Mythologie in Architektur und Kunst // Mythology in Architecture and Art
Klassische Mythologie. Jede Gesellschaft schafft sich ihre eigenen Götter. Im antiken Griechenland war es vor allem die olympische Götterfamilie, um die sich zahlreiche Mythen ranken. Ausgestattet mit menschlichen Tugenden und Schwächen sowie übernatürlichen Fähigkeiten und Unsterblichkeit lenkten sie das Schicksal der Erdenbürger. Die im 8. Jh. v. Chr. von Homer geschriebenen Epen Ilias und Odysee erzählen von bewegenden und oft grausamen Abenteuern der antiken Götter und Helden.
Classical mythology
Every society creates its own gods. In ancient Greece it was above all the Olympic family of Gods around which numerous myths entwine. Equipped with human virtues and weaknesses as well as supernatural abilities and immortality, they controlled the fate of the earthlings. The epics Iliad and Odyssey, written by Homer in the 8th century BC, tell of moving and often cruel adventures of the ancient gods and heroes.
Der griechische Götterglaube hat wie auch viele andere Religionen seinen Ursprung darin, dass die Menschen versuchten, ihre Umwelt zu verstehen und sie zu domestizieren. Naturphänomene wie Blitz und Donner waren den Menschen unerklärlich. Als Ursache wurde höhere Gewalt vermutet, die zunächst abstrakt erschien, jedoch zunehmend an Persönlichkeit gewann. So wurde Zeus jener Gott, der die Blitze auf die Erde schleuderte. Den Göttern wurde in ihren Kultbildern ein menschliches Erscheinungsbild verliehen.
Like many other religions, the Greek belief in gods has its origin in the fact that people tried to understand their surroundings and domesticate them. Natural phenomena such as lightning and thunder were inexplicable to humans. Force majeure was suspected as the cause, which initially seemed abstract, but increasingly gained in personality. Thus Zeus became the god who hurled the lightning onto the earth. The gods were given a human appearance in their cult images.
Die Römer übernahmen die griechischen Gottheiten und gaben ihnen neue Namen. Während im antiken Griechenland Götter und Geister noch Realität waren, wurden sie in Rom zu einem reinen Kult, der letztlich dem Staat diente. Mit dem Aufkommen des Christentums endete die Ära der Olympier und wich einer Heilsgeschichte, in der die Vielgötterei verdammt wurde.
The Romans took over the Greek deities and gave them new names. While in ancient Greece gods and spirits were still a reality, in Rome they became a pure cult that ultimately served the state. With the advent of Christianity, the era of the Gods from the Olymp ended and gave way to a history of salvation in which polytheism was condemned.
Tempel wurden in Kirchen umgewandelt, Kultstätten und Kulttage der Götter christlich umgedeutet. Als Beherrscher der Planeten überlebten die Götter jedoch. Ein Eigenleben wurde den Unsterblichen erst wieder in der Renaissance, der Wiedergeburt der Antike, zugestanden.
Temples were transformed into churches, places of worship and gods holidays were reinterpreted as Christian. However, as rulers of the planets, the gods survived. The immortals got back their life of their own only in the Renaissance, the rebirth of antiquity.
Durch das Studium antiker Autoren lebte die klassische Mythologie wieder auf. In der Kunst wurden die erotische Ausschweifungen zwischen Göttern und Menschen ebenso thematisiert wie exzessive Gewalt. Der Skulpturengarten der Familie Medici in Florenz wurde den Künstlern zugänglich gemacht. Bildhauer übten sich in der Kunst der Paragone, des künstlerischen Wettstreites mit den Größen der Antike.
The study of ancient authors revived classical mythology. The erotic excesses between gods and humans as well as excessive violence were addressed in art now. The sculpture garden of the Medici family in Florence was made accessible to the artists. Sculptors practiced the art of the paragone, the artistic competition with the greats of antiquity.
In meinen nächsten Beiträgen stelle ich einige Götter der griechischen und römischen Antike näher vor und begebe mich auf die Spuren, die sie in der Kunst und der Architektur in Wien hinterlassen haben. Am Beginn wird Athene (römischer Name: Minerva), die Göttin der Weisheit, stehen.
