► “Greek Myths and Graffiti Murals”: “Collaboration With Resa McConaghy”:

►“Greek Myths and Graffiti Murals”: “Collaboration With Resa McConaghy”⭐:

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⇒About This Post. Abstract:

The following article is composed of two sections, each one of them including murals from Argentina and Canada, respectively. This post aims to analyze with a with a free, but still judiciously, well-founded criteria how certain mythological greek themes and characters might be recurrent, despite time and even against it.

As Resa and I found some graffitis which seemed to have mythological and even philosophical equivalents we decided we wanted to try to show those connections. Resa´s mural is from the University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) whilst mine are from The Planetarium (Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina). With that being said, we just wanted to say that, after finding many similarities, we are quite pleased with the outcome. Both of, Resa and I believe the convergences are striking. And being so, they broaden and deepen the value of the immortal Ancient Greek Legacy.

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⇒Section I. Murals: The Planetarium:🇦🇷

The Galileo Galilei planetarium, commonly known as Planetario, is located in Parque Tres de Febrero in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The building was officially opened to the public on April 5, 1968. It consists of a cylindrical framework with independent projectors for the Moon, the Sun and the visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) and two spheres in the extremes that project 8,900 stars, constellations and nebulas.

Nowadays the Planetarium is surrounded by a thin sheet metal with many murals on it. We´ll present here some of them, aiming to find mythological  and philosophical corollaries.

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⇒Eros and Psyche… And the Planetarium above them!:

 

This graffiti is quite the finding. It is based on an original painting “The abduction of Psyche” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1894). 

The artist included a Planetarium above the couple.

 

According to the greek myth Aphrodite was jealous due to men’s admiration for Psyche, so she asked her son, Eros, to poison men’ souls in order to kill off their desire for Psyche. But Eros fell in love with Psyche. Thus, against his mother´s wishes, he asked the west wind, Zephyr, to waft her to his palace.

They consummated their love that same night. But for that Eros had to make Psyche believe that he was an ugly beast, as the Oracle had told her parents that Psyche would marry an ugly beast whose face she would never be able to see. And apparently she firmly believed so!…

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⇒The Horned goat with human hands:

 

This mural with goat head and human hands might remind us of the constellation Capricornus .

Its name is Latin for “horned goat” or “goat horn” or “having horns like a goat’s”.

This constellation protected by Hestia, represents Pan, the god of the wild and shepherds. The myth tells us that, in order to escape Typhon, Pan cast himself into the river, making the lower part of his body look like a fish, and the rest a goat: Zeus, admiring his shrewdness, put this shape among the constellations .

However, in this mural, we lack of the sea elements… But the resemblance between hands and fins couldn´t go unnoticed, either way.

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⇒The Bull Surrounded by Snakes:

This mural seem to evoke the Great Greek Bull. It could be linked to the Minotaur.

 

According to the respective myth, after Pasiphae (the daughter of Helios, the Sun, by the eldest of the Oceanids Perse) become impregnated by a white bull, she gave birth to a sort of hybrid child, the bull-headed Minotaur.

 

Angered with his wife, Minos imprisoned the minotaur in the labyrinth of Crete in Knossos. Presumably, Minos was one of the three sons from the union of Europa and Zeus; when Zeus was in the form of a bull.

As to snakes, let´s remember the rod of Asclepius, God of Medicine and Apollo´s son. It symbolizes the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its skin is a symbol of rebirth and fertility. The Asclepius Wand, often confused with the Caduceus wand of Hermes, is the symbol of the medical profession.

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Cultic snake belonging to the god of healing Asclepius.

Statue of Asclepius with snake. 250 BC.

Pasiphae, the Mother of the Minotaur.

Roman Caduceus. 2nd century.

The Minotaur, in Greek Mythology, a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull.-

“The Passions of Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete, from the Story of Theseus” by Master of the Campana Cassoni (1510).-

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⇒Tiempo- Time:

 

The words on this mural mean: Time.
But what is exactly time. St Augustine of Hippo says in his “Confessions”: “What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know”… Time is such an elusive concept, indeed!.

