DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.786#0192
chap, xu.] MYTHS OF THEBES. 175
GEdipus and the Sphinx.—The son of Laius is solving
the riddle put to him by
" That sad inexplicable beast of prey,"
whose " man-devouring" tendencies are seen in a human
skull beneath her paws. A Fury with a torch stands
behind the monster.5
(Edipus slaying Laius.—He has dragged his father from
his chariot, and thrown him to the earth; and is about to
plunge his sword into his body, heedless of the warning
of a Juno, who lays her hand on his shoulder, as if to
restrain his fury. Another winged being, a male, whose
brute ears mark him as allied to "Charun," stands
by the horses' heads.6
Amphiaraus and Eriphyle.—In some of these scenes a
female, reclining on her couch, is thought to represent the
treacherous
" Eriphyle, that for an onche of gold,
Hath privily unto the Grekis told
Where that her husbond hid him in a place,
For which he had at Thebis sory grace."
For behind her stands a figure, thought to be Polynices,
with the necklace of Harmonia in his hand, with which
he had bribed her ; and on the other side is a man
muffled, as if for a journey, who is supposed to represent
Amphiaraus,
7
5 The subject is repeated, with the 77, pp. 182, et seq. Micali, Ital. av.
omission of the skull. Inghir. I. tar. Rom. tav. 36. Inghirami follows Lanzi
67, 68. in interpreting this scene as the parting
6 Inghir. I. tav. 66. Gori, III. cl. 4, of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle. Gori
tab. 21, I. Gerhard takes this figure to (II. p. 262), however, took it for a
be Mantus, the king of the Etruscan version of the final parting-scene so
Hades, and what he holds in his hands often represented on Etruscan monu-
to be shields, or large nails. Gottheit. ments, without any reference to Greek
d. Etrus. p. 63, taf. VI. 2. mythology. It has also been regarded
7 Inghir. I. tav. 19, 20, 74, 75, 76, as the death of Alcestis. Ann. Inst.
GEdipus and the Sphinx.—The son of Laius is solving
the riddle put to him by
" That sad inexplicable beast of prey,"
whose " man-devouring" tendencies are seen in a human
skull beneath her paws. A Fury with a torch stands
behind the monster.5
(Edipus slaying Laius.—He has dragged his father from
his chariot, and thrown him to the earth; and is about to
plunge his sword into his body, heedless of the warning
of a Juno, who lays her hand on his shoulder, as if to
restrain his fury. Another winged being, a male, whose
brute ears mark him as allied to "Charun," stands
by the horses' heads.6
Amphiaraus and Eriphyle.—In some of these scenes a
female, reclining on her couch, is thought to represent the
treacherous
" Eriphyle, that for an onche of gold,
Hath privily unto the Grekis told
Where that her husbond hid him in a place,
For which he had at Thebis sory grace."
For behind her stands a figure, thought to be Polynices,
with the necklace of Harmonia in his hand, with which
he had bribed her ; and on the other side is a man
muffled, as if for a journey, who is supposed to represent
Amphiaraus,
7
5 The subject is repeated, with the 77, pp. 182, et seq. Micali, Ital. av.
omission of the skull. Inghir. I. tar. Rom. tav. 36. Inghirami follows Lanzi
67, 68. in interpreting this scene as the parting
6 Inghir. I. tav. 66. Gori, III. cl. 4, of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle. Gori
tab. 21, I. Gerhard takes this figure to (II. p. 262), however, took it for a
be Mantus, the king of the Etruscan version of the final parting-scene so
Hades, and what he holds in his hands often represented on Etruscan monu-
to be shields, or large nails. Gottheit. ments, without any reference to Greek
d. Etrus. p. 63, taf. VI. 2. mythology. It has also been regarded
7 Inghir. I. tav. 19, 20, 74, 75, 76, as the death of Alcestis. Ann. Inst.