GODDESS: AN ILLUSTRATED COLLECTION
A collection of mythological illustration from around the globe by Laura Vidarte.
Athena:
Greek goddess of wisdom, law, justice and strategic warfare. Athena, o Pallas Athena, is often portrayed in the greek mythos as a companion of heroes like Odysseus and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavour. Athena was born from Zeus, after he experienced an enormous headache and she sprang fully grown and in armour from his forehead. She served as a guardian of Athens, where the Parthenon served as her temple. For this illustration, I took some inspiration from an Athena collection Barbie doll for her armour. I also drew her with her animal, the owl and with a Corinthian helmet. In the background, you can see an extract from the Story of Sisyphus, since I couldn't find one from The Odyssey.
Artemis:
Greek goddess of the hunt, forests, wild animals, the moon and childbirth. She was the daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods, and the Titaness Leto and she had a twin brother the god Apollo. She was also protector of young children and was know to bring and relieve disease in women. In literature and art she was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrow. I used Guillaume Seignac,s Diana the huntress as a reference for lighting and the pose. I also included some constelations.
Gaia:
In Greek mythology, Gaia is the very soul of the world. She is the primordial goddess of earth, born from Chaos, sister of Nyx (primordial goddess of night), Tartarus (primordial god of the Tartarean Pit) and Erebos (the personification of darkness). She is the mother of the Titans, Giants and the whole world, and also the grandmother of all gods of the Greek pantheon. Her consort, Ouranos (primordial god of the sky) decided to stop Gaia from creating anything else and sent his children inside her, imprisoning them in her womb, and therefore infuriating Gaia, causing her alliance with her Titan son Cronus and the overthrowing of Ouranos.
Titania:
In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania is the Queen of Fairies and it has become the archetype that most of us associate with faeries. She's intimately related to the natural environment, rules over the seasons and they follow her moods. She's based of Queen Mab, who's the real Queen of Faeries according to British folklore. She's married to Oberon, King of Fairies and their quarrel is the engine that drives-up the confusion of the other's characters in the play. For this illustration, I took inspiration from Arthur Rackham, as well as the New York City's Ballet version of the play.
Love Goddesses (for Love Goddeses: Then and Now infographic for my classical art and design course)
Hathor, Egyptian goddess of love and the sky
Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty
Innana/Ishtar, Mesopotamian/Assyrian goddess of love and war.
Freyja, Norse goddess of love, wealth and war.
Persephone:
Goddess of Spring and the daugther of Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvest. Once, when she was gathering flowers in a field, she was taken by Hades, King of the Underworld. Her mother, distressed by the abduction of her child, neglected her duties as a goddess and went on a quest to search her. Meanwhile, Persephone and Hades got married and she became Queen of the Underworld, with the same amount of power as her husband (some versions mention that Persephone was actually the one ruling). They eventually fell in love and one of the most healthiest couples in the Greek mythos. After being returned to her mother, Persephone must spend half of the year with her and the other with her husband, bringing spring when she cames and winter when she leaves. For this illustration, I wanted to take a few liberties and represent Persephone in my own way. I wanted to include elements that would show her duality as a fertility goddess and queen of the underworld. I included pomegranates (the fruit of the dead) in her headress, as well as for roses and a skull. I also wanted her to have jewelry that would resemble the pomegranate seeds she ate on the way out of the Underworld, as well as a veil since she is Bride of Death.
Goddess of Spring and the daugther of Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvest. Once, when she was gathering flowers in a field, she was taken by Hades, King of the Underworld. Her mother, distressed by the abduction of her child, neglected her duties as a goddess and went on a quest to search her. Meanwhile, Persephone and Hades got married and she became Queen of the Underworld, with the same amount of power as her husband (some versions mention that Persephone was actually the one ruling). They eventually fell in love and one of the most healthiest couples in the Greek mythos. After being returned to her mother, Persephone must spend half of the year with her and the other with her husband, bringing spring when she cames and winter when she leaves. For this illustration, I wanted to take a few liberties and represent Persephone in my own way. I wanted to include elements that would show her duality as a fertility goddess and queen of the underworld. I included pomegranates (the fruit of the dead) in her headress, as well as for roses and a skull. I also wanted her to have jewelry that would resemble the pomegranate seeds she ate on the way out of the Underworld, as well as a veil since she is Bride of Death.
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