Mythology: The Wall Painting Of Apollo And Daphne

Roman mythology is the telling of accounts of myths that are typically represented in many forms of visual arts as well as different literatures. When delving into the past and focusing specifically on ancient Rome, it is evident that the people of this time period had quite a fixation on mythological representations throughout their society. These myths were not only a fascination of some members of society, but they were embraced by seemingly everyone as there were both private and public displays and dedications to different gods, epic battles, and heros from these mythological stories. One common form of expression of these myths in ancient Rome is through wall paintings. These works of art are found in both public and private settings

This story involves a woman named Daphne and the Roman god of music and the sun, Apollo. According to much literature, the myth suggests that the river nymph, Daphne, who was the daughter of the earth goddess and a river god, had caught the eye of the god Apollo. Apollo had soon after fallen in love with Daphne and attempted various times to win over the nymph. 1 However, Daphne never reciprocated Apollo’s fondness and turned the god down. Apollo was not content with this decision and attempted to kidnap Daphne, in the moment of her detainment, it is stated that she prayed to the gods to release her from the situation and was instantly transformed into a Laurel tree. 2 The wall painting in the House of the Dioscuri, in Pompeii depicts the moment of Daphne's capture by Apollo. The viewer of the painting can see that this love is unrequited through the unsettling display of Daphne’s body language as she is in Apollo’s grasp. This painting is one of many wall paintings recovered from the House of Dioscuri. In ancient Rome, wall paintings were quite common among the hierarchy of society. 2 The members of the community that were more wealthy were known to decorate the home with wall paintings and frescoes as they were elaborate displays and homeowners with this decor were viewed as being more high status, and sometimes even alluded to the owners level of education. Another factor that added to the

In the time of ancient Rome, women were excluded from political positions and often were seen as homemakers. This gives ancient Roman women the stigma of being inferior to men during this era. As women in this time were mainly curators of the home, many of the artworks in the Roman home were picked out by the women of the house. With this in mind, much of the artworks displayed in Roman homes depicted women more independent and self assured than they were described in literature. 4 Possibly due to the fact that women themselves were designing the art to be hung up. However, even with this increase in female independence seen in these paintings, when a woman was pictured in an artwork alongside a man, they were often shown in an inferior light. 4This complex stems mostly from the original Greek depiction of stories and myths, and oftentimes translates into the Roman visual representations. 1 This dated portrayal of women is evident in the wall painting of Apollo and Daphne from the House of Dioscuri, as well as the myth itself. In the original myth, Daphne is described as a river ‘nymph’ which inherently means she is a divine, inferior female. Within the myth she is also viewed in a vulnerable position with Apollo having power over her as he is a god, as well as having noticeable strength over her as she is unable to escape his grasp without having help and being transformed into a