Hephaestus’ capacity in creative endeavours in metal working and carpentry sees him become the go to Olympian for armour. Here Hephaestus presents the new for Achilles' armor to Thetis (Iliad 18.617).
The death of Orpheus has fascinated artists. Although not as famous as the story involving the fate of his wife Eurydice, Orpheus’ death is notable. He was thought to have been torn apart limb-from-limb by Maenads in a Bacchic frenzy…
Ovid tells an infamous tale of Midas’ ‘golden touch’ wherein the king’s wish - granted to him by Dionysus - becomes the bane of his life. The tragedy bound up in Midas’ wish.
This painting captures Midas’ sense of feeling his wish become a curse…
If you know the artist, do let me know so I can appropriately credit them!
After decades of war, mighty Athens has been ravaged— its navy destroyed, its city walls toppled, its army disbanded. The fierce military state of Sparta has triumphed, but passions and hate linger on.
A powerful figure from Greek myth here depicted by Tyler Miles Lockett slaying two centaurs after they attempted to rape her. Atalanta was a devotee of Artemis and like the huntress herself sought a life of independence.
A powerhouse woman from myth with exceptional skills in pharmaka, Circe looms large in Homer’s Odyssey. This tale sets in motion a reception of Circe that endures even now. This painting by Waterhouse is superb: her power so clear.
A myth full of highs and abject lows. Humankind gets lucky when Prometheus creates them and also when he steals the divine fame to add a brand new spark to everyone’s day!
‘The Creation of Man by Prometheus’ by Heinrich von Füger (1790)
It's the Day of Hermes aka Mercurius Day aka #Wednesday! 🐏
#Mosaic of #Hermes-Mercurius, easily recognisable by the wings on his head, representing the planet Mercury or the fourth day of the ancient Roman week, diēs Mercuriī (Wednesday).
🏛 #Mercurius as Planet Mercury in The House of the Planetarium, Italica, #Spain
#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
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.
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.