1.
Egisto (opera)
–
Egisto is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli. It was designated as a favola dramatica musicale, the Italian libretto was by Giovanni Faustini, his second text for Cavalli. It was first performed in Venice at the Teatro S Cassiano in 1643, highly successful in its day, it was subsequently performed throughout Italy. Rarely performed in times, the operas US premiere was given by The Santa Fe Opera on 1 August 1974. Egisto was a descendant of the sun-god Apollo, over a year before the action begins he loved Clori and she returned his love. While spending time together on the seashore on the island of Delos, they were captured by pirates, Climene, a young woman on the island of Zacynthos, was captured roughly at the same time by the same pirates on the very day of her marriage to Lidio. She was sold to the same master as Egisto. A year later, they have managed to escape and Egisto has escorted Climene back to her island of Zacynthos. They both set to find their original lovers, what they do not know is that the pirates brought Clori to Zacynthos, where she fell in love with Lidio. Climenes brother, Ipparco, also fell in love with her, the division into acts reflects the passage of the day from dawn through night to dawn again, as to keep with Egistos heritage as a descendant of the Sun. Time, Place, The island of Zacynthos Set during the morning of the day after Egisto and Climene have landed on the island, Lidio and Clori are lovers while Egisto and Climene are friends. In the afternoon, Egisto and Climene are trying to get back to their former lovers, when the night falls, we see the machinations of the gods behind the sufferings of the characters on earth. Lidio is captured by Ipparco, and Egisto goes mad, the story is however brought to a happy conclusion. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
Egisto (opera)
–
Francesco Cavalli
2.
Orestes
–
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, in the Homeric telling of the story, Orestes is a member of the doomed house of Atreus which is descended from Tantalus and Niobe. Seven years later, Orestes returns from Athens and avenges his fathers death by slaying both Aegisthus and his own mother Clytemnestra, in the Odyssey, Orestes is held up as a favorable example to Telemachus, whose mother Penelope is plagued by suitors. According to Pindar, the young Orestes was saved by his nurse Arsinoe or his sister Electra, in the familiar theme of the heros early eclipse and exile, he escaped to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, where King Strophius took charge of him. In his twentieth year, he was urged by Electra to return home and he returned home along with his friend Pylades, Strophiuss son. The same myth is told differently by Sophocles and Euripides in their Electra plays, graves asserts that the sacrilege for which the Erinyes pursued Orestes was actually the killing of his mother, who represented matriarchy. The story of Orestes was the subject of the Oresteia of Aeschylus, of the Electra of Sophocles, in Aeschyluss Eumenides, Orestes goes mad after the deed and is pursued by the Erinyes, whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety. He takes refuge in the temple at Delphi, but, even though Apollo had ordered him to do the deed, at last Athena receives him on the acropolis of Athens and arranges a formal trial of the case before twelve judges, including herself. The Erinyes demand their victim, he pleads the orders of Apollo, Athena votes last announcing that she is for acquittal, then the votes are counted and the result is a tie, resulting in an acquittal according to the rules previously stipulated by Athena. The Erinyes are propitiated by a new ritual, in which they are worshipped as Semnai Theai, Venerable Ones and he went to Tauris with Pylades, and the pair were at once imprisoned by the people, among whom the custom was to sacrifice all Greek strangers to Artemis. The priestess of Artemis, whose duty it was to perform the sacrifice, was Orestes sister Iphigenia. She offered to him if he would carry home a letter from her to Greece, he refused to go. After his return to Greece, Orestes took possession of his fathers kingdom of Mycenae to which were added Argos and he was said to have died of a snakebite in Arcadia. His body was conveyed to Sparta for burial or, according to a Roman legend, to Aricia, before the Trojan War, Orestes was to marry his cousin Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen. Things soon changed after Orestes committed matricide, Menelaus then gave his daughter to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, according to Euripides play Andromache, Orestes slew Neoptolemus just outside a temple and took off with Hermione. He seized Argos and Arcadia after their thrones had become vacant and his son by Hermione, Tisamenus, became ruler after him but was eventually killed by the Heracleidae. There is extant a Latin epic poem, consisting of about 1000 hexameters, called Orestes Tragoedia, Orestes appears also to be a dramatic prototype for all persons whose crime is mitigated by extenuating circumstances. In one version of the story of Telephus, the infant Orestes was kidnapped by King Telephus, according to some sources, Orestes fathered Penthilus by his half-sister, Erigone
Orestes
–
Orestes at
Delphi flanked by
Athena and
Pylades among the Erinyes and
priestesses of the
oracle, perhaps including
Pythia behind the tripod - Paestan
red-figured bell-krater, c. 330 BC
Orestes
–
Orestes, Elektra, and Pylades at the tomb of Agamemnon - Campanian
red-figure hydria, c. 330 BC
Orestes
–
For other uses, see
Orestes (disambiguation).
Orestes
–
Orestes Pursued by the Furies by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
3.
Pylades
–
In Greek mythology, Pylades is the son of King Strophius of Phocis and of Anaxibia, who is the daughter of Atreus and sister of Agamemnon and Menelaus. He is mostly known for his friendship with his cousin Orestes. Orestes had been sent to Phocis during his mother Clytemnestras affair with Aegisthus, there he was raised with Pylades, and so considered him to be like a brother. While Orestes was away, Clytemnestra killed her husband, Orestes father Agamemnon, as an adult, Orestes returns to Mycenae/Argos to avenge the murder of Agamemnon. With the assistance of his friend Pylades, Orestes kills his mother Clytemnestra, while Pylades seems to be a very minor character, he is arguably the most vital piece of Orestes plan to avenge his father. In The Libation Bearers, the play of Aeschylus trilogy The Oresteia. His lines come at the moment Orestes begins to falter and second-guess his decision to kill his mother and it is Pylades who convinces Orestes to follow through with his plan for revenge and carry out the murder. The significance of Pylades lines has invited speculation into whether or not he might represent something more than next to Orestes. In other versions of the revenge of Orestes and Electra, Pylades accompanies Orestes, in the Sophocles version, Orestes pretends to be dead and Pylades carries the urn supposedly holding his friends remains. Pylades returned to his homeland, but was exiled by his father for taking part in the crime and he then returned to Orestes side, where he helped him to come up with a plan to avoid execution. They attempted to murder Helen, wife of Orestes uncle Menelaus, however, their attempt failed through the intervention of the gods. They then took hostage Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaus, Apollo arrived to settle the situation and gave them all instructions, including one for Pylades to marry Orestes sister Electra. Many of these events are depicted in Euripides play Orestes, Pylades played a major role in another of Euripides plays, Iphigeneia in Tauris. In order to escape the persecutions of the Erinyes, Orestes had been ordered by Apollo to go to Tauris, carry off the statue of Artemis which had fallen from heaven, and bring it to Athens. He went to Tauris with Pylades and the pair were at once imprisoned by the people, Orestes was seized by a mania for fear of the barbarians, Pylades tended to him, acting, as described in Lucians Amores not only like a lover but like a father. The priestess of Artemis, whose duty it was to perform the sacrifice, was Orestes sister Iphigeneia. She offered to release Orestes if he would carry home a letter from her to Greece, he refused to go, the intense relationship between Pylades and Orestes was presented by some Greek writers as romantic or homoerotic. Nor did they restrict their affectionate friendship to the limits of Hellas, but Orestes refused to take the letter, claiming Pylades was the fitter person to do so, and thus showed himself almost to be the lover rather than the beloved
Pylades
–
Orestes and Pylades Disputing at the Altar, 1614 Pieter Lastman (1583–1633)
Pylades
–
Pylades and Orestes by
François Bouchot. Pylades is shown protecting Orestes during his spell of madness.
4.
The Louvre
–
The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the worlds largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the citys 1st arrondissement, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres. The Louvre is the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II, remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace, in 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nations masterpieces. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed Musée Napoléon, the collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic, whether this was the first building on that spot is not known, it is possible that Philip modified an existing tower. According to the authoritative Grand Larousse encyclopédique, the name derives from an association with wolf hunting den, in the 7th century, St. Fare, an abbess in Meaux, left part of her Villa called Luvra situated in the region of Paris to a monastery. This territory probably did not correspond exactly to the modern site, the Louvre Palace was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvres holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed, however, on 14 October 1750, Louis XV agreed and sanctioned a display of 96 pieces from the royal collection, mounted in the Galerie royale de peinture of the Luxembourg Palace. Under Louis XVI, the museum idea became policy. The comte dAngiviller broadened the collection and in 1776 proposed conversion of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre – which contained maps – into the French Museum, many proposals were offered for the Louvres renovation into a museum, however, none was agreed on. Hence the museum remained incomplete until the French Revolution, during the French Revolution the Louvre was transformed into a public museum. In May 1791, the Assembly declared that the Louvre would be a place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences, on 10 August 1792, Louis XVI was imprisoned and the royal collection in the Louvre became national property
The Louvre
–
the Richelieu wing (2005)
The Louvre
–
The only portion of the medieval Louvre still visible
The Louvre
–
Antonio Canova 's
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss was commissioned in 1787, donated in 1824.
