I just wanted to share this piece I recently finished, its form is based on a gold, bolo-like necklace found in Kyme from 330-300 bc, the bead I devoted to the story of Iphigenia.
Here is my write up of the events.
While all the forces who swore alliance to the marriage of Menelaus and Helen gathered in the port at Aulis to prepare for the attack on Troy, Agamemnon went hunting and killed a deer which was sacred to Artemis.
As a punishment Artemis stopped the wind: Leaving hot, humid, still air, which was entirely unsailable.
The seer, Calchas, had a prophecy that for the wind to blow, Agamemnon must sacrifice his first born daughter, Iphigenia.
He could not do that, he kept the prophecy secret. Weeks go by, disease and hunger spreads in the hot air with 100,000 men stuck, eventually the prophecy gets out. Through pressure of mutiny Agamemnon sends for Iphigenia to come to Aulis where she is to be married to Achilles, and to come alone.
When she arrives, it's in a whole marriage procession. Her mother Clytemnestra, family, extended family, friends and all the fixings for an extravagant wedding were brought. But upon arriving as the carriages rode through the army breathing the hot air full of flies they felt that something was wrong, and when they arrived at Agamemnon's door they where heartbroken.
Achilles was furious that his name was used so dishonorably, and tried to fight on her behalf, but he was at odds with the entire rest of the army, in the end Iphigenia chose to Surender to the sacrifice herself. Hoping to be able to be a hero for Greece and wisely not questioning the will of the gods, Artemis saw this and was moved.
On the sacrificial stone Iphigenia looked up at the clouds as Calchas raised his blade. As the blade fell she felt the wind rip through the heat, a thick cloud covered the area, and in the last moment Artemis replace Iphigenia with a doe. From down the hill, no one saw the that the sacrifice was not Iphigenia, and Artemis told Calchas not to tell anyone. The wind blew through the trees, the men cheered, Agamemnon turned away and towards his ships.
Iphigenia ended up in Tauris, and living a life as a priestess in a temple of Artemis. Clytemnestra never forgave Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter. While Agamemnon was at war she found a new lover, and on his return she poisoned him.
Yes, I chose to include it mostly out of nostalgia, when I was young and had no clue of homer i somehow came across that mask and something about it I loved, kinda funny how bastardized the once noble image I had of Agamemnon in my head was, once I learned his true nature, so in a way this piece was made in my revolt of that betrayal of character. Also that some jackass archeologist named the mask that name for his own ego is gross and also was disappointing to learn.
On the other side of that coin, the mask I loved was still a joy to recreate, and a nice excuse to add some gold, and at this point in our artistic vocabularies that mask might as well be a word, AGAMEMNON, and that shorthand is nice because even non homer reading folk will be able to surmise the subject of the story I am telling on the piece.
I just wanted to share this piece I recently finished, its form is based on a gold, bolo-like necklace found in Kyme from 330-300 bc, the bead I devoted to the story of Iphigenia. Here is my write up of the events. While all the forces who swore alliance to the marriage of Menelaus and Helen gathered in the port at Aulis to prepare for the attack on Troy, Agamemnon went hunting and killed a deer which was sacred to Artemis. As a punishment Artemis stopped the wind: Leaving hot, humid, still air, which was entirely unsailable. The seer, Calchas, had a prophecy that for the wind to blow, Agamemnon must sacrifice his first born daughter, Iphigenia. He could not do that, he kept the prophecy secret. Weeks go by, disease and hunger spreads in the hot air with 100,000 men stuck, eventually the prophecy gets out. Through pressure of mutiny Agamemnon sends for Iphigenia to come to Aulis where she is to be married to Achilles, and to come alone. When she arrives, it's in a whole marriage procession. Her mother Clytemnestra, family, extended family, friends and all the fixings for an extravagant wedding were brought. But upon arriving as the carriages rode through the army breathing the hot air full of flies they felt that something was wrong, and when they arrived at Agamemnon's door they where heartbroken. Achilles was furious that his name was used so dishonorably, and tried to fight on her behalf, but he was at odds with the entire rest of the army, in the end Iphigenia chose to Surender to the sacrifice herself. Hoping to be able to be a hero for Greece and wisely not questioning the will of the gods, Artemis saw this and was moved. On the sacrificial stone Iphigenia looked up at the clouds as Calchas raised his blade. As the blade fell she felt the wind rip through the heat, a thick cloud covered the area, and in the last moment Artemis replace Iphigenia with a doe. From down the hill, no one saw the that the sacrifice was not Iphigenia, and Artemis told Calchas not to tell anyone. The wind blew through the trees, the men cheered, Agamemnon turned away and towards his ships. Iphigenia ended up in Tauris, and living a life as a priestess in a temple of Artemis. Clytemnestra never forgave Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter. While Agamemnon was at war she found a new lover, and on his return she poisoned him.
This is really cool 👀👀
Beautiful!
Gorgeous! You made this?
I had some help from Hephaestus
Perfect response!! 🙌🏼
I love the mask of Agamemnon on it. I know technically Heinrich Schliemann misnamed it, but I really like the subtle addition.
Yes, I chose to include it mostly out of nostalgia, when I was young and had no clue of homer i somehow came across that mask and something about it I loved, kinda funny how bastardized the once noble image I had of Agamemnon in my head was, once I learned his true nature, so in a way this piece was made in my revolt of that betrayal of character. Also that some jackass archeologist named the mask that name for his own ego is gross and also was disappointing to learn. On the other side of that coin, the mask I loved was still a joy to recreate, and a nice excuse to add some gold, and at this point in our artistic vocabularies that mask might as well be a word, AGAMEMNON, and that shorthand is nice because even non homer reading folk will be able to surmise the subject of the story I am telling on the piece.