Echidna was half woman, half speckled snake, known as the 'Mother of all Monsters' because many of the more famous monsters in Greek mythology were mothered by her. Echidna was the daughter of Tartarus and Gaia. She was a drakaina, with the face and torso of a beautiful woman and the body of a serpent, sometimes having two serpent's tails. In some stories, she has been said to have wings on her nymph body.
Echidna was known to protect the vineyards and lived in a cave, coming out to snatch up and eat those passing. Her and her mate attacked the Olympians, but Zeus beat them back and punished Typhon by sealing him under Mount Etna. However, Zeus allowed Echidna and her children to live as a challenge to future heroes.
Echidna mated frequently with Typhoeus producing a variety of offspring. Although she was an ageless nymph, she was not immortal. Echidna was finally killed when sleeping by Argos Panoptes, the hundred-eyed giant.
Paintings:
Unfortunately, it has been very difficult in sourcing paintings for Echidna. I have found a couple of modern paintings on her, except they are anonymous.
The first painting below shows Echidna sitting by rocks, staring at something. It may just be the sky, or it could be her waiting for her next victim. The painting has shown use of all primary colours, strongly using red.
The painting below shows Echidna in a 'happy' environment surrounded by her offspring. The colours in the painting very a lot, yet they have that 'faded' effect. Like other creatures, this painting shows Echidna to be wearing nothing on her torso... Maybe this is what lures men into her cave.
Film / Television Series:
Unfortunately, due to her unpopularity, Echidna has not featured in any films or televsioin series. Her offspring, Gorgons and Sphinx, etc, have been much more popular.
Below is a video that I have found, which includes information about Echidna and a few photographs. Skip to 6:19 to see her section.
Books:
TITLE: Hesiod's Theogony
AUTHOR: Richard S. Caldwell
YEAR: 1987
A focus information group
This book provides information on the history and background of the mythological context in which it is placed.
TITLE: Lernaean Hydra: Greek Mythology
AUTHOR: Frederic P. Miller
YEAR: 2010
This book mainly discusses the importance of the Serpent in Greek Mythology. It talks about different creatures, including Echidna.
Photography:
TITLE: Myth to Life: Echidna
PHOTOGRAPHER: Red Phoenix
This photograph shows a modern conception of the Greek Mythological Creature, Echidna. It is a very naturally pretty young girl with what appears to be a 'photoshopped' Serpent's tail added to her waist down. Again, this photograph shows nudity on the top half of her human body.
Below is another photograph taken of a beautiful lady with an edited background and Serpent's tail to give off the true effect of Echidna.
The Sirens were dangerous, yet beautiful creatures, portrayed as femme fatales. The three Sirens that were written about the most in Greek mythology were Pisinoe, Aglaope and Thelxiepi, all daughters of the river god, Archelous. They were sisters that lured sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. All locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks and the song of the Sirens was irresistible. Sailors would sail their boats beyong the unpassable reefs to reach the Sirens, which destroyed their boats.
The Greeks portrayed the Sirens in their 'meadow starred with flowers' and not as sea deities. One of them played the lyre, one played the flute and another one sang. Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility, turned the Sirens into half-women, half-bird creatures when the three failed to save Demeter's daughrter, Persephone. Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld, when he was seekign a wife.
Sirens were believed to combine women and birds in various ways. In early Greek art, they were represented as birds with womens heads, bird feathers and scaly feet. Later they were represented as seductive women with bird legs and with or without wings. In the 10th century, there was a mixed view. They were portrayed as birds from the chest up and women from the chest down and were also viewed as little birds with womens faces. Later on, Sirens were depicted as beautiful women, whose bodies and voices were seductive. Birds were chosen because of their beautiful voices.
Odysseus was tempted by the Sirens, but Odysseus ensured that his crew filled their ears with wax to block out the sound. They tied Odysseus to the mast of the boat so he could hear the song, but be unable to swim to them. Jason and Argonauts were also saved because they had Orpheus, a talented musician, on board with them. He played music that was even more beautiful, so the sailors hardly heard the sound of the Sirens.