The Louvre
–
The
Venus de Milo was added to the Louvre's collection during the reign of
Louis XVIII.
5.
Ancient Greek
–
Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
Ancient Greek
–
Inscription about the construction of the statue of
Athena Parthenos in the
Parthenon, 440/439 BC
Ancient Greek
–
Ostracon bearing the name of
Cimon,
Stoa of Attalos
Ancient Greek
–
The words ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ as they are inscribed on the marble of the 1955
Leonidas Monument at
Thermopylae
6.
Greek mythology
–
It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
Greek mythology
–
Bust of
Zeus,
Otricoli (Sala Rotonda,
Museo Pio-Clementino,
Vatican).
Greek mythology
–
Greek Mythology
Greek mythology
–
Prometheus (1868 by
Gustave Moreau). The myth of Prometheus first was attested by
Hesiod and then constituted the basis for a tragic trilogy of plays, possibly by Aeschylus, consisting of
Prometheus Bound,
Prometheus Unbound, and
Prometheus Pyrphoros.
Greek mythology
–
The Roman poet
Virgil, here depicted in the fifth-century manuscript, the
Vergilius Romanus, preserved details of Greek mythology in many of his writings.
7.
Atreus
–
In Greek mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, his descendants are known as Atreidai or Atreidae, Atreus and his twin brother Thyestes were exiled by their father for murdering their half-brother Chrysippus in their desire for the throne of Olympia. They took refuge in Mycenae, where they ascended to the throne in the absence of King Eurystheus, Eurystheus had meant for their stewardship to be temporary, but it became permanent after his death in battle. According to most ancient sources, Atreus was the father of Pleisthenes, the word Atreides refers to one of the sons of Atreus—Agamemnon and Menelaus. The plural form Atreidae or Atreidai refers to both sons collectively, in English, the form Atreides is often used and this term is sometimes used for more distant descendants of Atreus. The House of Atreus begins with Tantalus, Tantalus was a son of Zeus who enjoyed cordial relations with the gods until he decided to slay his son Pelops and feed him to the gods as a test of their omniscience. But Demeter, who was distracted due to the abduction by Hades of her daughter Persephone, the gods threw Tantalus into the underworld, where he spends eternity standing in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reaches for the fruit, the branches raise his intended meal from his grasp, whenever he bends down to get a drink, the water recedes before he can drink. Thus is derived the word tantalising, the gods brought Pelops back to life, replacing the bone in his shoulder with a bit of ivory, thus marking the family forever afterwards. Pelops married Hippodamia after winning a race against her father, King Oenomaus, by arranging for the sabotage of his would-be-father-in-laws chariot. The versions of the story differ, as Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops and his line, further adding to the houses curse. Pelops and Hippodamia had many sons, two of them were Atreus and Thyestes, depending on myth versions, they murdered Chrysippus, who was their half-brother. Because of the murder, Hippodamia, Atreus, and Thyestes were banished to Mycenae, Atreus vowed to sacrifice his best lamb to Artemis. Upon searching his flock, however, Atreus discovered a golden lamb which he gave to his wife, Aerope and she gave it to Thyestes, her lover and Atreus brother, who then convinced Atreus to agree that whoever had the lamb should be king. Thyestes produced the lamb and claimed the throne, Atreus retook the throne using advice he received from Hermes. Thyestes agreed to give the back when the sun moved backwards in the sky. Atreus retook the throne and banished Thyestes, Atreus then learned of Thyestes and Aeropes adultery and plotted revenge. He killed Thyestes sons and cooked them, save their hands and he tricked Thyestes into eating the flesh of his own sons and then taunted him with their hands and feet
Atreus
–
Entrance to the tomb (
tholos) of Atreus ("
Treasury of Atreus ") built around
1250 BC at
Mycenae.
8.
Agamemnon
–
Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. When Helen, the wife of Menelaus, was taken to Troy by Paris, upon Agamemnons return from Troy, he was murdered by Aegisthus, the lover of his wife, Clytemnestra. In some later versions Clytemnestra herself does the killing, or they act together as accomplices, Atreus, Agamemnons father, murdered the children of his twin brother Thyestes and fed them to Thyestes after discovering Thyestes adultery with his wife Aerope. Thyestes fathered Aegisthus with his own daughter, Pelopia, and this son vowed gruesome revenge on Atreus children, Aegisthus successfully murdered Atreus and restored his father to the throne. Aegisthus took possession of the throne of Mycenae and jointly ruled with Thyestes, during this period Agamemnon and his brother, Menelaus, took refuge with Tyndareus, King of Sparta. There they respectively married Tyndareus daughters Clytemnestra and Helen, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had four children, one son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigenia, Electra and Chrysothemis. Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus in Sparta, while Agamemnon, with his brothers assistance, drove out Aegisthus and he extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful prince in Greece. Thus misfortune hounded successive generations of the House of Atreus, until atoned by Orestes in a court of justice held jointly by humans, Agamemnon gathered the reluctant Greek forces to sail for Troy. Preparing to depart from Aulis, which was a port in Boeotia, misfortunes, including a plague and a lack of wind, prevented the army from sailing. Finally, the prophet Calchas announced that the wrath of the goddess could only be propitiated by the sacrifice of Agamemnons daughter Iphigenia and her death appeased Artemis, and the Greek army set out for Troy. Several alternatives to the human sacrifice have been presented in Greek mythology, hesiod said she became the goddess Hecate. Agamemnon was the commander-in-chief of the Greeks during the Trojan War, during the fighting, Agamemnon killed Antiphus and fifteen other Trojan soldiers. The Iliad tells the story about the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles in the year of the war. Following one of the Achaean Armys raids, Chryseis, daughter of Chryses, Chryses pleaded with Agamemnon to free his daughter but was met with little success. Chryses then prayed to Apollo for the return of his daughter. After learning from the Prophet Calchas that the plague could be dispelled by returning Chryseis to her father, Agamemnon reluctantly agreed, however, as compensation for his lost prize, Agamemnon demanded a new prize. As a result, Agamemnon stole an attractive slave called Briseis, one of the spoils of war, Achilles, the greatest warrior of the age, withdrew from battle in response to Agamemnons supposedly evil deed and allegedly put the Greek armies at risk of losing the war. Although not the equal of Achilles in bravery, Agamemnon was a representative of kingly authority, as commander-in-chief, he summoned the princes to the council and led the army in battle
Agamemnon
–
The
Mask of Agamemnon which was discovered by
Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at
Mycenae, now believed to pre-date the legendary Trojan War.
Agamemnon
–
Orestes slaying
Clytemnestra
9.
Trojan war
–
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homers Iliad. The Iliad relates four days in the year of the decade-long siege of Troy. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the fairest, in exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helens husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris insult. After the deaths of heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods wrath, few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, in 1868, however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was a real city at what is now Hissarlik in Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars, whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War remains an open question. The events of the Trojan War are found in works of Greek literature. There is no single, authoritative text which tells the events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from a variety of sources, the most important literary sources are the two epic poems traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed sometime between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. Each poem narrates only a part of the war, the Iliad covers a short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey concerns Odysseuss return to his home island of Ithaca, following the sack of Troy. Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle, also known as the Cyclic Epics, the Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliou Persis, Nostoi, and Telegony. Though these poems survive only in fragments, their content is known from an included in Proclus Chrestomathy. The authorship of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain, both the Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition. Even after the composition of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic Epics, events and details of the story that are only found in later authors may have been passed on through oral tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems
Trojan war
–
Achilles tending the wounded
Patroclus (
Attic red-figure kylix, c. 500 BC)
Trojan war
–
The Burning of Troy (1759/62),
oil painting by Johann Georg Trautmann
Trojan war
–
The Judgment of Paris (1904) by
Enrique Simonet
Trojan war
–
Thetis gives her son Achilles weapons forged by Hephaestus (detail of Attic
black-figure hydria, 575–550 BC)
10.
