. Gold! Intact; one granulation bead is missing. Provenance: From the Austrian private collection of V.V., purchased in the 1990s at the Vienna Antiques Market (Naschmarkt). The depiction on the gem refers to the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise. This paradox is one of several well-known fallacies attributed to the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (5th century B.C.) and one of four paradoxes described by Aristotle in his treatise *Physics*. The paradox involves a race between Achilles, who was known for his speed, and a slow-moving tortoise. Both start at the same time, but the tortoise is given a head start. Although Achilles is faster than the tortoise, he can never catch up to it because he must first reach the point where the tortoise started. Zeno’s fallacy is based on two errors: 1. He does not take into account that an infinite series can have a finite sum. 2. The distance Achilles travels from his starting point to the point where he meets the tortoise can be divided any number of times—formally, an infinite number of times—into the tortoise’s leads. However, the fact that this division can be performed an infinite number of times does not imply that the distance to be traveled is infinite.