One need only stroll through any major art museum to come to the conclusion that many great artists are inspired by mythology. At first blush, the fascination with mythology might seem as if the artists are hiding from reality and retreating into fantasy. However, one who believes that has only a limited understanding of the role of mythology in culture, because myths “are not childish stories or mere pre-scientific explanations of the world, but serious insights into reality.” This is because mythical themes help explain cultural norms, and how various cultural groups approach major issues like sex, death, marriage, childbirth, and war.
One of the more interesting characters in mythology is the Roman goddess Venus. Venus was the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, and the Roman version of the goddess was largely influenced by the earlier Greek myths about Aphrodite. Venus played a major role in Roman culture during the Roman Republic and empire, and was associated with love, beauty and fertility. She was also considered the literal ancestor of the Roman people. The Birth of Venus was painted by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli in 1484 or 1485, though its origin and patron are otherwise unknown.
The myth of the birth of Venus is incredibly symbolic. According to both Greek and Roman mythology, Uranus, the ruler of the universe, was killed by his son Saturn. Uranus had been intent upon hiding some of his children, which enraged Gaia, Saturn’s mother. Saturn used a giant sickle and ambushed Uranus, cutting off his genitals, castrating Uranus, and casting the severed member into the sea. Accounts vary, but either Uranus’ blood or semen created several different varieties of mythical demi-gods. In addition...
... middle of paper ...
...ooking left arm or her oddly-long neck.
Sexuality has played an important role in art, since its very beginning. Mythology has played a similarly important role in human culture. It is not surprising, then, that mythology, culture, art, and sexuality have a unique relationship. Botticelli’s portrayal of Venus’ birth brings together those elements to reveal how female sexuality has been portrayed as threatening and healing at the same time. In this way, Botticelli uses an existing myth to contrast with modern attitudes about sexuality, making the viewer question their own moral standards.
References
Botticelli, S. (1485). The birth of Venus. Retrieved March 19, 2009 from Artchive. Web site:
http://artchive.com/artchive/B/botticelli/venus.jpg.html
Cavendish, R. Ed. (1980). An illustrated encyclopedia of mythology. New York: Crescent
Books.
There have been different significant meanings about the Venus of Willendorf, which is fertility, good luck, and a mother goddess. The Venus of Willendorf statue was found at Willendorf, Austria in 1908. It is 4 3/8 inches and made between 28,000-25,000 B.C.E. It was made from limestone with a tint of red orchard. It has an abstract body of a nude woman with enlarged parts. She has little hand that overlap over the breast, and appear to have no feet. There is no face on the head, but it appears to be a cap or maybe curls on the head.
From the very start we see Apuleius using references to Roman myths as similes to everyday occurrences. When Fotis, the slave, enters his bedroom to make love to him, he remarks that "she stood, transformed into a living statue: the Love-goddess rising from the sea. The flushed hand with which she pretended to screen her mount of Venus showed that she was well aware of the resemblance; certainly it was not held there from modesty." He describes a slave girl trying to seduce him as Venus rising out of the sea. Some of this description may be a hyperbole for Lucius' love of Fotis. However, Apuleius goes beyond this by linking Fotis directly to Venus. Thus, the most beautiful goddess in the Pantheon is easily seen in a slave girl. Similarly, Thelyphron, when telling the story how members of a household attacked him, describes himself as feeling "like Adonis mauled by the wild boar, or Orpheus torn in pieces by the Thracian women." This...
It is determined the Antonine Woman as Venus is a woman of aristocratic status. The portrait is made of fine-grain marble, a medium only upper-class persons could afford. Also, only persons of wealth could afford to have such a protrait made. The woman is portrayed as Venus, a goddess who is connected to the imperial family, and members of a royal family would often have themselves depicted as a deity. (De Puma 26) We know she is being portrayed as Venus because of her bare breast and the upper-arm ring. The bare breast is a key to Venus because she is the goddess of sexuality and desirability. The upper arm ring can be an attribute of Venus as the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus) by Praxiletels displays the same jewelry on a nude body. (Fantham 175)
Cupid Chastised tells a Greco- Roman mythological story. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, had been having an affair with Mars, the god of war. Accordingly, Mars takes his anger out on Cupid, (again, the title is suggests the story), the god of desire, for creating the adulterous attraction. Manfredi’s painting depicts the very moment of Cupid’s chastisement, with Venus there trying to abate Mars’ violent actions. (ARTIC)
The society in which classical myths took place, the Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal one. By taking a careful gander at female characters in Greco-Roman mythology one can see that the roles women played differ greatly from the roles they play today. The light that is cast upon females in classical myths shows us the views that society had about women at the time. In classical mythology women almost always play a certain type of character, that is to say the usual type of role that was always traditionally played by women in the past, the role of the domestic housewife who is in need of a man’s protection, women in myth also tended to have some unpleasant character traits such as vanity, a tendency to be deceitful, and a volatile personality. If one compares the type of roles that ladies played in the myths with the ones they play in today’s society the differences become glaringly obvious whilst the similarities seem to dwindle down. Clearly, and certainly fortunately, society’s views on women today have greatly changed.
