ENG 215 & HIS 215: Classical Western Mythology

How to Read Bible Stories and Myths in Art explores the roots of Western civilization from three different angles: it introduces the reader to the best-known stories from the Bible and mythology; it presents a selection of exquisite masterpieces by some of the world's greatest painters; and it shows the reader how these painters interpreted these famous scenes.

As archetypes of human virtue and vice, the gods and heroes of ancient Greece and Rome have figured prominently in Western culture. In art, they have been portrayed time and time again, especially during the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods. Gods and Heroes in Art aims to help museum patrons and art lovers recognize the legendary characters of classical antiquity in art.

The stunning masterpieces of Ancient Greece and Rome are fundamental to the story of art in Western culture and to the origins of art history. The expanding Greek world of Alexander the Great had an enormous impact on the Mediterranean superpower of Rome. Generals, rulers, and artists seized, imitated, and re-thought the stunning legacy of Greek painting and sculpture, culminating in the greatest art-collector the world had ever seen, the Roman emperor, Hadrian.

In The Art of Greece and Rome Susan Woodford illuminates the great achievements of classical art and architecture and conveys a sense of the excitement that fired the creative artists of the ancient world. The Greeks were quick to challenge time-honored styles and, stimulated by the problems that sometimes emerged from their daring innovations, they invented solutions that have been considered classics ever since. The Romans recognized the Greek achievement and built on it, adding a talent for organization and flair for architectural construction on a huge scale to create an impressive art of their own.

Myths inspired Greek and Roman artists to rise to the challenge of conveying flowing narratives in static form. This book describes the different ways painters, sculptors and other artists explored and exploited the dense forest of myth. It explains how formulas were devised for certain stories; how these could be adapted, developed and even transferred to other contexts; how one myth could be distinguished from another - or confused with it; how myths related to daily life or political propaganda; and the influence of evolving tastes.

With this illustrated catalogue, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Städelsch Kunstistitut present the other face of the Golden Age - the painters of Dutch classicism. Inspired by the art of classical Antiquity and that of the Italian High Renaissance, they developed an austere and refined style. Their paintings depicting biblical and mythological scenes presented the court, the regents and the intelligentsia in the seventeenth century with an alternative to so-called Dutch Realism. In this publication, Dutch classicism is viewed from all sides.

Neoclassicism was the favourite style of both Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson, and made Josiah Wedgwood's fortune. The most pervasive style in the history of European art, it was deployed in the design of houses, churches, museums, banks, shops and items of daily use ranging from teapots to textiles. This book is the first to embrace all manifestations of the style, not only its broad territorial scope, but also its versatility in every branch of art.

A distinguished classicist examines some of the ways in which certain Greek ethical concepts, especially those related to sophrosyne (self-knowledge, self-restraint, moderation) and the other Platonic virtues, are reflected in mythology, politics and education, oratory, and the visual arts. Helen North considers how the Platonic virtues were regarded, how they affected the understanding of political and social life, how they were embodied in mythical figures and expressed in mythical and historical or semi-historical exemplary accounts, and how they were portrayed in art at certain important stages of their development.

A useful reference book about most of the Greek gods and goddesses. Stories of the Trojan War, Ulysses and Aeneas, all illustrated with quotations from the poets from Aeschylus to Longfellow and with reproductions of paintings and sculpture.