Simon Peter Tilemann Roman Triumphal Parade 1641 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Pieter-Lastman- Dido's Sacrifice to Juno 1630 oil on panel Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Gérard de Lairesse Achilles discovered by Ulysses among the daughters of Lycomedes ca. 1675-80 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Bertholet Flemalle Achilles wounded in the Heel before 1675 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
"A fragmented wall painting from the first century C.E. shows two figures who have been thought to be Apollo and Paris, both equipped with bow and arrow. Because the figures are static and because there is some indication of a structure in the scene, I think it may depict the late version of Achilles' death in which he is ambushed in the temple of Thymbraean Apollo. Two reliefs from the third century C.E. more certainly depict this story. Bronze paneling on a chariot (called the "Tensa Capitolina") displays a number of scenes from the life of Achilles, including one thought to depict Paris aiming an arrow at Achilles as Apollo points to his lower leg. The unarmored Achilles stands before an altar, unaware of danger behind him."
– Jonathan Burgess, from Achilles' Heel: The Death of Achilles in Ancient Myth (in the journal Classical Antiquity, October 1995)
Johan Fredrik Hörling Scene from Antiquity 1746 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Carl Marcus Tuscher Mercury confiding the infant Bacchus to the Nymphs on Nysa before 1751 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Pompeo Batoni Acis and Galatea threatened by Polyphemus 1761 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Toussaint Gelton Diana in Landscape 1660 oil on copper Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Thomas Blanchet Cleobis and Biton before 1689 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
"This discourse of Solon's, with its cataloguing of all the ways in which Tellus had been truly happy, had certainly served to pique Croesus' interest; and so it was, confident that he would be named the runner-up at least, he asked Solon for the name of the second happiest person on his list. "Cleobis and Biton," Solon answered promptly, "two young men of Argos, because they never lacked for means, and also because of their remarkable physical strength. Not only were they both prize-winning athletes, but there is also the following story told about them. The episode took place during an Argive festival in honour of Hera, when their mother urgently needed to be driven to the temple in their cart, but early in the day, before the oxen had been brought back from the fields. There being no time to lose, the two young men shouldered the yoke themselves and pulled the cart, with their mother riding on top of it, for a full 45 stades, all the way to the temple. Everyone who had gathered for the festival was a witness to this exploit, and then, in its wake, the two young men died in the best way possible: a divinely authored proof that it is better to be dead than alive. The Argives kept crowding around them, congratulating them on their strength, and the women of the city kept telling their mother how fortunate she was in her children. In due course, such was the rapture of her joy at her sons' achievement and the fame they had won, that she went to stand before the statue of Hera, and prayed to the goddess that she would bestow upon her children, her Cleobis and Biton, who had brought her such great honour, the greatest blessing that it is possible for mortals to be granted. The mother finished her prayer; and then came the sacrifices and the feasting; and then the young men passed inside the temple and fell asleep, never to wake up again; and in this way their lives were brought to a close. The Argives made statues of them, which were then sent to Delphi – for it was clear that they had been the very best that men can be."
– from The Histories of Herodotus (ca. 440 BC), translated by Tom Holland (Viking, 2013)
Thorald Læssøe Temple of Venus and Roma in the Forum, Rome ca. 1840-50 oil on paper, mounted on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Jan Baptist Weenix Harbour with Antique Ruins 1648 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Johan Pasch Ruinous Palace Arcade with opulent Still-life before 1769 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Gustaf Söderberg Classical Temple in Agrigento, Sicily before 1875 oil on paper, mounted on panel Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
Constantin Hansen Temple of Minerva on the Forum of Nerva. Rome ca. 1840 oil on paper, mounted on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |