In the Beginning
Cupid and Pysche by Giulio Romano.
Painted between 1526 and 1528.
The painting depicts the story of the Greek deities Cupid and Pysche. Found in Metamorphoses, written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche and Cupid (Amor/Eros), and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage. Although the only extended narrative from antiquity is that of Apuleius from 2nd century AD, Eros and Psyche appear in Greek art as early as the 4th century BC. The story's Neoplatonic elements and allusions to mystery religions accommodate multiple interpretations, and it has been analyzed as an allegory and in light of folktale, Märchen or fairy tale, and myth.
Diana and Calysto by Titian (Vienna version)
Painted c. 1566.
The painting depicts the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter.
The Fall of Man by Hugo van der Goes
Painted after 1479.
Depicts the moment Eve is tempted by the snake to eat the Apple, Adam is by her and they both taste the fruit and are tossed from the Garden of Eden.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
Painted c. 1484–1486.
Depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore. The seashell she stands on was a symbol in classical antiquity for a woman's vulva. Thought to be based in part on the Venus de' Medici, an ancient Greek marble sculpture of Aphrodite.
Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides by Peter Paul Rubens
Painted 1638.
Depicts the demi-god son of Zeus, Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides completing the eleventh of his labours, to steal a golden apple from the garden. He did this by tricking the Titan Atlas and walking away with the fruit.
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Atalanta and Hippomenes by Guido Reni
The Judgement of Paris by
Le Triomphe de Bacchus by Charles de La Fosse.
Idun and the Apples by
Mercury, Herse, and Aglauros
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