Transcript Mars and Venus by Sandro Botticelli

The Gods of Mount Olympus
The Council of the Gods
by Peter Paul Rubens (1625)
Greek God Family Tree
Zeus and Hera,
King and Queen of the Gods
Poseidon, God of the Sea
Hades, God of the Underworld
Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest
Hestia, aka. Vesta
• Goddess of the
hearth and home
• Goddess of the
right ordering of
domesticity and the
family
• Received the first
offering at every
sacrifice in the
household
Titans: Atlas and Prometheus
• The Titan brothers Atlas
and Prometheus undergo
their torments.
• Atlas, hounded by the
Hesperian serpent, holds
the rock of heaven upon
his shoulders.
• Prometheus, tied to a
post, has his heart pecked
out by the eagle.
Prometheus and the Eagle
by Pieter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
The Birth of Aphrodite by Sandro Botticelli
The wind gods Boreas and Zephyrus waft the goddess to shore
where she is clothed by one of the Seasons.
Mars and Venus
by Sandro Botticelli
Ares, the God of War
• A son of Zeus and
Hera, Ares (aka.
Mars) always carried
a spear, ready for
battle.
• He had an affair with
his brother
Hephaestus’s wife,
Aphrodite.
• He was father to the
Amazon women.
Mercury Instructing Cupid in the
Presence of Venus by Correggio
Venus de Milo
• According to myth,
Venus guided a man to
find the island and since
then, she has been the
protector of the island
of Milos.
• The artist, Alexandros of
Antioch, created the
statue in adoration and
thanksgiving to the
goddess of love.
Birth of Athena from Zeus’s Head
Minerva, aka. Athena
• Minerva was the
goddess of wisdom,
war, art, schools,
handicrafts, and
commerce.
• She was the Roman
counterpart to the
Greek Athena.
Athena on the State Seal of California
Apollo, God of Sun, Light, and
Truth
Apollo Helios with his Sun Chariot
The Greek Ideal
• Apollo was also the
twin brother of Artemis;
the patron god of
archery, music,
medicine, healing,
prophecy, and truth;
and the protector of law
and defender of the
social order.
Insignia of the Apollo 13 Lunar Landing Mission
• Represented in the
emblem is Apollo, the
sun god, symbolizing
how the NASA Apollo
flights have extended
the light of knowledge
to all mankind.
• The Latin phrase “Ex
Luna, Scientia” means
“From the Moon,
Knowledge.”
Artemis of Versailles
• Artemis, the goddess of
the moon and hunt,
was almost always
portrayed as a huntress:
with bow, arrows,
hunting dogs, and
sometimes wild game.
An Ancient Mixing Bowl
• Artemis shooting an
arrow at Actaeon who
has fallen to the
ground, attacked by his
own hunting dogs.
• Actaeon was a hunter,
and the goddess of the
hunt killed him by
turning him into a stag,
so that his own dogs
tore him to pieces.
Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods
• Hermes is also the patron
god of travelers, shepherds,
thieves, orators, literature
and poets, athletics,
weights and measures,
invention, and of general
commerce.
• His symbols include the
tortoise, the rooster, the
winged sandals, and the
caduceus.
• The analogous Roman deity
is Mercury.
Hermes above Grand Central Station
in New York City
Primavera by Sandro Botticelli
• The three Graces dance as
Mercury stands nearby.
• Mercury may be identified
by his winged shoes and the
staff in his raised hand, the
so-called caduceus, around
which two snakes are
winding themselves.
• Mercury used his staff to
separate two fighting
snakes, upon which the staff
became the symbol of
peace.
Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine
by Caravaggio
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian
The Muses of Urania and Calliope
by Simon Vouet
• The two female figures
seated on the ground are
Urania and Calliope, two
of the nine muses,
goddesses who bestowed
creative inspiration on
practitioners in the arts
and sciences.
• Urania, muse of
astronomy, is identified by
her diadem of six stars and
a celestial globe.
• The second figure has a
book in her lap inscribed
"Odiss," Homer's Odyssey,
which distinguishes her as
Calliope, muse of epic
poetry.
Pan, God of Shepherds and the Countryside,
Player of the Pan Pipe
Heracles (aka. Hercules) fighting the Hydra
by Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1429-1498)
Theseus Slays the Minotaur
Bellerophon Fights the Chimaera
by Bernard Picart (1731)
Pegasus, the Winged Horse
The Chimaera: part lion, part, goat,
and part serpent or dragon
Perseus, Slayer of Medusa
• After he killed Medusa,
one of the three Gorgon,
using the polished Zeus'
shield, Perseus gave the
head of the monster to
the goddess Athena.
• The Medusa's head was
set into the shield and
with that new weapon,
Perseus could defeat a
monstrous sea serpent
and free the beloved
Andromeda.
The Head of Medusa on Athena’s Shield
Perseus Releases Andromeda
by Joachim Wiewael (1630)
Midas Daughter Turned to Gold
by Walter Crane
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
by Hans Bol
The Lament for Icarus
by Herbert Draper, 1898
Orpheus and Eurydice
Cupid and Psyche (Heart and Soul)
Psyche and Riverboat Guide Charon,
Crossing the River Styx
Narcissus Falls in Love with His Reflection
A Modern Narcissus
Oedipus and the Sphinx
Juno Discovering Jupiter with Io
by Pieter Lastman (1618)
Leda and the Swan (Zeus)
The Judgment of Paris
by Peter Paul Rubens (1636)
The Abduction of Helen by Paris
Achilles in Hiding with the Ladies
Thetis Receives Achilles’ New Armor from Hephaestus
by Anton van Dyck
An Ancient Water Jar (Hydria)
• A dramatic scene of
Achilles dragging the
body of Hector
behind his chariot.
The Cyclops
Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus
by J. M. W. Turner