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Lot Essay
The virgin goddess Diana (or Artemis in Greek) is one of the twelve gods and goddesses of Olympus. She is the personification of Chastity, but this is only one of her aspects. In her pre-Greek origins she was an Earth goddess who watched over wild life. She then became identified with the Moon goddess, Luna. The Romans worshipped her as a triple deity; Luna (the sky), Diana (the earth) and Hecate (the underworld). She was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and the twin sister of Apollo. Portrayed here she is a huntress wearing a short tunic, with her hair tied back. She carries a bow and quiver, or spear and is often accompanied by dogs or a stag. Her attribute as Moon goddess is the crescent moon worn over her brow.
Jupiter (or Zeus in Greek) is the supreme ruler of the gods and mortals, the chief of the twelve Olympians, and father of Diana. He is the god of the sky and the changing weather, whose thunderbolts destroy his enemies. He is also merciful and protects the weak. His traditional image is depicted with noble features framed by the ambrosial locks that made Olympus shake when he nodded. But the picture that is evident from the work of later artists is a different one; he then represents the god of many loves who deceives maidens, divine and mortal, by his metamorphoses. His main attributes are few; the eagle, which may be regarded as his messenger or sometimes as the personification of Jupiter himself, the thunderbolt which represents lightning and therefore power, and the sceptre, the symbol of regal authority.
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Jupiter (or Zeus in Greek) is the supreme ruler of the gods and mortals, the chief of the twelve Olympians, and father of Diana. He is the god of the sky and the changing weather, whose thunderbolts destroy his enemies. He is also merciful and protects the weak. His traditional image is depicted with noble features framed by the ambrosial locks that made Olympus shake when he nodded. But the picture that is evident from the work of later artists is a different one; he then represents the god of many loves who deceives maidens, divine and mortal, by his metamorphoses. His main attributes are few; the eagle, which may be regarded as his messenger or sometimes as the personification of Jupiter himself, the thunderbolt which represents lightning and therefore power, and the sceptre, the symbol of regal authority.
See illustration