Long ago, in the land of Cyprus, there once was a sculptor named Pygmalion, who became so appalled by the actions of prostitutes that he sought to correct in ivory the flaws he condemned in women of flesh and blood. In other words, Pygmalion’s disgust for women inspired him to create Galatea, a statue of unparalleled beauty. No one was like her, and soon Pygmalion himself became enchanted with his creation. With each stroke of his hammer and chisel, his affection grew. Despite her inanimateness, Pygmalion fell for the perfection of Galatea. Draping her with the finest of clothing, as well as adorning her with the loveliest of jewels, Pygmalion would continuously furnish Galatea with gifts ranging from seashells to flowers. Blinded by love, Pygmalion ignored the dilemma that she was carved in stone, and incessantly kissed her. That is until one day, during the festival of Aphrodite, Pygmalion decided to pray for a girl of the same likeness as his statue in order for his love to be returned. Moved by his passion, …show more content…
Similar to Pygmalion, Medusa was given powers by a goddess. Yet, Medusa wanted to use her curse for revenge. To explain, Medusa once was a beautiful mortal, almost as alluring as Galatea, but was punished by Athena with a revolting appearance and abhorrent snakes for hair after being raped in Athena’s temple by Poseidon. This curse not only destroyed her looks, but also her life. For this reason, Medusa would not stop until Athena suffered as much as she had for all eternity. Therefore, Medusa traveled to Cyprus, where Athena happened to be, with the intent of turning her into stone. Since Pygmalion swore to save anyone who transformed into a statue, “Mad Medusa” knew that he had to be dealt with. There was only one problem- Pygmalion was immune to Medusa’s powers. However… Galatea was
sculpture of Dionysos, it tells us about a little bit of culture. The unclothed Dionysos indicate a common
Sculpture is a medium that artists in ancient Greek commonly used to express spoken truths in an unspoken form. Every piece of ancient Greek sculpture has more than what the eye sees to explain the story behind the [in this case] marble.
Medusa had once been a beautiful women and was a normal person. She was not beautiful until she was turned into a gorgon by goddes Athena, because she caught her with poseidon in the temple. Medusa was killed by poseidon's son Percy Jackson, by killing her with a riptide sword and cutting off her head. Medusa was born during the Bronze age, and was ancient in that time. Her age was unknown, but she was a mortal in her existence.
Around the time 530 bce a statue was carved out of marble and given the name Anavyos Kouros. It represents a male figure completely nude. It is a sculpture in the round and stands a height of six foot four inches. Starting from the top we see the man's head. His hair looks odd to that of a normal human, it does not look like it belongs on his head. Looking at his facial structure his eyes are large similar to art of ancient Egypt. His nose, lips, cheeks, and ears are well defined and proportional. His body is muscular and he looks to be in great shape. The sculptor who made this paid close
In my examination of the works, I came across a particular sculpture that portrayed both beauty and craftsmanship. A 15th century sculpture (1490), made in Venice, Italy by Tullio Lombardo, shows a life-size figure of Adam. Titled Adam, the work is the most prominent in the gallery mostly because of its 6-foot standing. It immediately caught my attention and gave me a very realistic impression. One beige color and made of marble, Adam is depicted simply, yet the statue has intense emotions. His meaningful glance is seen in the upward and tilted head position. Adam has almost lifeless looking eyes and seems to be staring into the distance. With these sagging eyes, parted lips, and lacking posture I feel Adam’s guilt is displayed in this figure.
When beginning my sketch, I took a moment to analyze the work of art and found that the statue illuminated a sense of serenity. Like most viewers my initial reaction was to explore the statue from head to toe as I sought out the different elements and principles of art. The statue was close to life-size and just about my height, so looking straightforward we were eye to eye. I noticed the softness gathered about the facial structure, but all the same time the depth and complexity that was engulfed around the muscularity of the body. The rigorous symmetry was accounte...
The works of art from the Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenic Period developed physically and mentally, and the study of their aesthetic differences from period to period allow for a decided contrast and comparability. This interpretation has had a profound effect on the art world and that continues even in today’s world. The importance of Greek sculptures is evident in the storytelling of the gods, the people, and the culture. We use these sculptures as a tool to go back into the past of the Greek people, letting us admire how far mankind has truly come, whether it is in art or intelligence. Generation after generation has been and will continue to be able to see for themselves the society, culture and uniqueness of these periods through the wonderful sculptures that came out of ancient
Can a simple emotion such as love be regarded as one of the greatest weapons to create or attain power? It’s a renowned fact that human beings are by nature designed to need, crave, and even require love as part of their survival mechanisms. It comes to no surprise that one of the first accounts of antique poetry maintains love and the craving for it as its main theme; thereby, reinforcing the deep importance that it upholds in the lives of many individuals. Sappho’s “Deathless Aphrodite” clearly epitomizes the suffering and bitterness that arises from an unrequited love. In Sappho’s case, which portrays the case of many, she constantly finds herself in loneliness and despair for though she tries repeatedly, she is only let down recurrently as no one reciprocates the love she gives. It is only the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who holds
She places in people the desire to have sexual relations and causes fear in men of the power of seduction by women. Her marriage to her husband was ignored as she had affairs with immortal and mortal men. Her infidelity in her marriage places her on the side with Greek men, rather than Greek women because only Greek men were able to cheat on their wives; not the other way around. In conclusion, the three important rules discussed in this paper that Greek women were required to obey, can be seen in the myths of the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Whether or not the Greek goddesses obeyed or did not obey these rules, their importance to the Greek culture is ever strong.
archetypal figures: smacked the bronze backside (libido) of Aphrodite (Greek Water Goddess of love and beauty – vain and unfaithful like Neddy)
When we all hear the name Aphrodite, we can all reach agreement that the first point that comes to mind is love and beauty. In the “Ancient Roman Mythology” book, she is des...
Furthermore, the last words of the story – “I had to creep over him every time!” (214) – suggest that while the Narrator is freed from her husband, she is not truly freed from the room but circles it repeatedly. While Galatea’s metamorphosis reinforces Ancient Greek gender paradigms (women are incomplete without men) the
The primary focus of ancient Greek sculptures was that of the human body. Almost all Greek sculptures are of nude subjects. As the first society to focus on nude subjects, Greek sculptors attempted to "depict man in what they believed was the image of the gods and so would come to celebrate the body by striving for verisimilitude or true – likeness (realism and naturalism!)."(Riffert) Not only did the Greeks celebrate the human form in their art but also in everyday life. (Riffert) One of the favorite topics for sculptors was that of the athlete. In Greek culture athletes were described as "hero–athletes". (Riffert) This shows that athletes were revered and looked upon as heroes. The influence of athleticism is evident in many famous sculptures. I will attempt to show how the human form influenced Greek art. It is important to note that many of the Greek sculptures discussed do not exist in their original form but rather in Roman copies of the original bronze sculptures. (Riffert)
One of the best summarizes of Greeks’ gods attitude toward human is the claim of Aphrodite in Euripides’ Hippolytus that she will treat well the people who revere her power, but will “trip up” those who are proud towards her, and this pri...