William Sterling

Head of one of the four horses of the moon goddess Selene from the northern end of the East Pediment of the Parthenon in Athens c. 420 BC, currently in the British Museum. One of the most popular of the so-called Elgin Marbles which Lord Elgin rescued from Athens in the early nineteenth century. The East Pediment showed the birth of Athena as she burst out of the head of her father, Zeus, and the reaction of those who were present. Although all the central figures are long gone at either end are depictions of the sun god Helios rising from the sea with his four horse chariot and the moon goddess Selene returning to the sea with hers showing that Athena was born at dawn. Image © Trustees of the British Museum

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Figureheads, Ship Badges and Silverware – Nineteenth Century Classical References in the British Museum

April 25, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Delve into classical myths used in naval related and other items by examining some of the British Museum and other collections of C19th objects.

Following on from the previous course we shall look at what Classical artworks were available to artists in the C19th and what literary works were studied in schools and were known to the general population. We shall identify some of the Classical gods, heroes, figures from myth and historical characters used as figureheads and ship badges such as Achilles, Ajax, Atalanta, Caesar, Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Dido, Hercules, Leda, Minerva, Neptune, Orpheus and Penelope. I shall outline the basic myths surrounding them and examine why they might have been chosen.

Details

Date:
April 25, 2020
Time:
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Event Tags:
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Organizer

City Lit

Venue

City Lit and British Museum
Keeley Street and Great Russell Street
London, United Kingdom + Google Map

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