Greek Love Myths Tour
Greek Love Myths
Greek Love Myths Tour of the Metropolitan
Most cultures have a set of the traditional stories we call myths. But no culture ever has produced such an amazing body of myth as the ancient Greeks. These myths have fascinated all subsequent Western cultures, and our art is full of them. But what myths in particular have interested us?
Myths about love and sex. Come on this stroll through the Met (originally developed as a special tour for Valentine’s Day) and learn about the Classical love myths and their depiction in artworks ancient and modern.
We’ll learn about the Greek love gods’ role in the Trojan War, Orpheus and his journey to the underworld, Theseus and the Minotaur, Pygmalion and his statue girlfriend Galatea, Orpheus and his dead girlfriend Eurydice, the story of Cupid and Psyche, and the many loves (straight and gay) of Zeus—not to mention love, sex, marriage, prostitution and even undergarments in many cultures!
PRIVATE TOURS
AVAILABLE
Private Tours Available For Groups, Corporate Events & More!
Auguste Rodin. Orpheus and Eurydice
The poet Orpheus, in despair at the death of his wife Eurydice, manages to descend to the underworld to ask for her back. The god Hades grants his request—but with one condition, that if he looks back at her as they ascend, he loses her forever. Orpheus fails, as was inevitable: indeed the point of the story is that the dead are gone, no matter how you feel. Rodin makes a dramatic image of the myth: Eurydice clings to Orpheus from behind, seeming weightless and witless, while Orpheus is uncomfortably torqued, with his hand in front of his eyes—perhaps about to give up and look to see if she is really there.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. The Judgment of Paris
Cranach depicts Paris as a (slightly misshapen) knight choosing between 3 perfect (indeed indistinguishable) examples of Renaissance nude women. That is to say they have the slightly pregnant-looking bellies and far-apart breasts that are typical of women in Renaissance art. All three also have the high (plucked) forehead that was fashionable. Venus is identified as the winner because Cupid is aiming his boy at her from on high. Also, in addition to the jeweled cap all three wear, she has a large red hat with many feathers, like Paris’ own.
Jean-Leon Gérôme Pygmalion and Galatea
The sculptor Pygmalion prays to Aphrodite for a woman like the statue he has made, and the goddess grants his request by bringing the statue to life. Here we see the couple kissing before the transformation is even complete: Galatea seems to be coming to life from the head on down, but her legs are still marble. Clearly Gérôme is having fun with the boundary between art and “reality” (within his painting), because in this version Cupid seems to have caused the love affair, but the Cupid who caused it is a fresco.