One of the
more difficult subjects I have faced when studying Ancient Mythology is
identifying deities in physical evidence, vases, statues, mosaic, etc. In this
post I will look at various images, also a Disney television episode, and
discuss how the deity can be identified. Artemis is one of the goddesses that
is quite easy to recognise because she has multiple items she is affiliated
with. Clemente
Marconi
states that ‘she is often shown driving a
chariot, sometimes harnessed to stags, and she is usually readily identifiable
by her quiver or bow’. The chariot is drawn by deer that represents her
connection with the forest whilst the quiver and bow are obvious hunter’s
weapons. However she is not always represented by weapons, sometimes she can
also be seen holding a lyre instead of the bow, representing her being the
patron of maiden dancing and maiden song. Other attributes that can help
identify her are hunting spears, maiden knee length skirts, animal pelts,
hunting boots, wild beasts and torches. Now let us look at some depictions of
Artemis, the images are hyperlinked so if you click on them it will take you to
the original source.
In this vase from the late classical period, around 400-390 BC Artemis
can be identified by the maiden knee-length skirt, her bow and arrow and most
notably an animal skin cap. This vase depicts the War of the Giants also known
as the Gigantomakhia. In
such a detailed vase as this, where many other deities are present also
fighting, it could have been difficult to identify Artemis. However, she is the
only deity in a maiden knee length skirt and her bow and arrow together with
the animal skin cap makes her easy to separate out from the other deities.
(Louvre, Paris: S1677)
The image to the right is a drawing of a vase depicting Artemis and
Apollo. The vase is from the early classical period around 450 BC and depicts
Artemis holding an oinochoe jug and a lyre. I chose this vase painting to show
that Artemis is not always the one depicted holding the bow, therefore it is important
to remember that she is also associated with the lyre which, as I said before,
represent her patronage over maiden dancing and song. It could be argued that in
this particular instance Artemis was holding the lyre of Apollo and therefore
it is a representation of him instead, however I think that in this instance it
does not necessarily matter as the lyre represents them both and therefore
helps identify the two of them. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA: 00.347)
In one episode (YouTubevideo) of Disney’s Hercules: TheAnimated Series, Artemis recruits Hercules to protect the boars in her
forest from hunters. She is easily identified by her golden bow and arrow and
her association with animals. Disney have used Artemis and her affiliation with
boars to represent the fight against animal cruelty and teach younger
generations about conservation and the effect humans can have on the
environment around them. Even in modern times Artemis is used as a warning to
treat nature and animals with respect. Throughout the episode we can also see
that the animals love her, shown by them clinging to her and cuddling her,
adding some humour to a fairly sombre episode, the creators of the series have
probably here drawn on the fact that Artemis was the patron of wild animals and
birds.
I have
tried to show in this posting that Artemis is a fairly easy character to
identify, she has a large amount of attributes that makes it easy to recognise
her, even in larger groups of deities. For the future I hope to remember to
apply some of these methods when trying to identify other deities, it has
certainly been a good training exercise!
Bibliography:
- Marconi, C. (2004) GreekVases, Images, and Controversies: Proceedings of the Conference Sponsored bythe Center for the Ancient Mediterranean at Columbia University, 23-24 March 2002. Boston, MA: BRILL p. 75
- Theoi. The Gigantomakhia, War of the Giants. Available at:
http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/L20.1.html
Accessed on: 25/03-13
Images:
YouTube Video:
No comments:
Post a Comment