Clytemnestra
–
Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon and queen of Mycenae in ancient Greek legend. Her Greek name Klytaimnḗstra is also sometimes latinized as Clytaemnestra and it is commonly glossed as famed for her suitors. However, this form is a later misreading motivated by an erroneous etymological connection to the verb mnáomai, the original name form is believed to have been Klytaimḗstra without the -n-. The present form of the name does not appear before the middle Byzantine period, Aeschylus, in certain wordplays on her name, appears to assume an etymological link with the verb mḗdomai. Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, the King, according to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, seducing and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs, Castor and Clytemnestra from one egg, and Helen and Polydeuces from the other, therefore, Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus, whereas Helen and Polydeuces were fathered by Zeus. Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus were in exile at the home of Tyndareus, in due time Agamemnon married Clytemnestra and Menelaus married Helen. In a late variation, Euripidess Iphigenia at Aulis, Clytemnestras first husband was Tantalus, King of Pisa, Agamemnon kills him and his infant son, in another version, her first husband was King of Lydia. The kings of Lydia, according to Plutarchs The Greek Questions,45, having succeeded Omphale who had received from Herakles Hippolytes axe, after Helen went from Sparta to Troy, her husband, Menelaus, asked his brother Agamemnon for help. However, consistently weak winds prevented the fleet from sailing, through a subplot involving the gods and omens, the priest Calchas said the winds would be favorable if Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis. Agamemnon persuaded Clytemnestra to send Iphigenia to him, telling her he was going to marry her to Achilles, when Iphigenia arrived at Aulis, she was sacrificed, the winds turned, and the troops set sail for Troy. The Trojan War lasted ten years, during this period of Agamemnons long absence, Clytemnestra began a love affair with Aegisthus, her husbands cousin. Whether Clytemnestra was seduced into the affair or entered into it independently differs according to the author of the myth. Nevertheless, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus began plotting Agamemnons demise, Clytemnestra was enraged by Iphigenias murder. Aegisthus saw his father Thyestes betrayed by Agamemnons father Atreus, in old versions of the story, on returning from Troy, Agamemnon is murdered by Aegisthus, the lover of his wife, Clytemnestra. In some later versions Clytemnestra helps him or does the killing herself in his own home, Clytemnestra waited until he was in the bath, and then entangled him in a cloth net and stabbed him. Trapped in the web, Agamemnon could neither escape nor resist his murderer, meanwhile, Cassandra saw a vision of herself and Agamemnon being murdered. Her attempts to elicit help failed and she realized she was fated to die, and resolutely walked into the palace to receive her death
Clytemnestra
–
Clytemnestra trying to awake the
Erinyes while her son is being purified by
Apollo,
Apulian red-figure
krater, 480–470 BC,
Louvre (Cp 710)
Clytemnestra
–
After the murder (1882), by
John Collier, Guildhall Art Gallery (London)
Clytemnestra
–
Murder of Agamemnon, painting by
Pierre-Narcisse Guérin.
Clytemnestra
–
Orestes Pursued by the Furies by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Clytemnestra was killed by Orestes and the
Furies torment him for this killing
11.
Mycenae
–
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 kilometres southwest of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 kilometres to the south, Corinth,48 kilometres to the north, from the hill on which the palace was located, one can see across the Argolid to the Saronic Gulf. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the centres of Greek civilization. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae, at its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares. Although the citadel was built by Greeks, the name Mukanai is thought not to be Greek, legend has it that the name was connected to the Greek word mycēs. Thus, Pausanias ascribes the name to the legendary founder Perseus, the earliest written form of the name is Mykēnē, which is found in Homer. The reconstructed Mycenaean Greek name of the site is Mukānai, which has the form of a plural like Athānai, the change of ā to ē in more recent versions of the name is the result of a well-known sound change in later Attic-Ionic. An EH–MH settlement was discovered near a well on top of the Kalkani hill southwest of the acropolis. The first burials in pits or cist graves manifest in the MH period on the west slope of the acropolis, during the Bronze Age, the pattern of settlement at Mycenae was a fortified hill surrounded by hamlets and estates, in contrast to the dense urbanity on the coast. Richer grave goods mark the burials as possibly regal, mounds over the top contained broken drinking vessels and bones from a repast, testifying to a more than ordinary farewell. A walled enclosure, Grave Circle A, included six more shaft graves, with nine female, eight male, Grave goods were more costly than in Circle B. The presence of engraved and inlaid swords and daggers, with points and arrowheads, leave little doubt that warrior chieftains. Some art objects obtained from the graves are the Silver Siege Rhyton, the Mask of Agamemnon, the Cup of Nestor, Alan Wace divided the nine tholos tombs of Mycenae into three groups of three, each based on architecture. His earliest – the Cyclopean Tomb, Epano Phournos, and the Tomb of Aegisthus – are dated to LHIIA, burial in tholoi is seen as replacing burial in shaft graves. The care taken to preserve the shaft graves testifies that they were by then part of the royal heritage, being more visible, the tholoi all had been plundered either in antiquity, or in later historic times. Within these walls, much of which can still be seen, the final palace, remains of which are currently visible on the acropolis of Mycenae, dates to the start of LHIIIA,2. Earlier palaces must have existed, but they had cleared away or built over. The construction of palaces at that time with an architecture was general throughout southern Greece
Mycenae
–
The
Lion Gate at Mycenae.
Mycenae
–
A view of the citadel.
Mycenae
–
The Tomb of Aegisthus outside the walls of the citadel.
Mycenae
–
View from the
acropolis, or high city.
12.
Oracle
–
In classical antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination, the word oracle comes from the Latin verb ōrāre to speak and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, oracle may also refer to the site of the oracle, Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people. In this sense they were different from seers who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs, animal entrails, the most important oracles of Greek antiquity were Pythia, priestess to Apollo at Delphi, and the oracle of Dione and Zeus at Dodona in Epirus. Other temples of Apollo were located at Didyma on the coast of Asia Minor, at Corinth and Bassae in the Peloponnese, the Sibylline Oracles are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in frenzied states. Walter Burkert observes that Frenzied women from whose lips the god speaks are recorded in the Near East as in Mari in the second millennium BC, in Egypt the goddess Wadjet was depicted as a snake-headed woman or a woman with two snake-heads. Her oracle was in the temple in Per-Wadjet. The oracle of Wadjet may have been the source for the tradition which spread from Egypt to Greece. Evans linked Wadjet with the Minoan snake goddess, a chthonic deity, in Greece the old oracles were devoted to the Mother Goddess. At the oracle of Dodona she will be called Diōnē, who represents the earth-fertile soil, python, daughter of Gaia was the earth dragon of Delphi represented as a serpent and became the chthonic deity, enemy of Apollo, who slew her and possessed the oracle. The Pythia was the mouthpiece of the oracles of the god Apollo, the Pythia was not conceived to be infallible and in fact, according to Sourvinou-Inwood in What is Polis Religion. The ancient Greeks were aware of this and concluded the unknowability of the divine, in this way, the ‘revelations’ of the Oracles were not seen as ‘objective’ truth. Many wealthy individuals bypassed the hordes of people attempting a consultation by making additional animal sacrifices to please the oracle lest their request go unanswered, as a result, seers were the main source of everyday divination. It is from this institution that the English word, oracle, is derived, the Delphic Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout Hellenic culture. Distinctively, this female was essentially the highest authority both civilly and religiously in male-dominated ancient Greece and she responded to the questions of citizens, foreigners, kings, and philosophers on issues of political impact, war, duty, crime, laws—even personal issues. The semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria, Croesus, king of Lydia beginning in 560 B. C. tested the oracles of the world to discover which gave the most accurate prophecies. He sent out emissaries to seven sites who were all to ask the oracles on the day what the king was doing at that very moment. Croesus proclaimed the oracle at Delphi to be the most accurate, who reported that the king was making a lamb-and-tortoise stew
Oracle
–
Oracle bone of the
Shang Dynasty, ancient China
Oracle
–
Consulting the Oracle by
John William Waterhouse, showing eight priestesses in a temple of prophecy.
13.
Child abandonment
–
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over ones offspring in an extralegal way with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness, an abandoned child is called a foundling. Baby dumping refers to parents abandoning or discarding a child younger than 12 months in a public or private place with the intent of disposing of them and it is also known as rehoming in cases of failed adoptions. Poverty is often a cause of child abandonment. People in cultures with poor social welfare systems who are not financially capable of taking care of a child are more likely to abandon them, another common reason for baby dumping is teenage pregnancies. Pregnant teenagers experience problems during and after due to social and psychological distress. Regardless of age, parents may abandon a child because they are unprepared to raise them, other reasons include unpreferred gender, appearance, or other characteristics of the child as well as mental or physical handicaps of the child. Education, family planning, government support, and post-natal services, historically, many cultures practiced abandonment of infants, called infant exposure. Although such children would survive if taken up by others, exposure is considered a form of infanticide—as described by Tertullian in his Apology. By exposure to cold and hunger and dogs, medieval laws in Europe governing child abandonment, as for example the Visigothic Code, often prescribed that the person who had taken up the child was entitled to the childs service as a slave. Conscripting or enslaving children into armies and labor pools often occurred as a consequence of war or pestilence when many children were left parentless, abandoned children then became the ward of the state, military organization, or religious group. When this practice happened en masse, it had the advantage of ensuring the strength and continuity of cultural, the largest migration of abandoned children in history took place in the United States between 1854 and 1929. Over two hundred thousand orphans were forced onto railroad cars and shipped west, where any family desiring their services as laborers, maids, orphan trains were highly popular as a source of free labor. The sheer size of the displacement and degree of exploitation that occurred gave rise to new agencies, eventually, adoption became a quintessential American institution, embodying faith in social engineering and mobility. By 1945, adoption was formulated as an act with consideration of the child’s best interests. Brace feared the impact of the poverty and their Catholic religion, in particular. Reformers during the Progressive Era later carried on this tradition of secrecy when drafting American laws. Today, abandonment of a child is considered to be a crime in many jurisdictions because it can be considered malum in se due to the direct harm to the child
Child abandonment
–
A modern Baby box or Baby hatch in the Czech Republic where a baby can be anonymously abandoned while ensuring that the child will be cared for.