In my next posts I will introduce some gods of Greek and Roman antiquity and follow the traces they have left in art and architecture in Vienna. I will start with Athene (roman name: Minerva), the goddess of wisdom.
Wieder ein echt guter Post von dir, wie immer eigentlich. Nicht ganz mein Gebiet diesmal, ein Upvote gibts aber natürlich trotzdem immer gerne. Weiter so 👍
Vielen Dank xels! :-)
Beautiful post showing pictures of art of ancient gods. Do you think there is room to think about the gods of the past being real characters that mythology turned into gods?
Thanks for your comment! Did the gods really exist? The theory that gods were extraordinary people who were worshipped divinely after their death is an interesting approach.
In Hellenistic and later in Roman times there were also deified rulers like Alexander the Great or Gaius Iulius Caesar. In Greek mythology there are histories that served them as models, for example the ascent of Heracles to Olympus. He was a demigod, lived as human on earth, died as human, albeit in a spectacular way and finally became god. Undoubtedly this is a significant myth, but it is not clear whether it is based on facts.
Most of the scandalous stories about the individual gods, the total humanization, only emerged in the course of time, when the poets took more and more liberties and the faith gradually waned.
Maybe, if Rome would not have fallen, Julius Caesar would be like Heracles now. Have you read the Book of Enoch?
No, I don't know Enoch's book. Is it an apocalyptic text, similar to the Gospel of John?
No. It is a book, kind of parallel to Genesis, which describes the story of the fallen angels. Suppressed from the Bible in the third century of this era. Also, you can find it as a free ebook.
Thanks for the information.
Hallo Anna, vielen Dank für den schönen Bericht über die Gottheiten, freue mich schon darauf, wie es weiter geht. Hab ein tolles Wochenende. Lieben Gruß nach Wien. Alexa
Hallo Alexa, danke für deinen Besuch und Kommentar! Dir auch ein super Wochenende und einen lieben Gruß, Anna
Sehr schöner Beitrag, ich freue mich schon auf die Gottheiten!
Danke! Schön, dass du meine Begeisterung für die antiken Götter teilst!
Auf jeden Fall!
Sehr interessant und klasse bebildert. Hängt jetzt auch bei mir :-)
Vielen Dank, ich freue mich über den Resteem :-)
Fande den Beitrag sehr interessant Punkt und freue mich schon auf den angekündigten Beitrag Antike Götter der römischen und griechischen Kulturen . Liebe Grüße Michael
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Danke Michael. Ich hoffe, meine nächsten Beiträge zu diesem Thema sind für dich ebenso interessant. Liebe Grüße aus Wien, Anna
Bin ich überzeugt von und freue mich drauf. Wünsche dir einen guten Start in die Woche . Liebe Grüße Michael
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Sehr schön geschrieben.
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Danke!
A well written history and accompanying artistry. Enjoyed reading and learning.
Thank you! There will be more stories to come from the exciting world of the Gods.
A lovely post, from the images to the continuity you describe in artistic tradition. I was struck by this line:
I've often thought about the role of the patron and the development of art. In order to survive, all artists--architects, composers, painters, sculptors--had to please patrons. The net effect was that our heritage was formed, in a way, by the preferences of the elite. I wonder what kind of art would have flourished, what our heritage would have been, if there had been a wider base of support. Did art suffer from that narrow perspective, from that elitism? Or did it benefit? Was there a certain uniformity in style and output that resulted from this sort of patronage?
I don't know, but it's interesting to speculate, I think.
Thank you for your interesting thoughts on this subject.
Without patronage the "Renaissance" might not have happened. Painters, sculptors and architects were no longer craftsmen whose profession was the responsibility of the guilds, but "freelance" artists. The Medici, who played a key role in Florence, undoubtedly had aimed at the recognition and maintenance of the family's power by supporting artists such as Brunelleschi, Botticelli, da Vinci or Michelangelo. But who can imagine Florence today without the work of these gifted artists?
Culture, Western civilization, owes the patrons a debt, for sure. It's just, I wonder sometimes how the artists of the Renaissance might have developed if they had been able to appeal to a broad marketplace, instead of a narrow elite.
Looking forward to more thought-provoking and inspiring posts from you :)
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