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Erotic helplessness : a study of the history of the Damsel in Distress theme in art
- Thread starter coldturkey
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RedOrc
Magistrate
Questions were raised:
1) Why does Pelagia's head have a smoke-ring around it?
2) Why is Philammon's sister stark naked?
I suspect the ring is a halo, meant to tell us that this is a saintly, virtuous woman, and the image is clearly therefore not, in any way, sexual.Questions were raised:
1) Why does Pelagia's head have a smoke-ring around it?
2) Why is Philammon's sister stark naked?
His sister clearly was absentmindedly combing her hair one morning and decided on a walk in the desert, forgetting to wear anything substantial, and consequently succumbed to the heat. It's all really quite innocent, if you think about it, and a perfectly decent painting to hang anywhere in the home.
mysterybadger
Executioner
1. It's the Colgate ring of confidence. Wandering out on the desert to die is no excuse to ignore basic dental hygiene.1) Why does Pelagia's head have a smoke-ring around it?
Attachments
"See? I was nice and neat and did not get any of his blood on me when I chopped his head of!"
mysterybadger
Executioner
In the aftermath of Troy, Orestes administers an well-deserved slaying to Clytemnestra
...for killing Agamamemnon (also Cassandra qv).
...for sacrificing her daughter Iphigenia
Somewhat confusingly in other accounts Clytemnestra's lover Aegisthus (who is very dead above) also at some point discovers Clytemnestra's body believing it to be that of Orestes.
Meanwhile Helen of Troy totally evaded an equally well-deserved slaying at the hands of Aeneas thanks to a timely intervention from Venus.
...for killing Agamamemnon (also Cassandra qv).
...for sacrificing her daughter Iphigenia
Somewhat confusingly in other accounts Clytemnestra's lover Aegisthus (who is very dead above) also at some point discovers Clytemnestra's body believing it to be that of Orestes.
Meanwhile Helen of Troy totally evaded an equally well-deserved slaying at the hands of Aeneas thanks to a timely intervention from Venus.
mysterybadger
Executioner
While discussing Helen of Troy we should not forget her sister Cassandra, who was unlucky enough to be wooed by Apollo with the gift of prophecy. When she refused him he added the caveat that she would not be believed (to be fair, he could have turned her into a tree). This means that she foresees not only the burning of Troy but her own death:
As well as the bit where she is dragged from the temple of Athena and raped by Ajax
see also
and ends up becoming Agamemnon's concubine, only to be murdered by Clytemnestra (see above).
Despite being one of the few people in this sorry tale who hasn't murdered anyone, broken an oath, betrayed anyone or even committed hubris or sacrilege, Cassandra just gets totally shafted by everyone she meets. Even Athena takes her own sweet time before zapping Ajax.
She is however now the most trusted constellation for navigational purposes (the big "W").
As well as the bit where she is dragged from the temple of Athena and raped by Ajax
see also
and ends up becoming Agamemnon's concubine, only to be murdered by Clytemnestra (see above).
Despite being one of the few people in this sorry tale who hasn't murdered anyone, broken an oath, betrayed anyone or even committed hubris or sacrilege, Cassandra just gets totally shafted by everyone she meets. Even Athena takes her own sweet time before zapping Ajax.
She is however now the most trusted constellation for navigational purposes (the big "W").
ducon007
Consul
Thank you very much for this little mythology lesson!
By the way, for me, the constellation of the big "W" is Cassiopeia, not Cassandra...
mysterybadger
Executioner
So she didn't even get that. Shafted again!By the way, for me, the constellation of the big "W" is Cassiopeia, not Cassandra...
Naraku
Draconarius
Easy to locate using the Big Dipper.Thank you very much for this little mythology lesson!
By the way, for me, the constellation of the big "W" is Cassiopeia, not Cassandra...
Yep. She didn't even get a star, much less a whole constellation.
Wait, I thought Andromeda was chained to the rock alone. Who are those other two? Did Perseus rescue - and receive as reward for killing Cetus - all three of them?
ducon007
Consul
Probably an artist's fantasy. By the way, the title is in the plural...
