Painting: Hercules and Omphale

Hercules and Omphale. 1862. Charles Gabriel Gleyre. 

I still have two weeks until I can jump back into the PaganBlogProject, but in the meantime I wanted to post something. I plan on writing more about Herakles and Omphale later either for an O or S (for slavery/servitude).

Young Herakles

Herakles by ~sawak on DeviantArt.com

Source

Painting: The Choice of Hercules

I'm planning on posting my second "d" entry for the PaganBlogProject soon, but until that's completed, here's a piece of art --

The Choice of Hercules 

Annibale Carracci, 1596

 

"...A vigorous and plastic Hercules is depicted with two women flanking him, who represent the opposite destinies which the life could reserve him: on the left the Virtue is calling him to the hardest path leading to glory through hardship, while the second, the Pleasure, the easier path, is enticing him to the vice.


Behind Hercules is a palm, which, through the leaves and the branches (a symbol of military victory and fame), hints to Hercules' future heroic life." (source)