Unconscious Rivals is an example of artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s interest in depicting a romanticized (and, it should be noted, very Victorian) interpretation of ancient Rome. And while the setting of this painting - with its magnificently decorated barrel vault in the background - does not conform to any existing Roman models, Lawrence Alma-Tadema has [...]
From the monthly archives:
May 2012
The other day, I looked at the Five Ages of Man according to Hesiod. In that post I listed these as the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Age of Heroes, and the Age of Iron. There is another account of the ages of man that shares several similarities - and some [...]
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We often think wistfully of some far off time, a Golden Age, an era when things were in harmony and prosperity was the order of the day. This nostalgic desire for a bygone time is most definitely not something new. Even the ancient Greek poets, creating works a couple of thousand years ago, looked back [...]
The ancient Greek artist Euphronios painted this magnificent image of the death of the hero Sarpedon in the red figure style. And it is easy to see why the work, which is referred to as the Sarpedon Vase, is one of the masterpieces in the history of art.
The vase painting is dominated by a scene [...]
Today, I’d like to share an Ode from the ancient Roman poet Horace. As the opening lines indicate, this Ode is dedicated to the god Bacchus.
“I saw Bacchus today:
In a wild gorge he lay,
Teaching his sacred melodies. O years
To come, credit my glimpse
Of the attentive nymphs
And goat-foot satyrs cocking pointed ears.
Ai, ai, my mind still [...]
Today I want to share a story about an encounter between a hero and a Centaur. The hero in this tale is Herakles - or Hercules - who is famous in Greek mythology for his strength and his twelve legendary labors. The Centaur is named Nessus. He is perhaps not quite as well known as [...]
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Have you ever heard the phrase “a Procrustean bed”? According to the definition in my trusty Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, it is “a scheme or pattern into which someone or something is arbitrarily forced.” This phrase was inspired by the legend of Procrustes.
Procrustes is a character from Greek mythology. The story goes that the old [...]
Artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s painting The Birth of Venus is part of a long and venerable tradition of images that depict the Classical goddess Venus. And perhaps the most famous paradigm for the birth of Venus was created during the Renaissance, by the artist Sandro Botticelli. Botticelli’s Birth of Venus set the standard for artists for [...]
And now for something completely different at Mythography…
I typically focus on Classical - that is, Greek and Roman - and Celtic mythology, with an emphasis on the former, on this site. Today, I am going to diverge from that path a bit and explore Japanese mythology. I should also emphasize that when I say Japanese [...]
In honor of Mother’s Day this year, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a few famous mothers from mythology.
In the Beginning…
Gaia (or Gaea) was the original Earth Mother - or should I say, Mother Earth - in Greek mythology. Her fertility was quite literally legendary. Indeed, Gaia gave birth to [...]
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