As in some cultures today, some people think if a woman is little overweight, she will be able to bear a child whereas, a thin woman will not be able. Also, another culture, is men would divorce their wife because she is infertile and that is a humiliating for the man in society. According to Russ Meyer article“She is hen, nest, egg…” (Chang 1). This proves that even today “Venus of Willendorf” has impacted people around the world today and she was made almost a century
In conclusion, mythology has played such an influential role in art because the epic tales over hundreds of years, still to this day, give us many life lessons. Not only are these tales still relevant today, but they will continue to be important in the years to come. Myths help people learn from past mistakes, just like history. Mythology offers many morals and themes that can apply to anyone no matter the current life situation. Myths also show heroes, underdogs, and villains realistically even if the people aren’t particularly
The author of the Latin poem, The Vigil of Venus, remains a mystery, along with the date it was penned. Many have speculated who might have written this piece of poetry, but no one can be certain. It is assumed that it was written in early spring on the eve of the festival of Venus, and set it what might be Sicily. The writer is focused on the natural world, and seems motivated by love, spring, and hope of the renewal of both. Some believe this particular piece is seen through the eyes of Venus, known in Greek mythology as the mother of the Roman people. Critics might argue that this poem somehow suggests the imminent fall of the Roman Empire, and while I agree with this possible explanation, I could argue
Nude portraiture has been a canon in the world of art for centuries. Whether it be on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel from the hands of Michelangelo or sketches from an aspiring artist trying get a model’s curves just right, the subject matter of nudity has been a key characteristic in the development of art, an artist’s skills, and consequently the context the nude figure has been portrayed in. As the movements progressed, not only did the stylistic approach to nudity change, but also a shift in the position nude subject matter held in a painting – a transformation from prestige to notoriety. Classical and Neoclassical eras emphasized the ideal nude body, usually a god or goddess. But as time went on and different styles developed, movements
The age of the figurine has been changed several times. Originally, when found, the date was estimated to be 15,000 to 10,000 BCE. During the 1970’s the time period was adjusted to 25,000 to 20,000 BCE; the date was again recalculated in the 1980’s to 30,000 to 25,000 BCE; the most recent estimate of age was in the 1990’s and was placed at 24,000 to 22,000 BCE after scientific research was performed on the rock stratification. This statuette was discovered by Josef Szombathy in 1908 near the town of Willendorf, Austria, in an Aurignacian loess deposit, which loosely defined is a yellow brown loamy geological deposit dating to the Paleolithic period. The name Venus was first associated with the figurine as a joke.
Have you ever heard of Aphrodite? Or maybe, the goddess of love and beauty? If you have heard of one, you have heard of the other, because, Aphrodite and the goddess of love and beauty are the same person! Every greek god has a roman name. For example, Aphrodite’s roman name is Venus, named after a person with a famous armless statue. In myths, Aphrodite is usually found on Mount Olympus or on the Island of Cypress. Aphrodite has the power of transforming something ordinary to something beautiful. Another power that Aphrodite has is attracting lots of men.
The Venus of Willendorf and the Venus de Milo are two ancient day venus sculptures representing two different views on beauty. The Venus of Willendorf is a small 4.5 inch limestone figure of a Goddess which is believed to be used as a fertility symbol, while the Venus de Milo is a tall ancient Greek statue of a Goddess which is said to represent love and beauty. The Venus of Willendorf’s body structure is very different than that of Venus de Milo. The venus of Willendorf appears to be a short lady with a large emphasis on her reproductive organs, breasts and stomach area whereas the Venus de Milo appears to be very tall with smaller breasts, and a really athletic build. She appears to have abs and looks as if she has not had children before, while the Venus of Willendorf looks like she has had children due to her huge breasts and stretched out belly button. The Venus
Images of biblical women have been used for centuries but some are much more controversial than others. One of the most infamous women associated with the bible is only directly mentioned in the bible once. Lilith is a woman whose story stems from Babylonian myths, demonology, and was the answer to a conflict in the Jewish creation story. She first appears in the folklore and more importantly the story of Gilgamesh, her story has grown into a femme fatale. The effect of social constructs on the interpretation of femme fatale archetypes such as Lilith are evident in the comparison of Lilith’s mythological beginnings to sexualized representation in Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Lady Lilith 1886. This transformation can be understood through analyzing the mythology surrounding Lilith, application of Jungian female archetypes, and the examination of art associated with Lilith.
According to the Greek creation myth, the world was nothing but darkness that a bird named Nyx lived inside. Nyx laid a golden egg with the wind, and for a very long time, she sat upon the egg. After a while, the egg hatched and out came Eros, the god of love. The broken pieces became the sky and the earth also known as Uranus and Gala, and Eros made them fall in love. Uranus and Gaia had many children and after a while, their children became scared of their own offsprings power. Kronos, who was Uranus and Gala's son, feared his children so much so that he would eat them while they were infants. Kronos's wife Rhea hid their youngest child and fed Kronos a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes so that he would not know the truth. When Zeus, Kronos
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli depicts a moment from Venus birth when she stepping, almost floating, off the seashell that was blown ashore by Zephyors along with Chloris. Horae awaits Venus arrival to shore with a large red cloak to cover her naked body .Venus is the Roman goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility, and prostitution. Venus is the Roman Aphrodite. Born of seafoam from a singled drop of blood in to the sea from the castration of her farther Uranus by his son Saturn.