Child abandonment
–
The children of Queen Blondine and of her sister, Princess Brunette, picked up by a Corsair after seven days at sea; illustration by
Walter Crane to the fairy tale
Princess Belle-Etoile
14.
Sword
–
A sword is a long bladed weapon intended for slashing or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the epoch or the geographical region under consideration. A sword consists of a blade attached to a hilt. The blade can be straight or curved, thrusting swords have a pointed tip on the blade, and tend to be straighter, slashing swords have sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade, and are more likely to be curved. Many swords are designed for thrusting and slashing. Historically, the sword developed in the Bronze Age, evolving from the dagger, the later Iron Age sword remained fairly short and without a crossguard. The word sword continues the Old English, sweord, the use of a sword is known as swordsmanship or as fencing. In the Early Modern period, western sword design diverged into two forms, the thrusting swords and the sabers. The thrusting swords such as the rapier and eventually the smallsword were designed to impale their targets quickly and their long and straight yet light and well balanced design made them highly maneuverable and deadly in a duel but fairly ineffective when used in a slashing or chopping motion. A well aimed lunge and thrust could end a fight in seconds with just the swords point, the saber and similar blades such as the cutlass were built more heavily and were more typically used in warfare. Built for slashing and chopping at multiple enemies, often from horseback, most sabers also had sharp points and double edged blades, making them capable of piercing soldier after soldier in a cavalry charge. Sabers continued to see use until the early 20th century. The US Navy kept tens of thousands of sturdy cutlasses in their armory well into World War II, non-European weapons called sword include single-edged weapons such as the Middle Eastern scimitar, the Chinese dao and the related Japanese katana. The Chinese jian is an example of a non-European double-edged sword, the first weapons that can be described as swords date to around 3300 BC. They have been found in Arslantepe, Turkey, are made from arsenical bronze, some of them are inlaid with silver. The sword developed from the dagger when the construction of longer blades became possible, from the late 3rd millennium BC in the Middle East, first in arsenic copper, then in tin-bronze. Blades longer than 60 cm were rare and not practical until the late Bronze Age because the strength of bronze is relatively low. These are the type A swords of the Aegean Bronze Age, one of the most important, and longest-lasting, types swords of the European Bronze Age was the Naue II type, also known as Griffzungenschwert
Sword
–
Swiss
longsword, 15th- or 16th-century
Sword
–
Hallstatt swords
Sword
–
Apa-type swords, 17th-century BC.
Sword
–
The swords found together with the
Nebra skydisk, ca. 1600 BC.
15.
Incest
–
Incest is sexual activity between family members or close relatives. The incest taboo is and has one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos. Most modern societies have laws regarding incest or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages, in societies where it is illegal, consensual adult incest is seen by some as a victimless crime. Some cultures extend the incest taboo to relatives with no consanguinity such as milk-siblings, stepsiblings, third-degree relatives on average share 12. 5% genes, and sexual relations between them is viewed differently in various cultures, from being discouraged to being socially acceptable. The children of incestuous relationships were regarded as illegitimate, and are still so regarded in some societies today, in most cases, the parents did not have the option to marry to remove that status, as incestuous marriages were, and are, normally also prohibited. A common justification for prohibiting incest is avoiding inbreeding, a collection of genetic disorders suffered by the children of parents with a genetic relationship. But inbreeding is not the basis for the incest taboo for two reasons. First, most prohibitions on incest cover affinity relationships—that is, relationships created by marriage —as well as created by adoption. And second, the incest taboo also applies to non-procreative sex—for example, some societies, such as the Balinese and some Inuit tribes, have different views about what constitutes illegal and immoral incest. However, sexual relations with a first-degree relative are almost universally forbidden, the English word incest is derived from the Latin incestus, which has a general meaning of impure, unchaste. It was introduced into Middle English, both in the generic Latin sense and in the modern sense. The derived adjective incestuous appears in the 16th century, before the Latin term came in, incest was known in Old English as sib-leger or mǣġhǣmed but in time, both words fell out of use. In ancient China, first cousins with the surnames were not permitted to marry. Several of the Egyptian Pharaohs married their siblings and had children with them. For example, Tutankhamun married his half-sister Ankhesenamun, and was himself the child of an union between Akhenaten and an unidentified sister-wife. It is now accepted that sibling marriages were widespread among all classes in Egypt during the Graeco-Roman period. Numerous papyri and the Roman census declarations attest to many husbands and wives being brother and sister, in the sequel to Oedipus, Antigone, his four children are also punished for their parents incestuousness. Incest appears in the accepted version of the birth of Adonis
Incest
–
Maya king
Shield Jaguar II with his
aunt-wife,
Lady Xoc. AD 709
Incest
–
The number in each box indicates the degree of relationship
Incest
–
Charles II of Spain was born mentally and physically disabled due to centuries of inbreeding in the
House of Habsburg
Incest
–
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor married his first cousin
Maria of Spain.
16.
Menelaus
–
In Greek mythology, Menelaus was a king of Mycenaean Sparta, the husband of Helen of Troy, and a central figure in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus and Aerope, brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and, according to the Iliad, although early authors such as Aeschylus refer in passing to Menelaus’ early life, detailed sources are quite late, post-dating 5th-century BC Greek tragedy. According to these sources, Menelaus father, Atreus, had been feuding with his brother Thyestes over the throne of Mycenae, after a back-and-forth struggle that featured adultery, incest and cannibalism, Thyestes gained the throne after his son Aegisthus murdered Atreus. As a result, Atreus’ sons, Menelaus and Agamemnon, went into exile and they first stayed with King Polyphides of Sicyon, and later with King Oeneus of Calydon. But when they thought the time was ripe to dethrone Mycenae’s hostile ruler, assisted by King Tyndareus of Sparta, they drove Thyestes away, and Agamemnon took the throne for himself. When it was time for Tyndareus’ step-daughter Helen to marry, many kings, among the contenders were Odysseus, Menestheus, Ajax the Great, Patroclus, and Idomeneus. Tyndareus would accept none of the gifts, nor would he send any of the suitors away for fear of offending them, Odysseus promised to solve the problem in a satisfactory manner if Tyndareus would support him in his courting of Tyndareus’s niece Penelope, the daughter of Icarius. Tyndareus readily agreed, and Odysseus proposed that, before the decision was made, then it was decreed that straws were to be drawn for Helen’s hand. The suitor who won was Menelaus, the rest of the suitors swore their oaths, and Helen and Menelaus were married, Menelaus becoming a ruler of Sparta with Helen after Tyndareus and Leda abdicated the thrones. Menelaus and Helen had a daughter Hermione as supported, for example, by Sappho and their palace has been discovered in Pellana, Laconia, to the north-west of modern Sparta. Other archaeologists consider that Pellana is too far away from other Mycenaean centres to have been the capital of Menelaus, in a return for awarding her a golden apple inscribed to the fairest, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in all the world. Homers Iliad is the most expansive source for Menelaus’s exploits during the Trojan War, in Book 3, Menelaus challenges Paris to a duel for Helen’s return. Menelaus soundly beats Paris, but before he can kill him and claim victory, in Book 4, while the Greeks and Trojans squabble over the duel’s winner, Athena inspires the Trojan Pandarus to shoot Menelaus with his bow and arrow. However, Athena never intended for Menelaus to die and she protects him from the arrow of Pandarus, Menelaus is wounded in the abdomen, and the fighting resumes. Later, in Book 17, Homer gives Menelaus an extended aristeia as the hero retrieves the corpse of Patroclus from the battlefield, according to Hyginus, Menelaus killed eight men in the war, and was one of the Greeks hidden inside the Trojan Horse. During the sack of Troy, Menelaus killed Deiphobus, who had married Helen after the death of Paris, there are four versions of Menelaus’ and Helen’s reunion on the night of the sack of Troy, Angry at Helen, Menelaus looked for and found her. In a fit of rage, he decided to kill her for leaving him for Paris, in a split second, Menelaus wrath went away instantly. He took pity on her, and decided to take her back as wife, Menelaus resolved to kill Helen but her striking beauty prompted him to drop his sword and take her back to his ship “to punish her at Sparta”, as he claimed
Menelaus
–
Marble bust of Menelaus
Menelaus
–
Menelaus regains Helen, detail of an Attic red-figure crater, c. 450–440 BC, found in
Gnathia (now Egnazia,
Italy).
