#mythological tale

[mythological-art]

Danae Watching the Building of the Brazen Tower

Artist: Edward Burne-Jones (British, 1833–1898)

Date: 1872

Medium: Oil on Panel

Collection: Harvard Art Museum

Description

In the 1870s Burne-Jones and his friend the designer, poet, and socialist William Morris collaborated on illustrations for Morris’s The Earthly Paradise (1868–70). The epic poem, composed of mythological tales from ancient and Nordic sources, served as an inspiration for Burne-Jones throughout his life. The story of Danaë is taken from the chapter “The Doom of King Acrisius.” Fearful of an oracle’s warning that he would die by the hand of his grandson, as yet unborn, the king built a tower “wrought of brass most cunningly” in which to imprison his daughter, Danaë. The god Zeus breached her “living tomb” and impregnated Danaë in a shower of gold; later her son, Perseus, unwittingly slew his grandfather. Here Danaë, already seemingly incarcerated in the narrow courtyard, watches the construction of her prison, her future foreshadowed by the rosebush whose blooms are confined in a cage.

[toyastales]

A bracelet clasp with a Medusa on an emerald cameo. Gold is treated with diamond and enamel. 18th century. Made in England.

[moonscape]

[eirene]

The Mermaid Pl 3, 1911 Edmund Dulac

Mermaid Mondays

[detailedart]

Details: Portrait of Urania, 19th century, British School.

[thatdamnokie]

i love you fairy tales i love you folklore i love you myths i love you stories as old as humanity itself i love you oral traditions i love you characters carried through time on my ancestors’ tongues i love you story i’ve seen a million ways and want to see a million more i love you archetypes i love—

[theartofmadeline]

me, waking up in a cold sweat: selkie and swan maiden girlfriends

[strangeoctober]

I find it interesting that people talk and write about fairies these days like they're these horrible, Machiavellian monsters that you mustn't ever risk dealing with. Even saying your name near them will forever put you in their thrall, forever! (Or something to that effect) But when you dig into the folklore, you find countless stories of fairies just getting dunked on in just the daftest ways.

I've been reading "The Lore of Scotland", by Jennifer Westwood and Sophia Kingshill, and when I noticed this trend, I started taking count of who wins in fairies vs. human confrontations. I'm only about a fifth through, and while it's not clear cut, the humans are winning by three points!

By way of example, let me tell you one of my favourite stories so far. Once upon a time, a young woman was abducted by the fay and carried away to a fairie mound. There, she was placed in the arms of the great fay giantess who ruled those halls. "I've got you now!" said the giantess, "I'm going to hold you as tight and as close as vine on tree, forever more!" Certainly in a pickle, the young woman considered her dire situation and simply replied, "I wish it was shit you were holding." The fay giantess was so completely appalled and disgusted by the coarse manner of the young woman that she let her go immediately and had her taken back to her home.

Not only do I find this really funny, I enjoy the fact that even centuries ago, the forthright manner and direct problem solving of Scottish women was well established.

[zu-is-here]

The Frog Princess ✧ Your Culture Day

Dream & Nightmare by jokublog

Cross from xtaleunderverse by jakei95

[deyeryrey]

𝙷𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚎𝚔

[entnoot]

Baba Yaga’s hut, my beloved 🐓🏠

[hidekomoon]

I did it again (my other edits here)

1. Godward’s A Fair Reflection (1915) and Waterhouse’s The Soul of the Rose (1908)

2. Frank Cadogan Cowper’s Damsel of the Lake (1924) kissing the lady in Auguste Toulmouche’s The Kiss (c.1870)

3. Waterhouse’s A Song of Springtime (1913) and Auguste Toulmouche’s Woman and Roses (1879)

4. Evelyn De Morgan’s Ariadne in Naxos (1877) with Waterhouse’s Sweet Summer (1912)

5. A woman from Charles Perugini’s Dolce Far Niente (1882) about to wake up Victor Gilbert’s Sleeping Beauty (date unknown)

please reblog if you save! (except terfs, “gender critical” radfems and general transphobes, y’all can block me please)

[toyastales]

Beautiful craftsmanship and artistry.

[illustratus]

The Lily Fairy by Luis Ricardo Falero

[eirene]

The Mermaid Pl 4, 1911 Edmund Dulac

Mermaid Mondays

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

~ Florence Harrison, "The Defence of Guenevere" from Early Poems of William Morris (1914)

via internet archive