The Prequel to the Royal House of Mycenae

Unsurprisingly, the tales of the royal family of Mycenae are overly complicated and filled with gore, rape and incestuous literature. The saga begins with the tale of Tantalus. He was king of Mycenae and blessed to be a friend of Zeus. He was once even blessed to have dinner on Olympus with the gods, however, this went to his head. When he issued a return invitation, he wanted to know how perceptive the gods were and served them the cooked flesh of his firstborn son Pelops. All the gods, bar Demeter. refused the meal. However, she accidentally ate the meat of Pelop’s left shoulder. Tantalus was punished for his hubris by being imprisoned within the Underworld, immortally surrounded by sweet fruits and water, but never being able to consume it. It would be Pelop’s deeds that would curse his own children and grandchildren for generations. They would be subjected to rape, incest, and murder, and each would try and try for revenge.

This image is a depiction of Tantalus’ punishment in Tartarus, the most damning of Hell, where he was forever prevented from drinking the water he could swim in. It would simply recede when his mouth reached for it. The fruit would do the same, rising from his reach when he wished nothing more than to eat. The creator of the painting is entirely unknown.

Findlay, M., 1999. Classical mythology. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman, pp.78 - 81.

Roman Customs and Educations

The Romans lived in a patriarchal society in which the father and husband were the sole provider and directors of the household. They controlled the family, including the children’s lives and future marriages. Their children’s marriages would be organised by the father, never for love, but for stability. Arranged marriages were the normality, and many got married before they reached the age of twenty. This was especially true for the women who often married those who were years older than themselves and were still expected to bear children at that young age. It is thought that some were married as young as twelve. When searching for their children’s future marital partners, fathers would often ask friends and family to help them search for unmarried children whose fathers were searching for matches. One letter recounts this, as written by Pliny the Younger found recorded in The Ancient World by R.J. Cootes and L. E. Snellgrove. “Dear Junius Mauricus, You asked me in your letter to look out for a husband for your brother’s daughter… I think young Minicius Acilianus is just the man…” This quote goes on to list his good qualities and the fact that the potential matches father is rich to the receiver of the letter. This shows how the matches as made by the fathers were often written like advertisements to entice the fathers to make the matches as it was often like a business exchange. This idea of it being a business exchange was likely especially encouraged for those of higher status. This idea of a business exchange showed how the fathers ran the household compared to the modern ideas. It was done in order to continue the family line instead of doing something for the good of their children.

Cootes, R. and Snellgrove, L., 1991. The Ancient World. 2nd ed. Essex: Longman Group UK Limited, pp.159 - 164.

The Development of Phases of Art in Greece for Men Versus Women

The development of art in Greece from the black-figure period to the red-figure is comparable for men and women. The descriptions of the changes over time show that within the black-figure period of painting, many of the artworks were less detailed and more rigid. There are only straight even lines to create rigid cuts. This makes the musculature carving on the men’s pieces seem more defined, if still unrealistic. The rigid lines are used similarly within the depictions of women. Except, it does not show defined muscles, but straight dropping dresses with no defining curves. This changes as we progress into the red-figure period as we see within the artwork more curvature in the painting. There are fewer straight muscles on men with little curves, and more accurate musculature depictions in their bodies. With women similarly, the paintings become more naturalistic in depiction, with more curves in their depiction and clothes clinging to said curves in order to show more stylisation. This depicts the changes over time in Greek vase painting showing how people developed their skills and how art developed within Greece as a whole. The difference between women's and men’s paintings is minimal as they both developed to be more specific in painting the characters depicted. However, as a whole, the largest changes in artwork were between the eras of stylisation.

Campbell, J., & Harrison, K. (1997). The Art of Greek Vase Painting. Addison Wesley.