Perseus
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Perseus is one of the heroes of Greek mythology. He was the son of Zeus and the beautiful woman Danaë. After a series of events that we won't get into, Perseus was given the task of bringing back the head of Medusa. Medusa was a Gorgon, a kind of female monster. She had writhing snakes instead of hair, and her gaze turned any living thing into stone.
To help him with his quest, the goddess Athena give Perseus a polished shield to use as a mirror so he could see Medusa without directly looking at her.
(Above: Athena advising Perseus in The Call of Perseus by Edward Burne-Jones, 1877)
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Zeus gave Perseus a sword of adamant, and Hermes (Mercury) lent him his winged sandals so he could fly.
(Above: Perseus by Marco Zagato, 2012. This modern Perseus is more well-hung than classical representations.)
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Perseus found his way to Medusa's cave, where, viewing her reflection in Athena's shield, he cut off her head with Zeus' sword.
(Above: a Roman fresco from the 1st century AD)
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The most famous work of art showing Perseus holding up the head of Medusa is this sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini, c. 1554.
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Here's a rear view of Cellini's sculpture.
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A similar sculpture by Antonio Canova, 1806, is in New York's Metropolitan Museum.
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And that sculpture also has a beguiling rear view.
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On his way back, Perseus stopped in a kingdom where the princess Andromeda was about to be sacrificed to a sea monster to stop it from ravaging the land. Using the head of Medusa, Perseus turned the sea monster into stone.
(Above: The Rescue of Andromeda by Henry Charles Fehr, 1893 in the Tate gallery, London)
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Having rescued the princess Andromeda, Perseus then married her.
(Above: Perseus and Andromeda, fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD)
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A man named Phineus claimed that he was already engaged to Andromeda. Although he had done nothing to try to save her from the sea monster, he and his followers attacked Perseus at the wedding. Perseus then held up Medusa's head, turning them into stone.
(Above: a detail from Perseus and Phineus by Annibale Carracci, 1597)
Perseus returned the gifts that the gods had given him, and he gave the head of Medusa to the goddess Athena, although it seems to me that it would have been a handy thing for Perseus to keep around.
11 comments:
Like all classical works, these males have small cocks. The second painting is,not classical, so Hermes was allowed a man-size dick. Too bad he wasn't depicted with a hard on.
Love your posts about myths.
And thank you for the Birthday wishes!
Hope Hermes lent Persia’s a jock too- he could lose guidance control with that thing flapping about!
I enthusiastically approve of Marco Zagato's version of Perseus. Resembles an NFL player minus the uniform.
I always loved the richness of the Greek mythology. So much more quaint and filled with thrilling adventures than what’s depicted in the Hebraic scriptures and whatever myths/religions it’s responsible for.
Watching a movie about Jesus or Moses can quickly become a bore (except for 'Monty Python's Life of Brian', of course :-)
Regarding Perseus I remember enjoying very much the 2010 movie 'Clash of the Titans'.
The sculptures are absolutely gorgeous!
The head of medusa would certainly be useful to show to some Republicans these days...
Athena didn't give the guy some Athena underwear. Her mistake.
Kynodesme, a strap of leather to keep the foreskin forward, often tied to a belt, or just to the proximal shaft.
They hide the glans, showing it was considered obscene, it was like you were erect
love Perseus by Marco Zagato
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