In Greek mythology, Chronos was the personification of time, not to be confused with Cronus, the Titan and father of Zeus.
The Greeks had two different words for time: Chronos refers to numeric or chronological time, while another word kairos refers to the more qualitative concept of the right or opportune moment. The figure of Chronos was typically portrayed as a wise old man with a long grey beard: Father Time.
Furthermore, the Horae or Hours were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural flow of time, generally portrayed as personifications of nature in its different seasonal aspects, and with the cycle of the seasons themselves symbolically described as the dance of the Horae.

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Detail of an attic vase, depicting the Three Horae (Seasons). Period: Late Archaic (500 BC).

Ouroboros.

“Apollo and the Hours” by Georg Friedrich Kersting (1822).

“Chronos and his child” by Giovanni F. Romanelli, a 17th century depiction of Titan Cronus as “Father Time”.

Father Time and Baby New Year from Frolic & Fun, 1897.

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⇒Number 8. Toward Infinity… and beyond!:

This mural is certainly esoteric. The eyes, placed in circular shape, surround the central number eight (8).

Eight (8) is the Number of the perfection, the infinity. In mathematics the symbol of the infinity is represented by a 8 laid down.

The Pythagoreans believed that number 8 was the symbol of love and friendship, prudence and rational thinking. . It was the Pythagoreans who held that there are in man eight organs of knowledge; sense, fantasy, art, opinion, prudence, science, wisdom, and mind.

The person who actually introduced the infinity symbol was John Wallis, in 1655. This symbol is sometimes called the Lemniscate. It presumably evolved from the Etruscan numeral for 1000, which looked like this: CIƆ. There is another theory that he actually derived the infinity symbol from omega (ω), the last letter of the Greek alphabet. 

Ouroboros.

The ouroboros symbol, showing a a snake twisted into a horizontal figure eight (8) and biting its own tail, is also said to be a most plausible basis for the infinity symbol because it is a fitting depiction of endlessness.

As to the eyes in this mural, we could think of the Eye of Providence Symbol (which appears in the USA dollar bill). It represents the eye of God, the singular divine power that has created the entire universe. The eye is most times enclosed in a triangle. At times, the Eye is also depicted as surrounded by clouds or bursts of light. Both of these images are representative of holiness and divine glory and so, here too, the symbol signifies that the Almighty is keeping a watchful eye on His creation.

The Eye of Providence Symbol.

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⇒Section II. Murals: University of Toronto: 🇨🇦

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The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the grounds that surround Queen’s Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King’s College. It comprises twelve colleges, each with substantial autonomy on financial and institutional affairs.

The mural in question is in an underpass that runs from Hart House Circle under Queen’s Park Crescent West to Wellesley Street. Resa came across this mural as she walked under Queen’s Park Crescent. She went by Hart House and exited using the King’s Park Circle. In the slide show below you can see some photographs of the location and buildings. The mural comes soon after!. 

About Resa Mc Conaghy:

Resa is a canadian artist, costume designer and author. 

She hosts two blogs: Graffiti Lux and Murals and Art Gowns.

You can find her version of this post here. Furthermore, Resa has written a book, “Nine Black Lives”, available on Amazon. Find Resa on Twitter, too!.

(Disclaimer: All murals photographs and photographs from University of Toronto were taken by Resa and featured on her blog Graffiti Lux and Murals. © Resa McConaghy. 2017). Please check out Resa´s post regarding this collaboration here.

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⇒Damarchus / Lycanthropeis or Werewolf Man-Wolf:

This graffiti could be linked to the Werewolf Man-wolf, or Lycanthropeis. Meaning, a mythological human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction.

A few references to men changing into wolves are found in Ancient Greek literature and mythology.

For instance, Herodotus, wrote that the Neuri, a tribe he places to the north-east of Scythia, were all transformed into wolves once every year for several days, and then changed back to their human shape. 

Furthermore, we have the story of Damarchus. He was a victorious Olympic boxer from Parrhasia (Arcadia) who is said to have changed his shape into that of a wolf at the festival of Lycaea, only to become a man again after ten years. The festival of Lycaea involved human sacrifice to Zeus. A young boy was killed and then consumed by one of the participants, in this case by Damarchus, and as a result Zeus would transform the cannibal into a wolf.

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On the Left: A man wearing a wolf-skin. Attic red-figure vase, c. 460 BC. On the Right: Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf, engraving by Hendrik Goltzius. 16th century.

