From Sea to Land - More Ketos to Dragons

#CETUS #CETOS #kETOS #Drakon #Dragon

Images of sea Monsters in Greek and Roman Art like the one above often have heads similar to those of dragons in later European Art  such as this one from Galician Spain

or this image of a captured Dacian standard ?

But most of us think of dragons as being more like this ?

There are however transitional forms with the features of the water monsters of the Mediterranean and the flying fire breathers or rain bringers of Northern Eurasia.

St Margaret of Antioch emerging from a dragon which split open after swallowing her.

Carolingian cavalry lead by a rider with a dragon standard.

and of course ST George slaying a dragon 

Most of these images are post Classical but the transition of finned sea monster to winged creature shows the lingering echoes of the effects of Greek and Roman art on later Western Europe ?

Ketos the ancestor of Dragons ?

Are Water monster - Ketos partial ancestors of Dragons
At least in terms of inspiring the images that appear in later European art ?

#cetos #cetus #watermonster #dragon

Note the head of the water monster in this mosaic.

and this image 

and this sculpture from Galicia 

Next time I discuss how a water monster may have become a fire breathing winged creature .

Byzantine Illumination

#byzantine #illuminedmanuscripts #gold 

Just another reminder that Western Europe was not the only place that produced illumined manuscripts. 

Here's an example from the Byzantine world. 

I wonder if perhaps there were illuminations or gold decoration and pictures in classical or hellenistic or late imperial texts and not just christian texts?

A test for linguists

Okay historical linguists and #classicists can you spot the #Greek forms of the word for one and which of the other words are IndoEuropean or not and trace what many have in common?

Gold Hellenistic Coin

While some Greek coins were clearly impressed onto metal from old worn out dies the only technical flaw on this fine piece is that some one didn't quite centre the die and punch properly. 

Its an exquisite piece though ! 

Hellenistic era earrings of Eros

These Hellenistic era earrings depict Eros Decscending from a Cloud maybe unless its a cape behind him or something else. Possibly something biological a certain opening?

Ancient Greek Gold Earrings

Ancient Greek Gold Earrings 

 These were found in Cyprus. There was a fashion even an obsession with Griffins in the Archaic period here expressed as lions with griffin ears and serpent tails forming the spiral for inserting the earrings into a pierced ear or an already inserted loop? Or perhaps these are just lions depicted?

They are however quite exquisite!