Menelaus
–
Lelegids
17.
Sparta
–
Sparta was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece. In antiquity the city-state was known as Lacedaemon, while the name Sparta referred to its settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece, given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars. Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious. Spartas defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Spartas prominent role in Greece, however, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. It then underwent a period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages. Modern Sparta is the capital of the Greek regional unit of Laconia, Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence. Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates, mothakes, perioikoi, Spartiates underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and Spartan phalanges were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women enjoyed more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world. Sparta was the subject of fascination in its own day, as well as in the West following the revival of classical learning and this love or admiration of Sparta is known as Laconism or Laconophilia. At its peak around 500 BC the size of the city would have been some 20,000 –35,000 free residents, plus numerous helots, olliers theory of the Spartan mirage has been widely accepted by scholars. The ancient Greeks used one of three words to refer to the location of the Spartans. The first refers primarily to the cluster of settlements in the valley of the Eurotas River. The second word was Lacedaemon, this was used sometimes as an adjective and is the name commonly used in the works of Homer. Herodotus seems to denote by it the Mycenaean Greek citadel at Therapne and it could be used synonymously with Sparta, but typically it was not. It denoted the terrain on which Sparta was situated, in Homer it is typically combined with epithets of the countryside, wide, lovely, shining and most often hollow and broken. The hollow suggests the Eurotas Valley, Sparta on the other hand is the country of lovely women, a people epithet. The name of the population was used for the state of Lacedaemon
Sparta
–
Territory of ancient Sparta
Sparta
–
Hollow Lacedaemon. Site of the Menelaion, the ancient shrine to Helen and Menelaus constructed in the Bronze Age city that stood on the hill of
Therapne on the left bank of the
Eurotas River overlooking the future site of Dorian Sparta. Across the valley the successive ridges of Mount
Taygetus are in evidence.
Sparta
–
Eurotas River
Sparta
–
The theater of ancient Sparta with
Mt. Taygetus in the background.
18.
Tyndareus
–
Tyndareus had a brother named Hippocoon, who seized power and exiled Tyndareus. He was reinstated by Heracles, who killed Hippocoon and his sons, tyndareus’ other brother was Icarius, the father of Penelope. Tyndareus’ wife Leda was seduced by Zeus, who disguised himself as a swan and she laid two eggs, each producing two children. When Thyestes seized control in Mycenae, two exiled princes, Agamemnon and Menelaus came to Sparta, where they were received as guests, the princes eventually married Tyndareus daughters, Clytemnestra and Helen respectively. Helen was the most beautiful woman in the world, and when it was time for her to marry, many Greek kings, among the contenders were Odysseus, Ajax the Great, Diomedes, Idomeneus, and both Menelaus and Agamemnon. All but Odysseus brought many and rich gifts with them, Tyndareus would accept none of the gifts, nor would he send any of the suitors away for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel. Odysseus promised to solve the problem in a manner if Tyndareus would support him in his courting of Penelope. This stratagem succeeded and Helen and Menelaus were married, eventually, Tyndareus resigned in favour of his son-in-law and Menelaus became king. Some years later, Paris, a Trojan prince came to Sparta to marry Helen, Menelaus attempted to retrieve Helen by calling on all her former suitors to fulfil their oaths, leading to the Trojan War
Tyndareus
–
Tyndareus’ stepdaughter
Helen of Troy
Tyndareus
–
Lelegids
19.
Helen of Troy
–
In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy, also known as Helen of Sparta, or simply Helen, was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and was a sister of Castor, Pollux, and Clytemnestra. In Greek myths, she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world, by marriage she was Queen of Laconia, a province within Homeric Greece, the wife of King Menelaus. Her abduction by Prince Paris of Troy brought about the Trojan War, elements of her putative biography come from classical authors such as Aristophanes, Cicero, Euripides and Homer. In her youth, she was abducted by Theseus, a competition between her suitors for her hand in marriage sees Menelaus emerge victorious. An oath sworn beforehand by all the suitors requires them to military assistance in the case of her abduction. When she marries Menelaus she is very young, whether her subsequent involvement with Paris is an abduction or a seduction is ambiguous. The legends recounting Helens fate in Troy are contradictory, Homer depicts her as a wistful figure, even a sorrowful one, who comes to regret her choice and wishes to be reunited with Menelaus. Other accounts have a treacherous Helen who simulates Bacchic rites and rejoices in the carnage, ultimately, Paris was killed in action, and in Homers account Helen was reunited with Menelaus, though other versions of the legend recount her ascending to Olympus instead. A cult associated with her developed in Hellenistic Laconia, both at Sparta and elsewhere, at Therapne she shared a shrine with Menelaus and she was also worshiped in Attica and on Rhodes. Her beauty inspired artists of all time to represent her, frequently as the personification of ideal beauty, Christopher Marlowes lines from his tragedy Doctor Faustus are frequently cited, Was this the face that launchd a thousand ships/And burnt the topless towers of Ilium. However, in the play this meeting and the ensuing temptation are not unambiguously positive, closely preceding death, images of her start appearing in the 7th century BC. In classical Greece, her abduction by—or elopement with—Paris was a popular motif, in medieval illustrations, this event was frequently portrayed as a seduction, whereas in Renaissance painting it is usually depicted as a rape by Paris. The fact that rape and kidnapping were interchangeable terms lends additional ambiguity to the story, the etymology of Helens name continues to be a problem for scholars. Georg Curtius related Helen to the moon, Émile Boisacq considered Ἑλένη to derive from the noun ἑλένη meaning torch. It has also suggested that the λ of Ἑλένη arose from an original ν. Linda Lee Clader, however, says none of the above suggestions offers much satisfaction. Inversely, others have connected this etymology to a hypothetical proto-indo-european sun goddess, in particular, her marriage myth may be connected to a broader indo-european marriage drama of the sun goddess, and she is related to the divine twins, just as many of these goddesses are. The origins of Helens myth date back to the Mycenaean age, the first record of her name appears in the poems of Homer, but scholars assume that such myths invented or received by the Mycenaean Greeks made their way to Homer
Helen of Troy
–
Helen and Menelaus: Menelaus intends to strike Helen; captivated by her beauty, he drops his sword. A flying
Eros and
Aphrodite (on the left) watch the scene. Detail of an Attic
red-figure krater, c. 450–440 BC (
Paris,
Louvre)
Helen of Troy
–
Leda and the Swan by
Cesare da Sesto (c. 1506–1510,
Wilton). The artist has been intrigued by the idea of Helen's unconventional birth; she and Clytemnestra are shown emerging from one egg; Castor and Pollux from another.
Helen of Troy
–
Theseus pursuing a woman, probably Helen. Side A from an Attic red-figure bell-krater, c. 440–430 BC (
Louvre, Paris).
Helen of Troy
–
In this painting by
Maarten van Heemskerck Helen, queen of the Greek city-state Sparta, is abducted by Paris, a prince of Troy in Asian Minor. The Walters Art Museum.
20.
Orestes (mythology)
–
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, in the Homeric telling of the story, Orestes is a member of the doomed house of Atreus which is descended from Tantalus and Niobe. Seven years later, Orestes returns from Athens and avenges his fathers death by slaying both Aegisthus and his own mother Clytemnestra, in the Odyssey, Orestes is held up as a favorable example to Telemachus, whose mother Penelope is plagued by suitors. According to Pindar, the young Orestes was saved by his nurse Arsinoe or his sister Electra, in the familiar theme of the heros early eclipse and exile, he escaped to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, where King Strophius took charge of him. In his twentieth year, he was urged by Electra to return home and he returned home along with his friend Pylades, Strophiuss son. The same myth is told differently by Sophocles and Euripides in their Electra plays, graves asserts that the sacrilege for which the Erinyes pursued Orestes was actually the killing of his mother, who represented matriarchy. The story of Orestes was the subject of the Oresteia of Aeschylus, of the Electra of Sophocles, in Aeschyluss Eumenides, Orestes goes mad after the deed and is pursued by the Erinyes, whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety. He takes refuge in the temple at Delphi, but, even though Apollo had ordered him to do the deed, at last Athena receives him on the acropolis of Athens and arranges a formal trial of the case before twelve judges, including herself. The Erinyes demand their victim, he pleads the orders of Apollo, Athena votes last announcing that she is for acquittal, then the votes are counted and the result is a tie, resulting in an acquittal according to the rules previously stipulated by Athena. The Erinyes are propitiated by a new ritual, in which they are worshipped as Semnai Theai, Venerable Ones and he went to Tauris with Pylades, and the pair were at once imprisoned by the people, among whom the custom was to sacrifice all Greek strangers to Artemis. The priestess of Artemis, whose duty it was to perform the sacrifice, was Orestes sister Iphigenia. She offered to him if he would carry home a letter from her to Greece, he refused to go. After his return to Greece, Orestes took possession of his fathers kingdom of Mycenae to which were added Argos and he was said to have died of a snakebite in Arcadia. His body was conveyed to Sparta for burial or, according to a Roman legend, to Aricia, before the Trojan War, Orestes was to marry his cousin Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen. Things soon changed after Orestes committed matricide, Menelaus then gave his daughter to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, according to Euripides play Andromache, Orestes slew Neoptolemus just outside a temple and took off with Hermione. He seized Argos and Arcadia after their thrones had become vacant and his son by Hermione, Tisamenus, became ruler after him but was eventually killed by the Heracleidae. There is extant a Latin epic poem, consisting of about 1000 hexameters, called Orestes Tragoedia, Orestes appears also to be a dramatic prototype for all persons whose crime is mitigated by extenuating circumstances. In one version of the story of Telephus, the infant Orestes was kidnapped by King Telephus, according to some sources, Orestes fathered Penthilus by his half-sister, Erigone
Orestes (mythology)
–
Orestes at
Delphi flanked by
Athena and
Pylades among the Erinyes and
priestesses of the
oracle, perhaps including
Pythia behind the tripod - Paestan
red-figured bell-krater, c. 330 BC
Orestes (mythology)
–
Orestes, Elektra, and Pylades at the tomb of Agamemnon - Campanian
red-figure hydria, c. 330 BC
Orestes (mythology)
–
For other uses, see
Orestes (disambiguation).
