Shit. I'm obsessed with classical mythology art

[WindRavenX]

Like THIS:

http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/ovid/baur1703/baur1703b1.html


Argh!

[sir_captain]

1. I really like it too

Probably my favorite piece of art of all time is this Bernini sculpture of Apollo and Daphne (from Ovid's Metamorphoses, no less) in Rome. I love everything Bernini ever did, but this in particular.

This is a truly terrible photograph of it:

[WindRavenX]

2. Oooooo I LOVE that statue

Great story too. Just finished the Metamorphoses!

[sir_captain]

3. I read it in Latin back in high school

and really enjoyed it. I liked Catullus' poetry even more--if you haven't already, you should check it out. It's certainly the only poetry I can see truly impacted my life and who I am.

That sculpture really is amazing--you can even see the dimpling in her skin from Apollo's fingertips as he tries to grab at her. How Bernini did it is kind of mindboggling.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Here is a rare statue...

This is the "Birth of Athena." It is by a Danish artist. I have never been able to find a replica of it!

[Ptah]

5. Some Egyptian mythology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptah

It was said (in the Shabaka Stone) that it was Ptah who called the world into being,
having dreamt creation in his heart, and speaking it, his name meaning opener,
in the sense of opener of the mouth. Indeed the opening of the mouth ceremony,
performed by priests at funerals to release souls from their corpses, was said to
have been created by Ptah. Atum was said to have been created by Ptah to rule
over the creation, sitting upon the primordial mound.

In art, he is portrayed as a bearded mummified man, often wearing a skull cap,
with his hands holding an ankh, was, and djed, the symbols of life, power and stability,
respectively. It was also considered that Ptah manifested himself in the Apis bull.

In Memphis, Ptah was worshipped in his own right, and was seen as Atum's father,
or rather, the father of Nefertum, the younger form of Atum. When the beliefs about the
Ennead and Ogdoad were later merged, and Atum was identified as Ra (Atum-Ra),
himself seen as Horus (Ra-Herakhty), this led to Ptah being said to be married to Sekhmet,
at the time considered the earlier form of Hathor, Horus', thus Atum's, mother.

[Spider Jerusalem]

6. How about this?

Leda and the swan (supposedly a copy of a work by Leonardo da Vinci):