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$This delightful painting by Jean-François de Troy, one of the leading painters in Paris in the first half of the 18th century, portrays the climactic moment from Ovid's story in Metamorphoses—the Abduction of Europa. Jupiter has transformed himself into a handsome bull to lure the lovely princess Europa onto his back and carry her away to Crete where she would bear him three sons. From Rembrandt to Claude Lorrain to Paul Gauguin, this seminal story captured the imagination of European artists for centuries. Painted in rich colors with the light, refined brush characteristic of the works of de Troy's fellow members of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, Antoine Watteau and FranÃ\u0083Â§ois Boucher, this painting offers a classical mythological subject in a rococo style that gracefully compliments the National Gallery's collection.$

Le Polype difforme flottait sur les rivages, sorte de cyclope souriant et hideux (The deformed polyp floated on the shores, a sort of smiling and hideous Cyclops), 1883

With his radiant, porcelain skin and fluttering, red cloak, Apollo, the god of music, gestures to Midas, the king of Phyrigia. Midas, with donkey's ears, sits beside Pan, the wild god of shepherds and flocks, who blows on his reed pipes. A small man with legs and horns of a goat, Pan mischievously looks out at the viewer while being observed by a pair of fleshy nymphs and a group of bearded men. The intent look on the figures' faces, particularly that of the man with the laurel crown, suggests a moment of consequence. The painting depicts a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses about a musical contest between Apollo and Pan, conflating the entire narrative into one scene. Pan audaciously challenged the god of music to the competition and blew a rustic melody on his pipes that delighted King Midas. Then, Apollo played his lyre so beautifully that the mountain god, Timolus, who judged the contest, pictured here holding a staff, declared Apollo the victor. Midas disagreed and Apollo gave Midas a donkey's ears for his "poor" judgment. In the Gallery's painting, Pan is shown playing his flute, which indicates the contest has only begun, yet Midas already has donkey ears.

The Capitoline Wolf Suckling Romulus and Remus, Florentine 15th century

The Great Hercules, 1589, by Hendrik Glotzius

Lured to Tahiti in 1891 by reports of its unspoiled culture, Gauguin was disappointed by its civilized capital and moved to the countryside, where he found an approximation of the tropical paradise he had expected. The Tahiti of his depictions was derived from native folklore supplemented by material culled from books written by earlier European visitors and overlaid with allusions to western culture. The pose of the standing nude, for instance, is derived from a medieval statue of the biblical Eve and more distantly from the Venus Pudica of classical sculpture. The artist placed this rich combination of references to original sin, the loss of virginity, and occidental standards of beauty and art within the context of his Tahitian mythology and primitive, non–European aesthetics. The meaning of the title Parau na te Varua ino is unclear. The phrase varua ino, evil spirit or devil, refers to the masked kneeling figure and parau means words, suggesting the interpretation "Words of the Devil." The meaning of many of Gauguin's Tahitian paintings remains elusive. There is little likelihood that Gauguin's original audience would have been able to interpret the Tahitian legends that Gauguin carefully inscribed on most of the 66 paintings he took back to Paris in 1892.

Carro di Cerere (Chariot of Ceres), by Pietro de Angelis

Two Mythical Animals (Zwei Fabeltiere), 1914, by Franz Marc

Hercules Bearing the Globe [reverse], 1557, by Gianpaolo Poggini

Midas, Transmuting All into Paper, 1797, by James Gillray

Cephalus and Pan at the Temple of Diana, c. 1520/1522, by Bernardino Luini

Apollo, Diana, and Time with the Cyclic Vicissitudes of Human Life, c. 1561, by Maarten de Vos

Introduction

This guide is for students of Classical Studies. There are many resources here to help you in your study of the classic Greek and Latin texts.

You will find:

links to print and online copies of the texts and commentaries
specialized reference works
databases where you can search for journal articles
tools for language learning

Purpose

This guide serves as a starting point for a general introduction to classics, beginning research in the various aspects of classics as an academic discipline, or interdisciplinary work which intersects the study of classics.

Audience

This library guide is part of our “spotlight on the disciplines” literacy tier. In this tier you will be introduced to advanced academic research skills. These skills are developed by working with research librarians in upper-level courses specific to their discipline. The spotlight represents the in-depth instruction, library guides, advanced search strategies, and research consultations provided by the research & engagement librarians.

Classics

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Introduction

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