Orestes (mythology)
–
Orestes Pursued by the Furies by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
21.
Iphigenia
–
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Argos. According to other myths she is the daughter of Theseus and Helen but was raised by Clytemnestra. Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis, who retaliates by commanding him to kill Iphigenia as a sacrifice so his ships can sail to Troy, in some versions, Iphigenia is sacrificed at Aulis, but in others, Artemis rescues her. In the version where she is saved, she goes to the Taurians, Iphigenia means strong-born, born to strength, or she who causes the birth of strong offspring. Iphianassa is the name of one of Agamemnons three daughters in Homers Iliad The name Iphianassa may be simply a variant of the name Iphigenia. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia appears as the Greek fleet gathers in Aulis to prepare for war against Troy, at Aulis, the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, accidentally kills a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess Artemis. She punishes him by interfering with the winds so that his fleet cannot sail to Troy, the seer Calchas reveals that, to appease Artemis, Agamemnon must sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. Agamemnon at first refuses, but, pressured by the other commanders eventually agrees, Iphigenia and her mother Clytemnestra are brought to Aulis under the pretext of a marriage to Achilles, but soon discover the marriage is a ruse. In some versions of the story, Iphigenia remains unaware of her imminent sacrifice until the last moment, in some versions, Iphigenia is not actually sacrificed. According to Hyginus Fabulae, Iphigenia was not sacrificed, some sources claim that Iphigenia was taken by Artemis to Tauris in Crimea at the moment of the sacrifice, and that the goddess left a deer or a goat in her place. The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women called her Iphimede and told that Artemis transformed her into the goddess Hecate, antoninus Liberalis said that Iphigenia was transported to the island of Leuke, where she was wedded to immortalized Achilles under the name Orsilochia. In Aeschyluss Agamemnon, the first play in the Oresteia, the sacrifice of Iphigenia is given as one of the reasons that Clytemnestra, in Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis, it is Menelaus who convinces Agamemnon to heed the seer Calchass advice. After Agamemnon sends a message to Clytemnestra informing her of Iphigenias supposed marriage, he regrets his decision. Menelaus intercepts the letter and he and Agamemnon argue, Menelaus insists that it is Agamemnons duty to do all he can to aid the Greeks. Clytemnestra arrives at Aulis with Iphigenia and the infant Orestes, Agamemnon tries to convince Clytemnestra to go back to Argos, but Clytemnestra insists on staying for the wedding. When she sees Achilles, Clytemnestra mentions the marriage, Achilles, however, appears to be unaware of it, Achilles, angry that Agamemnon has used him in his plot, vows to help prevent the murder of Iphigenia. Iphigenia and Clytemnestra plead with Agamemnon to spare his daughters life, Achilles informs them that the Greek army, eager for war, has learned of the seers advice and now demand that Iphigenia be sacrificed. If Agamemnon refuses, it is likely they will turn on him and kill him, Iphigenia, knowing she is doomed, decides to be sacrificed willingly, reasoning that as a mere mortal, she cant go against the will of a goddess
Iphigenia
–
François Perrier 's The Sacrifice of Iphigenia (17th century), depicting
Agamemnon 's sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia.
Iphigenia
–
Iphigenie (1862) by
Anselm Feuerbach
22.
Electra
–
In Greek mythology, Elektra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus princess of Argos. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Electra is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies. She is the character in two Greek tragedies, Electra by Sophocles and Electra by Euripides. She is also the figure in plays by Aeschylus, Alfieri, Voltaire, Hofmannsthal. In psychology, the Electra complex is named after her, electras parents were King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Her sisters were Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis, and her brother was Orestes, in the Iliad, Homer is understood to be referring to Electra in mentioning Laodice as a daughter of Agamemnon. Electra was absent from Mycenae when her father, King Agamemnon, returned from the Trojan War to be murdered, either by Clytemnestras lover Aegisthus, by Clytemnestra herself, or by both. Clytemnestra had held a grudge against her husband Agamemnon for agreeing to sacrifice their eldest daughter, Iphigenia, when he came back, he brought with him his war prize, Cassandra, who had already borne his twin sons. Aegisthus and/or Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon upon his arrival, and they killed Cassandra as well, eight years later, Electra was brought from Athens with her brother, Orestes. According to Pindar, Orestes was saved by his old nurse or by Electra, and was taken to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, when Orestes was 20, the Oracle of Delphi ordered him to return home and avenge his fathers death. Orestes and his friend Pylades, son of King Strophius of Phocis and Anaxibia, killed Clytemnestra, before her death, Clytemnestra cursed Orestes. The Erinyes or Furies, whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety and they pursue Orestes, urging him to end his life. Electra was not hounded by the Erinyes, in Iphigeneia in Tauris, Euripides tells the tale somewhat differently. In his version, Orestes was led by the Furies to Tauris on the Black Sea, the two met when Orestes and Pylades were brought to Iphigeneia to be prepared for sacrifice to Artemis. Iphigeneia, Orestes, and Pylades escaped from Tauris, the Furies, appeased by the reunion of the family, abated their persecution. This poem forms part of the cycle referred to as the New Oresteia. Electra is the narrator of her story in the book Electra by Henry Treece. In the Marvel Comics universe, the character Elektra Natchios is partly based on Electra, media related to Electra at Wikimedia Commons Electra public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Electra
–
Electra at the Tomb of
Agamemnon,
Frederic Leighton c. 1869
Electra
–
Orestes, Electra and
Hermes at the tomb of
Agamemnon,
lucanian red-figure
pelike,
c. 380–370 BC,
Louvre (K 544)
23.
Furies
–
In Greek mythology the Erinyes, also known as the Furies, were female chthonic deities of vengeance, they were sometimes referred to as infernal goddesses. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as the Erinyes, walter Burkert suggests they are an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath. They correspond to the Dirae in Roman mythology, the Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote that they are called Eumenides in hell, Furiae on earth, and Dirae in heaven. According to variant accounts, they emerged from a more primordial level—from Nyx. Their number is usually left indeterminate, Virgil, probably working from an Alexandrian source, recognized three, Alecto or Alekto, Megaera, and Tisiphone or Tilphousia, all of whom appear in the Aeneid. Dante Alighieri followed Virgil in depicting the same three-character triptych of Erinyes, the word Erinys in the singular and as a theonym is first attested in Mycenaean Greek, written in Linear B, in the following forms,
Furies
–
Orestes at
Delphi flanked by
Athena and
Pylades among the Erinyes and
priestesses of the
oracle, perhaps including
Pythia behind the tripod - Paestan
red-figured bell-krater, c. 330 BC
Furies
–
Two Furies, from a nineteenth-century book reproducing an image from an ancient vase.
Furies
–
The Remorse of
Orestes, where he is surrounded by the Erinyes, by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1862
24.
