Greek Mythology, DANAIDES 50 PRETTY GIRLS DAUGHTERS ~ Old 1878 Art Print Gravure

Description: THE DANAIDES Artist: H. LeRoux Note: the title In the box above is printed below the art image on the print. A HIGH QUALITY PHOTOGRAVURE PRINTED IN THE 1870'S!! PERFECT FOR FRAMING AS AN ART PRINT FOR YOUR DEN !! VERY ANTIQUE & OLD WORLD LOOKING. ITEM(s) OVER 120 YEARS OLD!! The legend of the Danaides seems to be the distorted account of some early skirmish of the, primitive Hellenes with the Egyptians. Danaus, King of Argos, receives a visit from his brother, AEgyptus, who comes up from the banks of the Nile with fifty sons. The fifty blushing daughters of the Argive monarch (some of whom must have been great girls indeed, before their younger sisters were marriageable) espouse their swarthy African cousins; but they kill their colored husbands with their daggers on the bridal night, all but one, who saves the life of her consort, Lynceus, and he succeeds his father-in-law, wearing for forty-one years the crown of Argos. Whatever political event is indicated by this intrusion of an Egyptian ruler on the throne of a Greek province, it would seem to be small matter for boasting on the part of the white antagonists and their descendants. Treachery, and not fair fight, was what overcame the coffee-colored princes. The Greek uncle, indeed, had himself counted out from his arsenal the fifty daggers which his daughters were to thrust beneath the ribs of his nephews. No reasons of state can excuse this pointed act of inhospitableness on the part of the prolific Danaus, who fought his political opponents by the hands of girls, and meditated death at the moment of affectedly saying "Bless you, my children!" in the church. The antique writers dwell on the eternal punishment of the daughters, when they would do better to invent some adequate torment for the father. According to these veracious chroniclers, the forty-nine guilty brides were condemned to fill a leaking urn in Hades, and are at it yet. The painter shows us, in the pale daylight of the under-world, which is neither moonlight or sunlight, the two long files of Argive princesses. Half of them advance to the ever-thirsty vessel, whose circular mouth resembles a well-curb. The other half go sadly away, to replenish their pitchers at the burning waters of Phlegethon. These Greek brides retain the beauty of the nuptial night. Le Roux is too confirmed a disciple of classic grace to let the pain and weariness of the punishment impair the loveliness of the culprits. He makes the hapless spirits advance and recede in attitudes of melancholy grace, like figures on the frieze of a Greek temple; and the endlessness of their sad procession gives a pictorial idea of the eternity of their expiation. In Greek mythology, the Danaïdes, also Danaides or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid refers to them as the Belides after their grandfather Belus. They were to marry the 50 sons of Danaus' twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt. In the most common version of the myth, all but one of them killed their husbands on their wedding night, and are condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve or perforated device. In the classical tradition, they came to represent the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed (see also Sisyphus). Danaus did not want his daughters to go ahead with the marriages and he fled with them in the first boat to Argos, which is located in Greece near the ancient city of Mycenae. Danaus agreed to the marriage of his daughters only after Aegyptus came to Argos with his fifty sons in order to protect the local population, the Argives, from any battles. The daughters were ordered by their father to kill their husbands on the first night of their weddings and this they all did with the exception of one, Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lynceus because he respected her desire to remain a virgin. Danaus was angered that his daughter refused to do as he ordered and took her to the Argives courts. Lynceus killed Danaus as revenge for the death of his brothers and he and Hypermnestra started the Danaid Dynasty of rulers in Argos. The other 49 daughters remarried by choosing their mates in footraces. Some accounts tell that their punishment in Tartarus was being forced to carry a jug to fill a bathtub (pithos) without a bottom (or with a leak) to wash their sins off. Because the water was always leaking, they would forever try to fill the tub. Probably this myth is connected with a ceremony having to do with the worship of waters, and the Danaïdes were water-nymphs. SIZE: Image size in inches is 6" x 9 ¾ ", overall page size is 10" x 15". CONDITION: Good condition. Nothing printed on reverse. Thick rag stock paper. Actual picture is much larger and crisper than this scanned image shows. SHIPPING: Buyers to pay for shipping/handling. Domestic orders receives priority mail, international orders receive regular mail. We pack properly to protect your item! An engraving is an intaglio process of printing, with the design to be produced is cut below the surface of the plate (made of copper, steel or wood), and the incised lines are filled with ink that is then transferred to paper. The portraits on our currency are good examples of engraved images. A Photogravure is an intaglio process in which the plate is produced photographically. Please note: the terms used in our auctions for engraving, heliogravure, lithograph, line drawing, photogravure etc. ALL refer to images PRINTED on paper AT THE DATE MENTIONED. VERY RICH, THREE DIMENSIONAL IMAGE! A RARE FIND! NOT A MODERN REPRODUCTION!

Price: 23.99 USD

Location: New Providence, New Jersey

End Time: 2025-01-24T02:25:11.000Z

Shipping Cost: 9.95 USD