Friday, February 19, 2010

Myths and Legends: Zeus and Amalthea

Zeus and Amalthea. To find out more about the goat who nursed the infant Zeus, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

In this sculpture by a young Gian Lorenzo Bernini (just seventeen years old), you can see the Goat Amalthea with the infant Zeus and a Faun. Sometimes Amalthea is shown as a goat, as here, and she can also be represented as a nymph tending a flock of goats. Zeus was nurtured by this goat in concealment in order to protect him from his father Cronus. Zeus's mother, the goddess Rhea, fooled Cronus by giving him a stone to devour in place of Zeus and then hid Zeus in a cave on the island of Crete, entrusting him to the care of Amalthea.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of February 19-25 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.