Homer
–
Homer is the name ascribed by the ancient Greeks to the semi-legendary author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems which are the central works of Greek literature. The Odyssey focuses on the home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Many accounts of Homers life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a bard from Ionia. The modern scholarly consensus is that these traditions do not have any historical value, the Homeric question - by whom, when, where and under what circumstances were the Iliad and Odyssey composed - continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion on the authorship question falls into two camps, one group holds that most of the Iliad and the Odyssey is the work of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the crystallization of a process of working and re-working by many contributors and it is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century B. C. Most researchers believe that the poems were transmitted orally. The Homeric epics were the greatest influence on ancient Greek culture and education, to Plato, the chronological period of Homer depends on the meaning to be assigned to the word Homer. Was Homer a single person, an imaginary person representing a group of poets and this information is often called the world of Homer. The Homeric period would in that cover a number of historical periods, especially the Mycenaean Age. Considered word-for-word, the texts as we know them are the product of the scholars of the last three centuries. Each edition of the Iliad or Odyssey is a different, as the editors rely on different manuscripts and fragments. The term accuracy reveals a belief in an original uniform text. The manuscripts of the work currently available date to no earlier than the 10th century. These are at the end of a missing thousand-year chain of copies made as each generation of manuscripts disintegrated or were lost or destroyed and these numerous manuscripts are so similar that a single original can be postulated. The time gap in the chain is bridged by the scholia, or notes, on the existing manuscripts, librarian of the Library of Alexandria, he had noticed a wide divergence in the works attributed to Homer, and was trying to restore a more authentic copy. He had collected several manuscripts, which he named, the Sinopic, the one he selected for correction was the koine, which Murray translates as the Vulgate. Aristarchus was known for his selection of material
Homer
–
Idealized portrayal of Homer dating to the
Hellenistic period.
British Museum.
Homer
–
Part of an 11th-century manuscript, "the Townley Homer". The writing on the top and right side are
scholia.
Homer
–
Homer and His Guide, by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905), portraying Homer on
Mount Ida, beset by dogs and guided by the goatherder Glaucus (as told in
Pseudo-Herodotus)
Homer
–
Raphael 's inspired Homer on
Mount Parnassus.
25.
Aeschylus
–
Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the father of tragedy, academics knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in theater allowing conflict among them, fragments of some other plays have survived in quotes and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyrus, often giving us surprising insights into his work. He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy, at least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians second invasion of Greece. This work, The Persians, is the surviving classical Greek tragedy concerned with contemporary events. Despite this, Aeschylus work – particularly the Oresteia – is generally acclaimed by modern critics and scholars. As soon as he woke from the dream, the young Aeschylus began to write a tragedy, and his first performance took place in 499 BC and he won his first victory at the City Dionysia in 484 BC. In 510 BC, when Aeschylus was 15 years old, Cleomenes I expelled the sons of Peisistratus from Athens, Cleisthenes reforms included a system of registration that emphasized the importance of the deme over family tradition. In the last decade of the 6th century, Aeschylus and his family were living in the deme of Eleusis, the Persian Wars played a large role in the playwrights life and career. In 490 BC, Aeschylus and his brother Cynegeirus fought to defend Athens against the army of Darius I of Persia at the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians emerged triumphant, a victory celebrated across the city-states of Greece, Cynegeirus, however, died in the battle, receiving a mortal wound while trying to prevent a Persian ship retreating from the shore, for which his countrymen extolled him as a hero. In 480, Aeschylus was called into service again, this time against Xerxes Is invading forces at the Battle of Salamis. Ion of Chios was a witness for Aeschyluss war record and his contribution in Salamis, Salamis holds a prominent place in The Persians, his oldest surviving play, which was performed in 472 BC and won first prize at the Dionysia. Aeschylus was one of many Greeks who were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, initiates gained secret knowledge through these rites, likely concerning the afterlife. Firm details of specific rites are sparse, as members were sworn under the penalty of not to reveal anything about the Mysteries to non-initiates. Nevertheless, according to Aristotle, Aeschylus was accused of revealing some of the secrets on stage. Other sources claim that a mob tried to kill Aeschylus on the spot. Heracleides of Pontus asserts that the tried to stone Aeschylus
Aeschylus
–
Bust of Aeschylus from the
Capitoline Museums,
Rome
Aeschylus
–
Bust of Aeschylus at
North Carolina Museum of Art
Aeschylus
–
Modern picture of the
Theatre of Dionysus in
Athens, where many of Aeschylus's plays were performed
Aeschylus
–
Mosaic of
Orestes, main character in Aeschylus's only surviving trilogy,
The Oresteia
26.
Oresteia
–
This trilogy also shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theater trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC, many consider the Oresteia to be Aeschylus finest work. The principal themes of the include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. Orestia originally included a satyr play Proteus following the tragic trilogy, Agamemnon is the first of the three plays within the Oresteia trilogy. It details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Mycene, from the Trojan War, after ten years of warfare, Troy had fallen and all of Greece could lay claim to victory. Waiting at home for Agamemnon is his wife, Queen Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder. The play opens to a watchman looking down and over the sea, reporting that he has been lying restless like a dog for a year and he laments the fortunes of the house, but promises to keep silent, A huge ox has stepped onto my tongue. The watchman sees a far off in the distance and is overjoyed at the victory. Clytaemnestra is introduced to the audience and she declares that there will be celebrations and sacrifices throughout the city as Agamemnon, upon the return of Agamemnon, his wife laments in full view of Argos how horrible the wait for her husband, and King, has been. After her soliloquy, Clytaemnestra pleads, and later convinces Agamemnon to walk on the laid out for him. This is a very ominous moment in the play as loyalties and motives are questioned, the Kings new concubine, Cassandra, is now introduced and this immediately spawns hatred from the queen, Clytaemnestra. Cassandra is ordered out of her chariot and to the altar where, once she is alone, is crying out insane prophecies to Apollo about the death of Agamemnon. Inside the house a cry is heard, Agamemnon had been stabbed in the bathtub. The chorus separate from one another and ramble to themselves proving their cowardice when another final cry is heard, when the doors are finally opened, Clytaemnestra is seen standing over the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytaemnestra describes the murder in detail to the chorus, showing no sign of remorse or regret, suddenly the exiled lover of Clytaemnestra, Aegisthus, bursts into the palace to take his place next to her. Aegisthus proudly states that he devised the plan to murder Agamemnon, Clytaemnestra claims that she and Aegisthus now have all the power and they re-enter the palace with the doors closing behind them. Upon arriving, Orestes reunites with his sister Electra at Agamemnons grave, shortly after the reunion, both Orestes and Electra, influenced by the Chorus, come up with a plan to kill both Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus. Orestes then heads to the door where he is unexpectedly greeted by Clytaemnestra
Oresteia
–
Agamemnon walks on the carpet of sacred peplos garments.
Oresteia
–
The murder of
Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church
Oresteia
–
Orestes, Electra and Hermes in front of Agamemnon's tomb by Choephoroi Painter
Oresteia
–
"Orestes wird von den Furien verfolgt" (
Orestes Pursued by the Furies) by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
27.
Cassandra
–
Cassandra, also known as Alexandra or Kassandra, was a daughter of King Priam and of Queen Hecuba of Troy in Greek mythology. In modern usage her name is employed as a device to indicate someone whose accurate prophecies are not believed by those around them. In an alternative version, she fell asleep in a temple, Cassandra became a figure of epic tradition and of tragedy. Hjalmar Frisk notes unexplained etymology, citing various hypotheses found in Wilhelm Schulze, Edgar Howard Sturtevant, J. Davreux, R. S. P. Beekes cites García Ramóns derivation of the name from the Proto-Indo-European root *kend- raise. Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba and the twin sister of Helenus. According to legend, Cassandra had dark curly hair and dark brown eyes and was both beautiful and clever, but considered insane. However, her perceived insanity is the result of being cursed by the god Apollo, many versions of the myth relate that she incurred the gods wrath by refusing him sex, sometimes after first promising herself in exchange for the power of prophecy. Hyginus says, In another version, Cassandra consented to have sex with Apollo in exchange for the gift of prophecy and her punishment was the curse of never being believed. In some versions of the myth, Apollo curses her by spitting into her mouth during a kiss, in Aeschylus Agamemnon, she foretells the betrayal of Clytemnestra. She also bemoans her relationship with Apollo, Cassandra had served as a priestess of Apollo and her cursed gift from Apollo became a source of endless pain and frustration to Cassandra. Cassandra was seen as a liar and a madwoman by her family, in some versions of the story, she was often locked up in a pyramidal building on the citadel on her father King Priam’s orders. She was accompanied there by the wardress who cared for her under orders to inform the King of all of his daughters prophetic utterances. She was driven insane by this in the versions where she was incarcerated, though in the versions where she was not. According to legend, Cassandra had instructed her twin brother Helenus in the power of prophecy so he could be a prophet, like her, Helenus was always correct whenever he had made his predictions, but unlike his sister, people believed him. Cassandra made many predictions, with all of her prophecies being disbelieved except for one and she was believed when she foresaw who Paris was and proclaimed that he was her abandoned brother. This took place after he had sought refuge in the altar of Zeus from their brothers’ wrath, Cassandra foresaw that Paris’ abduction of Helen for his wife would bring about the Trojan War and cause the destruction of Troy. She did warn Paris not to go to Sparta along with Helenus who echoed her prophecy, Cassandra saw Helen coming into Troy at Paris return home from Sparta. She furiously snatched away Helens golden veil and tore at her hair, for she had foreseen that Helens arrival would bring the calamities of the Trojan War, the Trojan people, however, welcomed Helen into their city
Cassandra
–
Cassandra by
Evelyn De Morgan (1898, London); Cassandra in front of the burning city of Troy at the peak of her insanity.
