Relief of Leda and the Swan
Γ367
White marble
Slight chipping around the edge, mineral deposits on much of surface
Height: 46.5 cm. Length: 55 cm.
Knossos
Urban villa
Roman period:
25-1 BC:
Gallery:
XXVIICase:
Not in caseExhibition thematic unit:
Sculpture. Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd c. BC) Roman period (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD)Description
Trapezoid decorative relief from an urban villa of Knossos. It depicts the myth of Leda’s erotic encounter with Zeus in the form of a swan, in a sacred landscape denoted by two altars and a bare, many-branched tree. The mortal queen stands on the left, leaning forward with knees bent, her garment slipping off in the background. The god, in the form of an unnaturally large and beautiful bird, occupies the centre of the scene, his head directly facing Leda’s. He is embracing her body with one wing and extending the other backwards, his webbed feet clamped to the young woman’s thighs. Behind the pair, a small winged Cupid is pushing the swan gently in encouragement. A good-quality copy of a Late Hellenistic iconographic theme, particularly popular in all forms of ancient art.Bibliography:
N. Platon, A Guide to the Archaeological Museum of Heraclion, Athens 1964, 160. S. Alexiou, Οδηγός Αρχαιολογικού Μoυσείου Ηρακλείου, Athens 1968,136. Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae VI 1992, 233, no.16, s.v. Leda (contribution by L. Kahil, N. Icard-Gianolio). Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki Ν., Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου, Athens 2005, 380, 382. K.Sporn, "The Cretan Venus", Überlegungen zur Skulpturenausstattung von römischen Privathäusern auf Kreta, in P. Karanastasi, Th. Stefanidou-Tiveriou, D. Damaskos (eds), Γλυπτική και κοινωνία στη ρωμαϊκή Ελλάδα: καλλιτεχνικά προϊόντα, κοινωνικές προβολές. Διεθνές συνέδριο, Ρέθυμνο, 26-28 Σεπτεμβρίου 2014, Thessaloniki 2018, 277, fig. 6. Α. Chaniotis, Ν. Kaltsas, Ι. Mylonopoulos (eds), Emotions. Ένας κόσμος συναισθημάτων, [Athens] 2017, 126, no. 47 (contribution by Μ. Kyrimi). Cf. Arachne 104071 for the parallel relief in Berlin, Antikensammlung (contribution by A. Rieche).Author:
K. S.Photographs' metadata