Waiting the knight’s end, watching a sorceress, flying over a wheat field, or in front of a sleigh. Wherever they go they seem sinister.
myth
Companions to valkyries, accompanying the Wild Hunt, at the Crucifixion and executions, or the first sign of Spring?
Wielded by the Etruscan god of death Charun, Hephaistos or Vulcan, Jael as she killed Sisera, those who nailed Christ to the cross, and the Norse god Thor.
A tragedy with a happy outcome, painted by Waterhouse, Kauffman, Paulus Bor, Delacroix, Maurice Denis and Lovis Corinth.
Dogs guarding the underworld, attributes of Diana, discovering Tyrian purple, gathering scraps under the Last Supper, and telling part of the story.
The abduction of Proserpine, Acis and Galatea, Scylla and Glaucus, the Battle of Himera, and the funeral of Timoleon, and great Greek general.
Associated with Dionysus/Bacchus and his followers, it’s basically a staff decorated with plant matter. Seen here in different variants from Pompeii onwards.
The sign of (human) death. Lots of skulls means mass death or apocalypse. Held by Hamlet, featured in vanitas paintings, and with Mary Magdalene.
Summary of each episode in this 26-part series covering the Epic Cycle of Troy, from Zeus deciding to reduce the weight of people on the earth, to the death of Odysseus.
Janus, Hecate, the personification of Deceit, Cerberus guardian of the Underworld, and the Lernean Hydra.
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