Cassandra
–
Woodcut illustration of Cassandra's prophecy of the fall of Troy (at left) and her death (at right), from an incunable German translation by
Heinrich Steinhöwel of
Giovanni Boccaccio 's
De mulieribus claris, printed by Johann Zainer (de) at Ulm ca. 1474.
Cassandra
–
Ajax and Cassandra by
Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1806
Cassandra
–
Ajax taking Cassandra, tondo of a
red-figure kylix by the Kodros Painter (el), c. 440-430 BC,
Louvre
28.
Seneca the Younger
–
Seneca the Younger, fully Lucius Annaeus Seneca and also known simply as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and—in one work—humorist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. As a tragedian, he is best-known for his Medea and Thyestes and he was a tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. He was forced to take his own life for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, however, some sources state that he may have been innocent. His father was Seneca the Elder, his brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus. Seneca was born in Cordoba in Hispania, and raised in Rome, griffin also infers from the ancient sources that Seneca was born in either 8,4, or 1 BC. She thinks he was born between 4 and 1 BC and was a resident in Rome by AD5, Seneca says that he was carried to Rome in the arms of his mothers stepsister. Griffin says that, allowing for rhetorical exaggeration, means it is fair to conclude that Seneca was in Rome as a small boy. Be that as it may, it is clear that he was in Rome at an early stage in his life. Caligula and Fabius were critics of his works, and Columella, Pliny, Tacitus, from AD54 to 62, Seneca acted as Neros advisor, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus. One byproduct of his influence was that Seneca was appointed consul in 56. Senecas influence was said to have especially strong in the first year. Tacitus and Dio suggest that Neros early rule, during which time he listened to Seneca, however, the ancient sources suggest, over time, Seneca and Burrus lost their influence over the emperor. In 59 they had agreed to Agrippinas murder, and afterward. This may have contributed as well to his own downfall, following Burrus death in 62, Seneca became the subject of criticism by what Tacitus describes as Neros more disreputable advisers. Charges included allegations of excessive wealth, the grandeur of his property, Seneca requested an audience with Nero in which he sought permission to retire from public duties, pleading age and infirmity. The two then parted on apparently warm terms, Seneca subsequently adopted a quiet lifestyle on his country estates, concentrating on his studies and seldom visiting Rome. In AD65, Seneca was caught up in the aftermath of the Pisonian conspiracy, although it is unlikely that Seneca conspired, Nero ordered him to kill himself. Seneca followed tradition by severing several veins in order to bleed to death, a generation after the Julio-Claudian emperors, Tacitus wrote an account of the suicide, which in view of his Republican sympathies is perhaps somewhat romanticized
Seneca the Younger
–
Ancient bust of Seneca, part of the
Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca (
Antikensammlung Berlin)
Seneca the Younger
–
This Baroque marble imaginary portrait bust of Seneca, by an anonymous sculptor of the 17th century (
Museo del Prado).
Seneca the Younger
–
Manuel Domínguez Sánchez, The suicide of Seneca (1871),
Museo del Prado
Seneca the Younger
–
Plato, Seneca, and
Aristotle in a medieval manuscript illustration (c. 1325–35)
29.
Richard Strauss
–
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. Strauss was also a prominent conductor in Western Europe and the Americas, enjoying quasi-celebrity status as his compositions became standards of orchestral and operatic repertoire. Strauss was born on 11 June 1864 in Munich, the son of Josephine and Franz Strauss, in his youth, he received a thorough musical education from his father. He wrote his first composition at the age of six and continued to write music almost until his death, during his boyhood Strauss attended orchestra rehearsals of the Munich Court Orchestra, where he received private instruction in music theory and orchestration from an assistant conductor. In 1872 he started receiving violin instruction at the Royal School of Music from Benno Walter, in 1874 Strauss heard his first Wagner operas, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser. The influence of Wagners music on Strausss style was to be profound, but at first his musically conservative father forbade him to study it. Indeed, in the Strauss household, the music of Richard Wagner was viewed with deep suspicion, in later life, Strauss said that he deeply regretted the conservative hostility to Wagners progressive works. Nevertheless, Strausss father undoubtedly had a influence on his sons developing taste. In early 1882 in Vienna he gave the first performance of his Violin Concerto in D minor, playing a piano reduction of the part himself. The same year he entered Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he studied philosophy and art history, Strauss learned the art of conducting by observing Bülow in rehearsal. Bülow was very fond of the man and decided that Strauss should be his successor as conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra when Bülow resigned in 1885. Strausss compositions at time were indebted to the style of Robert Schumann or Felix Mendelssohn. 1, Op.11, is representative of this period and is a staple of modern horn repertoire, Strauss married soprano Pauline de Ahna on 10 September 1894. She was famous for being irascible, garrulous, eccentric and outspoken, throughout his life, from his earliest songs to the final Four Last Songs of 1948, he preferred the soprano voice to all others, and all his operas contain important soprano roles. The Strausses had one son, Franz, in 1897, Franz married Alice von Grab-Hermannswörth, daughter of a Jewish industrialist, in a Roman Catholic ceremony in 1924. Franz and Alice had two sons, Richard and Christian, some of Strausss first compositions were solo instrumental and chamber works. After 1890 Strauss composed very infrequently for chamber groups, his energies being almost completely absorbed with large-scale orchestral works and operas. Four of his pieces are actually arrangements of portions of his operas, including the Daphne-Etude for solo violin and the String Sextet
Richard Strauss
–
Richard Strauss, by
Max Liebermann, 1918
Richard Strauss
–
Signature of Dr. Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
–
Strauss age 22
Richard Strauss
–
Strauss with his wife and son, 1910
30.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
–
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal was an Austrian prodigy, a novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. His great-grandfather, Isaak Löw Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal, from whom his family inherited the noble title Edler von Hofmannsthal, was a Jewish merchant ennobled by the Austrian emperor and he began to write poems and plays from an early age. Some of his works were written under pseudonyms, such as Loris Melikow and Theophil Morren. He met the German poet Stefan George at the age of seventeen and had poems published in Georges journal. He studied law and later philology in Vienna but decided to devote himself to writing upon graduating in 1901, along with Peter Altenberg and Arthur Schnitzler, he was a member of the avant garde group Young Vienna. In 1900 Hofmannsthal met the composer Richard Strauss for the first time and he later wrote libretti for several of his operas, including Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier with Harry von Kessler, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die ägyptische Helena, and Arabella. In 1911 he adapted the 15th century English morality play Everyman as Jedermann, the play later became a staple at the Salzburg Festival. During the First World War Hofmannsthal held a government post and he wrote speeches and articles supporting the war effort, and emphasizing the cultural tradition of Austria-Hungary. The end of the war spelled the end of the old monarchy in Austria, nevertheless, the years after the war were very productive ones for Hofmannsthal, he continued with his earlier literary projects, almost without a break. In 1920, Hofmannsthal, along with Max Reinhardt, founded the Salzburg Festival and his later plays revealed a growing interest in religious, particularly Roman Catholic, themes. Among his writings was a screenplay for a version of Der Rosenkavalier directed by Robert Wiene. In 1901 he married Gertrud Gerty Schlesinger, the daughter of a Viennese banker, Gerty, who was Jewish, converted to Christianity before their marriage. They settled in Rodaun, not far from Vienna, and had three children, Christiane, Franz, and Raimund, on 13 July 1929 his son Franz committed suicide. Two days later, shortly after attending Franzs funeral, Hugo himself died of a stroke at Rodaun and he was buried wearing the habit of a Franciscan tertiary, as he had requested. In early 1929 his daughter Christiane married German indologist, Heinrich Zimmer, who taught at University of Greifswald, Heidelberg University, after they moved to New Rochelle, New York, her husband became a Visiting Lecturer in Philosophy at Columbia University. On 21 January 1933 his son Raimund married Ava Alice Muriel Astor, daughter of John Jacob Astor IV, after divorcing Ava in 1939, Raimund later married Lady Elizabeth Paget. On 18 October 1902 Hofmannsthal published a letter in the Berlin Daily. It was purportedly written in 1603 by Philip, Lord Chandos to Francis Bacon and this letter reflects the growing distrust of and dissatisfaction with language that so characterizes the Modern era, and Chandoss dissolving personality is not only individual but societal
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
–
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
–
The house where Hofmannsthal was born, at Salesianergasse 12,
Landstraße, Vienna 3