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⇒The Woman With an Extra Hand:

Following the hindu mythology pattern, according to which goddesses have many hands, we could conclude that having more than two hands is a mark of Divinity. Humans have two arms, so someone with multiple becomes special and out of the league. More hands at times also represents more strength.The multiplicity of hands also emphasizes the power and ability to perform several acts at the same time. 

As to number three, it represents the Holy Trinity. From a philosophical perspective, number  three is symbolic of the reconciliation of opposites, as with Hegel‘s dialectic: “thesis + antithesis = synthesis”.
Besides, it is both a lunar and a solar number.
The moon has three major phases – the two crescents and the full moon, while the sun has three primary points in its existence: the low winter solstice; the high summer solstice, and the two equinoxes of March and September.

⇒The Kholkikos Drakon or Colchian Dragon:

 

The Kholkikos Drakon or (Colchian Dragon) was the ever awake serpent that guarded the Golden Fleece in a grove sacred to Ares in Kolkhis. When the Argonauts came to aquire the Fleece, they had to get past it. There are two theories as towards how they past the Drakon, either Medea put the monster to sleep so Jason could grab the fleece while it slumbered or Jason slew it. There is also a belief that the monster swallowed Jason and then regurgitated him thanks to the power of Medea, so that Jason could then slay the beast. Different cultural traditions have portrayed dragons with reptilian or serpentine traits so that it may seem to resemble cobras, crocodiles or lizards. The word ‘dragon’ traces its origin in the Greek word ‘drakon’ that means a huge serpent or a giant sea fish.

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⇒Apollo (AKA previously Helios) and his Chariot:

Before Artemis became goddess of the moon, the Titaness Selene owned the Moon chariot, which she drove across the sky at night. Soon after, Artemis was the legatee of the carriage. In the same way, Apollo received the Chariot of the Sun, once Helios became identified with him.
Helios (Apollo), the Sun god, drives his chariot across the sky each day while Selene (Artemis) is also said to drive across the heavens. And, while the sun chariot has four horses, Selene´s (Artemis´) usually has two, described as “snow-white” by Ovid. 

As to the horse symbolism, it is often known as a solar symbol. Sometimes, horses are related to the sun, moon, and water. It acts as the mediator between Earth and Heaven. Horse symbolizes power, grace, beauty, nobility, strength, and freedom.

The woman looking at Apollo (former Helios) could be his twin sister, Artemis (Former Selene). Artemis was the Goddess of Hunting and of  Goddess of the Moon. In classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Both Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate, and all three were regarded as Lunar Goddesses, although only Selene was considered a personification of the moon itself.

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►Links Post:

https://goo.gl/9M3yb1

https://goo.gl/25jrss

https://goo.gl/BN7KEA

https://goo.gl/N0hD0x

https://goo.gl/z0y3Mr

https://goo.gl/rhZkZj

https://goo.gl/As9dYy

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►Greek Mythology: Atlas / Poem: “Atlas ♁”, by Eva Xanthopoulos.-

“Atlas holding up a celestial map”. Sculpture by Artus Quellinus. (17th century). Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

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Atlas (which means ‘very enduring’), was one of the Titans. He was son of  Iapetus (a Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia), and the Oceanid Clymene.

Atlas´ brothers were Prometheus (meaning ‘forethought’, the Titan who gave the human race the gift of fire and the skill of metalwork), Epimetheus (meaning ‘afterthought’. He was Pandora´s husband) and Menoetius (meaning “doomed might”).

Atlas was married to his sister, Phoebe (Titan and Goddess of Prophecy). 

He had numerous children, including  the Pleiades (the stars that announced good spring weather), the Hesperides (the maidens who guarded a tree bearing golden apples), the Hyades, (the stars that announced the rainy season), Hyas (Brother of the Hyades, and spirit of seasonal rains), the nymph Calypso, Dione (Goddess of the Oak and the personification of a more ancient Mother Goddess, and presumably, Aphrodite´s mother) and Maera. 

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“Clymene”, by John William Godward. (19th century). Clymene was Atlas´mother.

“Prometheus” by Gustave Moreau. (1868). Prometheus was Atlas´brother.

