FAH313 WEEK 1 + 2 - Intro to Greek Myth and Ancient Art + Origins of the Gods & Mortals

Title: Procession of Twelve Gods

Date: ca. 100 BCE-100 CE

Medium: Pentelic Marble relief

Location: Tarentum, Italy

Significance: name attributes of each god

• Zeus = thunderbolt + Sceptre

• Artemis = bow

• Apollo = lyre

• Athena = helmet, owl, spear, aegis

• Poseidon = Trident

• Hermes = wearing Petasos (hat)

• Demeter = holding wheat

Title: Sarcophagus of the Muses

Date: ca. 200 CE

Medium:

• Bottom Register = High relief marble sculpture

• Top register = low relief marble sculpture

Location: Necropolis of Isola Sacra

Significance: sarcophagus of a small boy

Identifiable characters with attributes:

Bottom register:

• Athena in the middle: shield, helmet, spear, owl

• far right end = Apollo, leader of muses, laurel wreath + leaning on a lyre

Muses from right to left

• Clio = history

• Melpomene = Tragedy (Holding tragic Greek theatre mask)

• Euterpe = Lyric poetry (holding a flute)

• Erato = Love poetry (playing lyre)

• Urania = Astronomy (holding a planet/ celestial orb/astrolabe —> map of the stars + zodiacs

  • stands out = Astronomy not considered an artistic domain

• Thalia = Comedy (holding laughing theatre mask)

• Terpsichore = dance (playing the lyre

• Calliope = epic poetry

• Polyhymnia = Sacred Hymns

Top register:

• two poets seated/reclining at top

• scroll between them

Short side:

• 2 philosophers —> uncover profound truths (making sense of wisdom that has been revealed to them) through divine inspiration from the Muses

• physiological portraits:

  • Thinker’s beard, wrinkles, unkempt/shaggy hair, furrowed brow

• Action:

  • opening Capsa of Scrolls = metal cylinder where scrolls are placed for protection against fires

Title: Rhea Gives Kronos the Swaddled Stone

Date: ca. 150 CE

Medium: Low-relief statue base

Location: Capitoline Museum, Rome

Significance: Hesiod, Theogony

• Kronos seated on his throne

• Wife Rhea handing him the stone for him to swallow, thinking it’s Zeus he’s being handed

• Meanwhile, Zeus is growing up in a cave in Psychro Crete

• IDEA: prophecy that one of Kronos’ children would overpower him. To solve this, he ate every child Rhea gave birth to. When Zeus was born, Rhea hid him in the Psychro Cave (Crete).

  • Rhea gave Kronos a swaddled stone instead —> omphalos (stone of the universe)

  • Result: vomits the stone along with all the previous children he swallowed

    • Zeus grows up and ends up defeating him —> prophecy is fulfilled.

Description of Art:

• low relief sculpture

• Kronos is sitting on his throne

• Parts of the art are missing, but restoration shows

  • him holding a Scythe in his left hand

  • he’s almost reclining on his throne

• Reaching with his right hand for the swaddled “baby”, handed to him by Rhea

• has curly hair and a beard

Title: Prometheus and Atlas Amphoriskos

Date: ca. 560-550 BCE

Medium: Black figure amphoriskos

Location: Vatican city

Description of art:

• Atlas and Prometheus are shown enduring their punishments bestowed on them by Zeus

• Atlas on the left

  • holding up orb (EARTH) on his back + shoulders

  • body bent forward

  • holding his back, where a snack is seen and presumably is biting him

    • sign of being tired = holding his back

  • long hair, long beard

• Prometheus on the right:

  • tied by his hands and feet to a pillar

  • eagle is torturing him, eating his liver, which grows back during the night and is eaten again

  • eagle = ZEUS (attribute)

  • he is clearly bleeding = blood pouring from his wounds

Significance: HESIOD’S THEOGONY

• Atlas and Prometheus are titans

• After winning the Titanomachy - Zeus punished both titans for siding with the titans

  • Atlas = condemned to holding up the world

    • got exiled by Zeus to western edge of Earth = The Land of the Hesperides

    • Snake in the amphoriskos = Ladon, guardian of the golden apples of the Hesperides

    • Creates link between Hercules + his task to retrieve the golden apples

      • Hercules takes Atlas’ place while the latter goes to get them for him

  • Prometheus = punished by getting his liver eaten

    • sided with titans + stole fire and gave it to humans

    • Zeus disapproved = believed fire in the hands of humans would make them powerful, self-sufficient, and capable of challenging the divine authority of the Olympian Gods.

