Once popular in wall paintings and miniatures across Europe, these legends were revived in the nineteenth century and adopted by the Pre-Raphaelites.
Waterhouse
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.
The punishments of Sisyphus, the Danaïds, Ixion, Tityus, Tantalus and Ocnus told in paintings by Titian, Claude, John Singer Sargent, and others.
Tragedy for the great bard, as his attempt to rescue Eurydice from the Underworld fails, and he is later torn limb from limb by furious Maenads.
After being entertained by Demodocus’ tale of Venus and Mars, Odysseus is delivered in the dead of night, still asleep, to a hidden harbour on Ithaca.
Odysseus is lashed to the mast as his ship passes the Sirens without being lured away. He’s the only survivor after shipwreck, then is trapped with Calypso for seven years.
She invited Odysseus and his crew to a feast, where she turned most of them into pigs. Odysseus avoids that fate, and later gets a prophecy from Tiresias.
A symbol of the harvest with Ceres, a weapon for Bacchantes, the sign of the Divine Reaper Saturn, used by Iris to cut locks of hair, and for cutting the cereal crop.
Before photography, the only opportunity to see your face, painters took advantage of the Venus Effect to break optical rules and show faces that couldn’t have been seen in the mirror.
The model for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this couple committed suicide when each presumed they had brought the death of the other.
The Eclectic Light Company 