Sunday, January 31, 2010

Myths and Legends: Actaeon

Actaeon Attacked by His Dogs. To find out more about the life and death of Actaeon, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

Actaeon is the hapless fellow who saw the goddess Diana/Artemis in the nude while she was bathing together with her nymphs; as a punishment, he was turned into a stag and devoured by his own dogs. In this vase painting, however, it is a very human Actaeon who is being attacked by his dogs! In this larger view of the scene, you can see Artemis in her chariot cursing the poor hunter; on the right, a messenger takes the news of Actaeon's death to his parents.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of Jan. 29 - Feb. 4 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.