“Epimetheus Receiving Pandora”, by Henry Howard (1834). Epimetheus was Atlas´brother.

“The Pleiades” by Elihu Vedder (1885). The Pleiades were daughters of Atlas.

“Garden Of The Hesperides” by Edward Burne-Jones, (19th c). The Hesperides were the daughters of Atlas.

Detail from “Calypso receiving Telemachus and Mentor in the Grotto” by William Hamilton. (18th century). Calypso was daughter of Atlas.

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During the Titanomachy, the War between the Titans and  the Olympian gods for control of the heavens, Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans, while Prometheus and Epimetheus helped the Olympian gods.

Atlas was the leader in the batttle; however, being on the losing side, Zeus condemned him to eternally stand on the western side of Gaia (the earth) holding Uranus (the sky) on his shoulders.

Homer describes Atlas in his “Odyssey” as ‘deadly-minded’ and as holding the pillars which hold the heavens and earth apart.

Hesiod  in his “Theogony” also describes Atlas as holding up the heavens and locates him in the land of the Hesperides (female deities famed for their singing), which was far to the west, at the edge of the world.

Later tradition, including Herodotus, associates the god with the Atlas Mountains where the Titan was transformed from a shepherd into a huge rock mountain by Perseus (who had behead Medusa), using the head of the Gorgon Medusa with her deadly stare. (Note: the Gorgon Medusa was one of three ugly monsters who had snakes for hair, staring eyes, and huge wings).

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On the Left: “Medusa”, by Carvaggio (1595). On the Right: Statue of Perseus, holding Medusa´s head. Piazza della Signoria, Florence. Italy.

Both sides of The Titan. NYC, St. Patrick’s Cathedral/Rockefeller Center.

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Atlas was considered a source of great wisdom and founder of astronomy, and, according to Plato, in his dialogue “Critias”, he was the original king of Atlantis.

Atlas had been required to fetch the golden apples from the fabled gardens of the Hesperides which were sacred to Zeus´wife, Hera, and guarded by the fearsome hundred-headed dragon Ladon.  

Following the advice of Prometheus, Heracles (the grandson of Perseus) asked Atlas to get him the apples because he was the father of the Hesperides, who guarded the Golden Apples´Garden…

He was also requested to take the world onto his shoulders for a while, with the help of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.

But, Hercules tricked Atlas into taking the load back by asking Atlas to hold it while he shifted the load.

Hercules then took the apples and Atlas again shouldered the weight of the heavens.

Because the place where Atlas stood to perform his task was the westernmost end of the world known to the ancient Greeks, the ocean near him was called the Atlantic, meaning the “Sea of Atlas” in his honor.

Atlas’ best-known cultural association is in cartography / maps. The first publisher to associate the Titan Atlas with a group of maps was Antonio Lafreri, on an engraved title-page in 1572. However, he did not use the word “atlas” in the title of his work. The mapmaker Gerardus Mercator was the first to put a picture of Atlas holding up the world – not the heavens – on the title page of his book.

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On the Left: Atlas bears the world and the cosmos on his shoulders – from a 16th century English woodcut. On The Right: Atlas holding up the world on his back. Drawing by Danckerts, Justus.

“Atlas turned to stone” (The Perseus´Series), by Edward Burne Jones (1878).

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►Gallery: Atlas:

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►Links Post

http://atlascider.com/atlasmythology.html

http://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Atlas/atlas.html

https://mitologiahelenica.wordpress.com/2015/05/07/perseu-e-atlas/

http://www.mapforum.com/03/lafrscho.htm

http://www.ancient.eu/Atlas/

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I want to be your Atlas, so I can
chisel away at “alas,” and grant you
relief from worries of the past.

I want to create a globe out
of those woes
to carry on my shoulders—
just for a moment.

Just so you can exhale the words:

“At last”.

© 2015 – Eva PoeteX

Originally published on Eva PoeteX.-

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About Eva Xanthopoulos: She is a Greco-American Artist and Mystic Poet. She is also a  Supporter of various causes and Promoter of artists worldwide.

Learn More about Eva here 

Check out her Poetry blog!. Also make sure to follow Eva on Twitter and  Facebook.

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Eva Xanthopoulos AKA Eva Poetex.

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