Foreword -- This thing of darkness: on the shifting role of myth in art -- Creation myths: the origins of gods and men -- The monster in the maze: Theseus and the Minotaur -- Divine wanderers: roaming the earth and the underworld -- Flying too close to the sun: Daedalus and Icarus -- Amorous gods: five tales of divine love and lust -- Altered states: three tales of transformation -- Narcissus: a one-sided love story -- Crime and punishment: four tales of human hubris -- Herakles: loves and labours -- Jason and the Argonauts: the dangers of a woman scorned -- The Trojan War: from the judgment of Paris to the return of Odysseus -- Oedipus and the Sphinx: no escaping fate.
Summary:
The first major survey to reveal the ways in which Classical mythology has inspired art throughout the last 2,500 years. From the films of Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers to Margaret Atwood's books and Arcade Fire's songs, Classical Greek and Roman myths continue to be a source of cultural inspiration. The struggles of heroes, both triumphant and tragic, with gods, monsters, and fate, exert a particular grip on our imagination. Visual artists have long expressed and reworked these foundational stories. This is the first book to unite myth-inspired artworks by ancient, modern, and contemporary artists, from Botticelli and Caravaggio to Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.