Title: Atlas Farnese

Date: ca. 100 CE

Medium: Marble sculpture

Location: Naples

Description of art:

• Atlas kneeling, holding up orb (earth) on his back

• both hands on the orb

• Orb has lots of details on it —> zodiac signs, astrological symbols

• looks tired/ in pain

  • strain in his muscles (abdomen, obliques, thighs)

• Face:

  • creased forehead, deep cut nasal/labial lines

  • downturned lips/frowning face

  • deep set eyes with bags

  • dazed look

  • Crows feet

  • heavy upper eyelids

Significance: HESIOD’S THEOGONY

• Showing Atlas being punished by Zeus for siding and leading the Titans during the Titanomachy.

• Punishment: carry the heavens on his shoulders for eternity (celestial sphere) for eternity

  • despite his strength and wisdom, could not bear the weight, hence the depiction of being tired in art. Symbolizes the consequences of arrogance and rebellion against divine authority

Title: The Pandora Krater

Date: ca. 450 BCE

Medium: Apulian red figure Calyx-Krater

Location: London

Description of art:

• Calyx-Krater = Krater shaped like the base of a flower:

  • krater = mixing vessel used for mixing wine with water

  • Calyx = outermost structure at the base of a flower, which supports the petals

SIDE A:

• Top register:

  • Pandora = all gifted + Kalon Kakon (beautiful evil)

  • Pandora is acquiring her gifts

  • Athena = giving her a wreath

  • Zeus sitting on throne + holding thunderbolt

  • Poseidon standing and holding trident

  • Ares = to the left, holding spear, shield and wearing helmet.

• Bottom register:

  • Musician playing double fluted aulos (wind instrument)

  • Satyrs on stage —> men dressed as them

    • wearing shorts with attached phallus + horns

    • playing comedies + dancing on stage

    • men dressed as satyrs appear ithyphallic.

SIDE B:

• Top register:

  • another musician playing aulos

  • women dancing

• Bottom register:

  • stage play

    • actual satyrs now depicted (no shorts with prosthetics, they have tails, short + realistic horns)

    • stage performers - hoop

Significance: HESIOD’S THEOGONY

• Krater depicts the creation of Pandora as an event to be celebrated, and not as a negative thing

• different from the way the event is described in the text.

  • Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora as a punishment for mankind after they acquired the stolen fire from Prometheus

  • Pandora = first mortal woman = goal of bringing misfortune to mankind

    • Aphrodite gave her beauty

    • Hermes gave her persuasive speech

    • Hera gave her curiosity

    • Overall = beautiful but dangerous being —> who would bring hardship when in her presence

• Tone of the story DIFFERENT in the art, compared to the text

  • art = celebration + positivity

  • text (theogony) = punishment + negative

Title: Zeus and Typhon Hydria

Date: ca. 500 BCE

Medium: Chalcidian black-figure vase painting

Location: Munich

Description of art:

• Zeus facing typhon

• Zeus attributes:

  • Zeus holding thunderbolt —> aiming it at Typhon

  • ZEVS = ZEUS written in Greek beside the character

  • wearing aegis + fillet in his hair = identifies him as king + conqueror

  • classic beard'

  • poster = right arm above and behind his head, left arm aiming —> about to shoot bolt

• Typhon:

  • In text = said to have several heads

    • described to be so large he reached the stars

  • in art = only 1 head + same size as Zeus (limited art space on hydria)

  • long red hair

  • pointed ears

  • large wings

  • snake legs = demonstrates he’s from the underworld

Significance: Hesiod’s Theogony

• Description of the fight between Zeus and Typhon

• Zeus defeats him and sentences him to Tartarus.