Art
and Myth in Ancient Greece by T. H. Carpenter. Page 240 - 241
Sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their songs were able to pass by them.
Paintings:
TITLE: Fisherman and the Siren
ARTIST: Knut Ekwall
DATE: Approx. 1870
This painting shows a beautiful Siren luring a fisherman into the water, to his death. She has very long, red hair and is another creature who appears to be naked to help with seduction.
ARTIST: Viktor Vasnetsov
This painting shows two Siren's who are singing their beautiful song to lure fisherman to their deaths. This image shows two birds with large female heads. They both seem to be wearing crowns, showing they are of wealth or importance. They are also wearing jewellery consisting of a necklace and earrings which also helps to portray themselves as beautiful creatures.
Films / Television Series: Film - 'Siren'
2010 This film is about friends who go sailing through the sea for a relaxing weekend and come across a lady trapped upon an island. They want to rescue her, but do not realise that she is, in fact, a Siren. They do everything they can to get off the island, but her sweet song has the ability to hypnotise them.
Film - 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'
2011
During the Renaissance era, there was belief that Siren's were actually mermaids. Below is a clip from Pirates of the Caribbean, where they visited an island and were attacked by, Siren like, mermaids.
Books:
TITLE: The Odyssey
AUTHOR: Homer
YEAR: First book which tells the myth. Unknown date due to age.
TITLE: Surface (Siren's Lullaby #1)
AUTHOR: Jody Morse & Jayme Morse
YEAR: 2012
TITLE: Siren's Storm
AUTHOR: Lisa Papademetriou
YEAR: 2012
Photography:
TITLE: The Siren
PHOTOGRAPHER: Ryan Bater
This photograph shows a beautiful lady sitting by water. Her legs are painted brown which symbolises the bottom bird half. Her eye makeup is blue, yet looks very eerie and strong. Her hair is long and sleeked back with water. This model is also topless, showing off a lot of flesh. The eye makeup and brown legs blend nicely with the colourings in the water.
TITLE: Song to the Siren on Behance
PHOTOGRAPHER: Zhang Jingna
DATE: 2012
MAKEUP: Dewi Mahoney
HAIR: Wai Fun
Bridal shoot for Singapore Brides
This photograph shows a beautiful lady effortlessly dressed in a wedding gown on a shore. The blue jewellery contrasts well with the thought of an ocean behind her. She has long, wet, wavy hair with quite natural looking brown eyeshadow.
Again, this photo shows two women dressed in wedding gowns on the shore. There is lots of flesh on show, sticking to the seductive theme. The original Siren look is to have pretty girls singing a beautiful song to lure men. I really feel that this shoot works nicely with the overall look and conept of the original Greek myth.
I have conducted a test shoot where I applied makeup and hair skills to
create my own first version of a Siren. I firstly wanted to recreate her
image without use use of wings and feathers, which i do like. Then
again, it's not obvious that she is a Siren without these. I
feel that the eye makeup works nicely with her
character as it's very pretty and enticing, and works well in water scenary. Where a Siren's head is a woman and the body is a bird, I do not find it necesary to apply bird like makeup to her face. I wanted to
stick to the boat theme with her outfit, so she is wearing rope around her neck as a prop. I have chosen for her to wear a black sequined top, as i feel sequins are one of the better ways to resemble water in a modern way. Due to Siren's being very seductive, I want to keep lots of flesh on show.
Meliae were Oread nymphs of the mountain Ash, whose name they shared.
They were created from Gaia and the drops of blood spilled when Cronus
castrated Ouranos. They are young human ladies who grow within the
trees. The Erinyes sprang from the same blood, meaning perhaps that the
ash tree nymphs represented the fates in a nicer appearance. The race of
mankind of the Age of Bronze sprang from the Meliae.
Ash
tree nymphs discharged a sugary substance in which the ancient Greeks
called manna (honey). The manna of the ash and the honey of bees were
believed to be related, both seen as delicious food fallen from the
heaven.
