Header image
The image currently used as the heading for this website is the painting Minerva and the Triumph of Jupiter, which was painted in around 1706 by the French Neoclassical painter René-Antoine Houasse (lived c. 1645 – 1710). It depicts the Greek goddess Athena sitting at the right hand of her father Zeus, the ruler of the gods according to Greek mythology. Athena is clad in armor and is holding a spear. Behind Athena is the Aigis, the symbol of her power: a shield bearing the image of the severed head of the Gorgon Medousa.
Zeus is shown wielding a lightning bolt. Behind him sits an eagle, a bird which the ancient Greeks believed to be sacred to him. In the background behind Zeus is his sister Demeter, the Greek goddess who presided over agriculture and the harvest. She is easily identifiable by the fact that she has grain woven in her hair and is holding a sickle. In the foreground in front of Zeus is Hermes, the messenger of the gods, who is wearing a winged cap and sandals and is carrying a staff. Directly in front of Zeus stands Ganymede, Zeus’s cupbearer.
In the bottom left corner of the painting is Eros, the divine personification of lustful passion. In this painting, Eros is depicted a winged nude infant, but, as I explain in this article published on 18 February 2018, during the Classical Period (c. 510 – c. 323 BC), the ancient Greeks typically envisioned Eros as a nude adolescent boy—not a child.
Background image
The background image for this website is the fresco, The School of Athens, which was painted between 1509 and 1511 by the famed Italian Renaissance painter, Raphael. Each figure in the painting represents a famous Greek or Roman philosopher. For more information about this amazing and beautiful fresco, I highly suggest reading this article I published on 4 March 2019 in which I go through the entire painting and discuss each part in detail.
Site icon
The icon for this website is a photograph of the Tetrapylon of Aphrodisias, a monumental gateway from the ancient Greek city of Aphrodisias, which is located in what is now western Turkey. The gateway stands in front of a large forecourt in front of the ruins of the temple to the goddess Aphrodite. It dates to around 200 AD or thereabouts.
