on reference writers

There are several ancient authors people often cite for references but rarely read all the way through.

Heres my list of Greek Authors that you should try to read completely at least once so you have some context for quotes.

Plutarch 

The Lives n the Moralia 

Athenaios also spelt

Athenaeus 

 the Deiphnosophists 

It will make you realise how much poetry we have lost.

All of Thucydides and Herodotus not just the passages set for an undergrad class 

Likewise Strabo Polybius and other Hellenistic writers

I also recommend Lysias a d the Greek anthology.

All of these are available free online as downloadable pdfs and in other formats if you don't mind reading older translations or flipping pages between the greek n english in loeb reprints 

Finally may I recommend you read or acquire Diogenes Laertius a major source for ancient philosophy.

SIDE SADDLE SIRENS

 #nereids #thetis 

Reviewing my collection of images of Nereids and Thetis it suddenly occurred to me how odd it is that they are shown riding "sidesaddle".

 The Nereids are usually the only examples we see of females swimming and yet they do not ! 

They cling to or ride seahorses or tritons! 

Yet other goddesses and women on land or sea are not shown riding any form of mount except for some Amazons. 

So why the side saddle position perhaps  to show they had feet rather than fins unlike their male cousins the Tritons?

This selection of images covers several centuries and areas of Greek art.

I have never yet seen an image of a nereid on a seahorse or Triton in which they are in an actual riding position. Okay so goddesses have perfect balance but the artists would have seen male riders on cavalry and surely known how impossible the positions they depicted were?

Unless they had seen some women riding side saddle perhaps sitting in a white horse in some kind of procession of priestesses or royalty? I note also hippocampi are rarely dark or speckled usually white.

These may all just be matters of style but possibly what else?

Ideas anyone ? 

Athena the Warrior

 #Athena the Warrior 

No Comments Just Athena on a particularly elegant oil flask sharing so you can admire the beauty.

THETIS THE MOTHER

 #Thetis #Greekgoddess #Achiles #Hephaestus #mythology 

THETIS THE MOTHER

While THETIS obtaining a new Shield and set of armour for her son Achilleus is a popular theme in Greek Roman and later art let us give some thought as to why Hephaestus was so willing to help her.

Art dealing with this topic seems to have been lost but Thetis and her Nereid sisters acted as a foster mother to both Hephaestus and Dionysious.

It may well be that some art thought to depict the return of Hephaestus to Olympus actually are depictions of Hephaestus riding to Thetis' wedding ? 

Note in this image Hephaestus wears a wreath and his half brother Dionysious is next to him?

She's also shown as the Mother mourning her son 

But let us end again with Thetis the Mother riding her seahorse to carry a new shield to her son.