#greekmythology

After Ares, I thought it only appropriate to go in the opposite direction and design Aphrodite; goddess of love, pleasure, and fertility. We’ve all seen her depictions coming out of the sea spray on a scallop shell, born from the ocean (and from ouranus’ severed male penis which was cast down into the sea by cronus.)

But I chose to put her lounging at the base of a serene waterfall. It still references her water roots, but it isn’t depicting her birth, per se. She reclines on a swan (early depictions in ancient Greek art show her riding a swan, a symbol of grace and divinity) and underneath is the scallop shell. Aphrodite holds her sacred golden apple in her hand. (the one she won by Paris choosing her in the beauty contest between her, Athena, and Hera.) Upon her head is a golden crown, but more importantly, is her real sacred object; her golden chastity belt, which was said to invoke lust in gods and mortals alike.

Aphrodite’s entourage: Resting upon her arm, is EROS, the winged godling and her companion, (later becoming cupid in roman culture) who whispers sweet sensualities, while a couple EROTES (more winged godlings associated with sex and love) flitter above tossing flower petals. Frolicking at the lower left are three goddesses, the CHARITES (or Graces) who symbolize beauty, dancing and banquets. Swimming atop a dolphin is a NEREID, a reference to Aphrodite’s oceanic roots. and finally, Above right, near the waterfall, are three more goddesses, the HORAI, who represent the seasonal shifts and constellations.

This one was a challenge but super fun to do! Now… on to the next one! :D if you lo like the work I’m posting, please share it if possible, as it helps me get exposure.

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I was super excited to do this one, as I knew it would be full of dark drama. Ares; god of war, courage, and …civil order? (huh, who knew?) Here we have our raging, wrathful deity unleashing his fury in the bloodlust of battle. His sacred weapons glittering; the golden helmet, spear and shield.

Let’s dive into the symbolic imagery. I put a boar head icon on the shield to symbolize Ares turning into a boar and gorging the youth Adonis to death, after being jealous of the youth’s affair with Aphrodite. The serpents are creatures associated with Ares: the Colchian dragon (which guards the golden fleece in the sacred grove of Ares- from the Jason and the Argonauts myth) and the Ismenian dragon (which guards the sacred spring of Ares near Thebes)  

Flying above Ares shoulder is his daughter, the goddess of Victory, Nike. In the upper right are vultures, animals associated with Ares, and his sister Eris; goddess of discord. (the goddess who, unable to enter the banquet of the gods, threw in the golden apple inscribed “for the farest” causing strife for the women and ultimately bringing Paris into judge, as a precursor to Helen and the Trojan war). 

Galloping into battle below are three Scythian Amazon warrior women, the leader being Ares daughter; Queen Penthesilea, (who Achilles killed in battle at Troy and fell in love with her as she lay dying.)

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The Cult of Eleusis had a bi-annual rituals; in the spring “the lesser mysteries” in the fall. “the greater mysteries”, for over 2000 years, where all citizens (royalty and slaves alike) would make a pilgrimage to Eleusis to partake in a festival and initiation ritual tied to the myth of Demeter and her daughter’s kidnap by Hades into the underworld. This festival and ceremony would essentially initiate you, provide some spiritual insight, thereby guaranteeing a better position in the afterlife. (similar to a baptism guaranteeing a position in heaven, perhaps.) Only those who had committed murder or who could not speak greek were refused to participate. 

Citizens would make the 15 mile walk from Athens, all the while being shouted profanities upon by onlookers, to break down their egos. Unfortunately, as the crime of revealing the inner ceremony of the mysteries would be punishable by death, we can’t know for sure what took place in the inner sanctum during the main ceremony. What we do know is that something was drunk and something was “seen”. Many believe that the drink offered to initiates, the KYKEON, would produce a psychotropic, hallucinatory effect.  (perhaps tainted with ergot (rotten barley fungis), or maybe mushrooms.) Apparently the ritual had 3 stages (mirroring Persphones underworld journey) the descent, the search, and the ascent. Some believe the final act shown to the initiate was the cutting of an ear of grain, to symbolize the cyclical death and rebirth of nature. 

I drew Demeter holding her torch she uses to search for her missing daughter, and an ear of wheat grain to symbolize her role in agriculture. to the left we have the main players of the lost daughter myth. Hades behind, and Persephone in front, with Hecate beside, who helped Demeter find her daughter, and became Persephone’s attendant in Tartarus. On the right we have a woman pouring libations to help the wheat grow, then Demeter holding the cut grain.

OK, no 4, Mr. underworld..HADES! super fun piece to do. I didn't want him to feel evil, but TARTARUS is described as murky and deep, so it wasn’t going to be full of sunshine and rainbows. I love the idea of a silver and gold mine, as he is the god of wealth and precious minerals/metals. (hence the jewels in the bottom foreground) 

Its apt that this piece is done now, as Persephone, his wife, has joined him (forcing Demeter to bring forth winter). Hades holds his bird tipped scepter, and his helmet (or cap) of invisibility (the same one he gave to Perseus as one of his magical items to go and slay Medusa) .

Sitting Beside the throne is the three headed guard hound; CERBERUS, and in the deep, cavernous background we can the furies, those older, primordial creatures sent forth to punish bloodshed and murder with a family. (and who i cant wait to design and illustrate when i get back to the Oresteia's second play “Eumenides" (i.e. "furies”) 

Next will be DEMETER, and I’m super excited about her piece, because i will bring in the Eleusinian mysteries/cult of Demeter into the portrayal somehow.

Poseidon Cometh!  heheh. this one was super fun to do. I wanted to make it feel like the storm was coming with his arrival. As always, we’ve got some visual symbols in here. Ill list them for your guessing pleasure. 

1.) maiden beside Poseidon

2.) creatures pulling chariot

3.) child on dolphin

3.) half-fish/ half man creatures

4.) woman astride dolphin

So here’s my first Olympian illustration. I started with big daddy.

Can you all guess at the meaning of symbolism in the piece? (the animals, the winged figures above his hand, the eye-light beam-to figure on the temple?)

One challenge with these, is that I want to include a lot of visual references to the god’s story and background, but I don’t want the illustration to get too cluttered and overly busy. This becomes even more challenging as I add in textures, which can quickly become like a “visual noise.”