The
Meliae were the mothers of the third, Bronze Race, of mankind. The sons
were nursed with their mothers' honey and the sons would craft spears
from the branches of their mothers' trees. They were an overly warlike
race who incurred the wrath of Zeus. The Meliae were destroyed in the
floods of the Great Deluge.
Paintings:
TITLE: Hylas and the Nymphs
As the Greek myth goes, King Hylas was on an expedition when he decided to get some water. when he reached into a spring to retrieve it, he was carried off by water nymphs, never to be seen again. It seems very common in Greek myths for men to be struck by the beauty of particular creatures, which lure them to their deaths.
TITLE: Nymph
ARTIST: Jules-Joseph Lefebvre
DATE: Approx. 1860
French academic painter
This painting shows a forest nymph with flowers decorating her her. It is very noticeable that most Greek paintings show Nymphs to be very pretty and naked females. This is clearly what was used to lure men over to them, in which brought them to their deaths. They also tended to have long, wavy hair that was decorated with tree/flower like hair pieces. Their faces were very natural looking and their whole bodies were very pale.
Films / Television Series:
Short Film - 'Nymph'
2012
This
is a story based on the ancient myth involoving the God and a Nymph. A
man is tormented by the Nymphs beauty, and when faced with her
terrifying power, he chooses to flee the city and run deep into the
wilderness.
Film - 'Nymph'
2009
This
film is about a couple who go to a forest to find themselves. They see
that fantasy becomes reality and try to hide from an eerie character,
the Nymph.
Books:
TITLE: Nymph
AUTHOR: Francesca Lia Block
DATE:2000
TITLE: Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore
AUTHOR: Jennifer Larson
DATE: 2001
Related research:
There
is a tree that still grows today called the Melia tree, otherwise known
as White Cedar. It is a very similar description to the trees in the
mountain Ash, without the Nymphs. All Melia trees are deciduous or
semi-evergreen.
The
Melia tree grows tasty berries/fruits in which are poisenous to eat.
Although eating a couple will not do too much harm, if you eat them in a
large quantity, then you will most likely die within 24 hours. Some
birds are able to eat the berries/fruit and spread seeds in their
droppings. The trees leaves have been used as a natural insecticide to
keep with stored food, but most not be eaten as these are also highly
poisenous.
Photography:
This image is part of a collection called Moscow Nymph Wood and was photographed by Evgeny Freeone. It shows a head and shoulder shot of a woman painted a dark gold colour with bark effects on her body and face. Tree props have been sprayed gold and used in her hair and on her chest. This really helps to give the feel of a modern tree Nymph. The red background contrasts with her red lips very well. Overall, I really love this photograph - I think the makeup artist got everything right.
This is another photograph shot byEvgeny Freeone. This look was meant to represent a historical fairy, but I feel as though this works very well with the tree Nymph look. Applying green makeup to the skin and body, with the use of green spray and flowers in the hair, the model resembles a tree Nymph very well. I especially like the idea of mixing red and green together as they are contrasting colours, yet work extremely well together in this photograph. Using glitter under the eyes and on the forehead, shows that the Nymph is trying to portray herself as beautiful to lure men to her.
I love this photograph of an Egyptian look by the same photographer, as I feel that the special effects used, would be great to use for a Nymph creature. I feel the mud prosthetic really resembles bark very well. I think this would look gorgeous down a models face and neck.
Again, I really like the below photograph due to the bark effect on the face. The texture of cracked brown lines really gives the skin a bark effect which is perfect for the Ash Tree Nymphs.
I have created a picture board to show my current thoughts on my personal view of the Ash Tree Nymph. The Nymphs tend to have a brown and green theme to represent trees and to ensure they are camofalgued in the forest.
Below is the first moodboard in which I have created for the Ash Tree Nymph. I have included the images that I thought would work well for her final look. I love the idea of using tree textures on the face and body to create a 3D effect. Also, I would quite like to do some body painting with airbrushing makeup onto the face and body. I have included jewellery to start thinking about the styling side of the character. I have also included photographs of flower hair pieces, as they would be important, depending on whether I use prosthetics or natural skin for this creature.
