Mythology has its origins in human’s deep past. Mythological concerns are said to be expressed in some of the oldest man-made structures, such as the circular, megalithic structures of British prehistory. Symbolism is a key component of mythology, touching the deepest aspects of human and group. Myth-making, the long and complex construction of mythology, is an unconscious, ritualistic and collective process, making myths a "spiritual commune" of internalized shared memory.
For ancient Greek mythology, the dominant vehicle was literature, although it inspired timeless creations in drama, music, the visual arts and later, cinematography. In the arts, in particular, whole movements have been inspired by mythology, such as the surrealists, who, living between two world wars and feeling that they are living in "a time of monsters", used the Minotaur as their emblem. Eros and Psyche, the Odyssey, the myth of Sisyphus, the Centaurs, gods and demons of ancient Greek mythology have inspired the most potent artistic expressions from antiquity to the present day.
In the following virtual exhibition, navigate mythological iconography, from the graphic materials found in travel accounts of journeys to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean from the15th-19th centuries, to paintings and sculptures by Greek and foreign artists of the 20th century and discover the relationships between ancient myths and modern art.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
