I finished Ovid's Metamorphoses last night. (McCarter translation)
I expected mythology but I was surprised by the amount of magic. Like, woman with wild hair in the woods at night with a wand and cauldron, mixing herbs and casting spells.
I guess I had associated that with more Germanic (Grimm fairy tales) literature. Apparently a lot of that imagery comes from Rome.
I liked when Pythagoras randomly shows up at the end for a rant on vegetarianism. (After reading stories about people turning into animals it kind of makes sense)
I agree the Icarus story was very vivid and emotional. It does sound kind of cliché, but it really was one of the best stories in the book.
I really loved The House of Sleep and the House of Rumor.
And the king who had a single lock of purple hair that made him invincible.
Thrilling conclusion to the Wolf Den trilogy, in which the Vesuvius eruption we've all been waiting for finally happens, but the real story is how life goes on after.
The ancient Romans had another god, similar to Janus, who could listen in two directions. He was usually portrayed as a male figure with an ear on each side of his head, but his cult has been forgotten because the statues looked like just some guy. #mythology#Rome@mythology
It's the Day of Hermes aka Mercurius Day aka #Wednesday! 🐏
Marble sculpture of #Hermes. After rediscovery in 1771 near #Rome, he was displayed at Lansdowne House in London. The sculpture's right leg and the palm tree originally came from a different ancient statue.
🏛️ Lansdowne Hermes, 2nd century CE Roman copy of a 4th century BCE Greek original, today in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art