Hades was the Ancient Greek God of the underworld and is the oldest male child of Crones and Rhea. Referring to the myth, Hades and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated the Titans and claimed rulership. This is what allowed him to become God of the underworld, ruling over the dead.
He was a very greedy God who always wanted to increase the number of deaths to create a bigger underworld. He favoured anyone who helped to increase the number of deaths. The Erinyes were welcomed guests, but he declined anyone else that entered to leave.
Hades was also the God of wealth, due to the lavish metals mined from the earth. He had a helmet that made him invisible and rarely left the underworld. He had a wife called Persephone, whom he once abducted. Although he is the King of the dead, he is not death itself.
Cerberus was his 'pet' monster. He was a gigantic hound which guarded the gates to the underworld and was used to stop ghosts of the dead leaving. He was a three headed dog with a serpent's tail, a mane of snakes, and a lion's claws.
Paintings:
Unfortunately, both of the paintings below have an anonymous artist, but they are dated back to the Ancient Greek era.
The first painting is a concept of what the underworld is really like. Here, you can see many people in which have died or been captured. The black and orange colours have been used to give this paining an eerie feel, proving that Hades was known as the evil God.
Although the second painiting is anonymous, it has been suggested that this is the moment that Hades abducted his wife, Persephone. Again, it is a very eerie looking painting due to the colours used. The colours from the people and the underworld seem to contrast nicely. There are lots of dead bodies and skulls on the floor, which also proves that Hades is the god that everyone was afraid of.
TITLE: Ixion Plunged into Hades
ARTIST: J. Elie Delaunay
DATE: 1876
Oil on Canvas
This painting shows Hades is bound by snakes, set by Ixion, and writhes in pain. He was then condemned of eternal suffering. Using a palette of black and dark red colours, this painting powerfully conveys the tragic implications of the scene.
Films / Television Series:
Documentary - 'Hades God of the Underworld'
In 2013, a documentary was created to study Hades and the underworld. It explains why he became the King of the underworld and what actually happened there.
Film - 'Hercules' (Walt Disney)
(Voiced by James Woods).
In 1997, Disney brought out a film and television series called 'Hercules'. Although the original myths show that Hades is not malevolent, Disney have transpired him into an evil figure. During the film, Hades attempts to steal his brother, Zeus' throne as ruler of Mount Olympus.
Television Series - 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'
In 1995, a television series was made, based upon the life of Hercules.Again, Hades played the role of an evil character.
Documentary - Greek Mythology: God and Goddesses
In 2013, a documentary was created on the Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology. It contains lots of information and photographs that help to understand what the ancient Greek world was really like.
Books:
TITLE: Hades: God of the Underworld AUTHOR: Teri Temple
YEAR: 2008
Explains the life of Hades and the happenings in the underworld.
TITLE: The House of Hades
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan
YEAR: 2013
A fictional book telling the tale of Hades in a modern form.
Photography:
The following photographs were taken by Stella Bonasoni for HUF Magazine. Isabella Sarti applied the makeup, whilst Valentina Zanerini styled the hair.
This image shows Hades and Persephone in a modern take of ancient Greek styling and makeup. The image as a whole does portray a scary character, but almost looks as though Hades is the captee to Persephone.
The styling in this image from the waist down looks like a modern version of the Greek god in the Underworld. When you look at the styling as a whole, the headpiece almost makes him look like a softer man. It appears to be a very feminine headpiece that would have been worn by a lady, as part of a dress, in the Elizabethan era (right). He also appears to be wearing an accessory on the top of his head, similar to Elizabeth in the painting on the right. Since they have this in common, the stylist may have chosen the design of this outfit to make him look Royal and important.
Here is another photograph taken by Stella Bonasoni of an action shot. This image shows Persephone to be blindfolded, whilst Hades seems to be swifting her down the stairs. This could represent when Hades abducted Persephone as the stairs could symbolise the journey to the underworld. It also looks as though Hades is using more force to take her down the stairs, in which proves that this is an important scene from the myth.
I have created a picture board of the character that I see Hades to be. I can imagine him to be a lonely, yet tough character. I have included Cerberus as it helps to show his personality and the fire is there to represent the underworld.
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