The famous god of healing is depicted here in Poynter’s 1880 painting ‘A Visit to Aesculapius’ as examining the injured Venus. She is accompanied by the Graces while the woman drawing water is thought to be Hygieia.
The painting is based on a poem by Thomas Watson and so we have layers of reception here as Watson used the Latin names of gods though the origin of these divinities is quite Greek!
This skeleton is determined to make the best of their situation. They are reclining to dine and there’s clearly plenty of wine and bread to add to the feast. The ancient Greek reads “ΕΥΦΡΟΣΥΝΟΣ”: “Be cheerful, enjoy your life”
#Selene driving her moon chariot, here shown as a team of four horses. She has a shining aureola around her head and the reins and her riding crop in hand. She is followed by her brother #Helios, the fish around them suggesting that one is descending and the other rising.
🏛️ Canosa, Italy, ca. 330 – 310 BCE; now at Munich, Antikensammlung
A devastating myth of a father and son and the tragedy of loss. This painting ‘The Lament for Icarus’ by Herbert James Draper (1898) reimagines the grief at the heart of this myth.
Jason owed his heroic successes to Medea. In this moment from their story, Waterhouse reimagines the moment Medea uses her skill in pharmakia to aid Jason on the quests set by Aeëtes.
Known famously as the tutor of Achilles, his wisdom set him apart from the other centaurs. I love the gorgeous artistry of @tylermlockett in bringing together this classic scene complete with astrological reference (a skill of Chiron’s).
Hubris, cursing by the gods, wolves, and city founding… the story of the King of Arcadia has it all. The key moral lesson: never underestimate the divine.
Asterion is both the name of Minos’ foster-father and the name sometimes given to the Minotaur. In this poignant portrait by George Frederic Watts (1885), Asterion looks out to beyond the labyrinth that is his prison.
Roman sarcophagus with #Selene, the #Moon, in the top left corner with her team of horses and Helios in his quadriga on the right. The scene shows the creation of man by #Prometheus.
🏛️ Roman sarcophagus found in a mausoleum near the ancient Puteoli (Pozzuoli, Naples). Dated to the 4th century CE. Today in the National Archaeological Museum, #Naples.
I was a big Greek mythology buff at school. My dad had bought an encyclopedia in the late '70s, and I was learning everything about it via it. Naturally, my favorite character was goddess Athena. All about knowledge & wisdom. The most kind-hearted of the gods too. So I had to paint a portrait in her honor.
Public life in #AncientGreece was dominated by a binary between political life and private life. Integrating philosophical texts with #epigraphic evidence, Benjamin Gray argues, however, that by the 2nd c. BCE the Greeks started developing a concept of "social life" that contradicts usual views of "depolitization" in that period.
👉 The Invention of the Social? Debating the Scope of Politics in the Greek Polis
Aside from the myths, the ancient Greeks were interested in rational explanations for the celestial phenomena they observed. They were influenced by Egyptian & especially Babylonian astronomy: Babylonian astronomers could predict the planets' motions with extraordinary accuracy.
The 2nd century BCE astronomer Hipparchos wanted to achieve the same level of accuracy as the Babylonians.
Hipparchos based his improved model for the Sun on observations of the equinoxes, which explained both changes in the speed of the Sun and differences in the lengths of the seasons. He is credited with the discovery of a phenomenon called precession of the equinoxes. According to Roman astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus, Hipparchos measured the longitude of several bright stars and compared his measurements with data from his predecessors.
Engraved Stone Ball (Magic Sphere?) with #Helios and magical symbols. Discovered in 1866 at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, near the remains of the Theatre of Dionysos.
🎨 Marble sphere, dated 2nd-3rd centuries CE. Today in the #Athens Acropolis Museum.
It's the Day of Hermes aka Mercurius Day aka #Wednesday! 🐏
Baby #Dionysos sitting on the lap of his big brother #Hermes is given to the #satyr Tropheus and the nymphs of Nysa. Also in the scene are Anatrophe (“upbringing”), as well as Ambrosia and Nektar (food and drink of the gods).
"Astuanassa: A handmaid of Helen, Menelaos’ wife. She first discovered positions for intercourse and wrote On Sexual Positions. Philainis and Elephantinê rivaled her in this later—they were women who danced out these sorts of wanton acts."
Suda, 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia