Eirene (goddess)

This article is about the Greek goddess. For the Roman goddess, see Pax (goddess). For other uses, see Irene (disambiguation).
Eirene
Goddess of peace
Member of the Horae
Statue of Eirene with the infant Ploutos: Roman marble copy of bronze votive statue by Cephisodotus the Elder, now in the Glyptothek, Munich
Symbolcornucopia, sceptre, torch, rhyton
Genealogy
ParentsZeus and Themis
SiblingsEunomia, Dike, the Moirai, several paternal half-siblings
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Eirene (/aɪˈriːniː/; Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη, Eirḗnē, [ei̯ˈrɛːnɛː], lit. 'Peace'),[1] more commonly known in English as Peace, is one of the Horae, the personification and goddess of peace in Greek mythology and ancient religion. She was depicted in art as a beautiful young woman carrying a cornucopia, sceptre, and a torch or rhyton. She is usually said to be the daughter of Zeus and Themis and thus sister of Dike and Eunomia. Pax was her Roman counterpart in Greek parts of the Roman Empire, and the two goddesses were identified during the imperial period.[2] The given names Irene and Irenaeus and their forms in various languages, and the word 'irenic' derive from Eirene.[3]

Cult

Eirene was particularly well regarded by the citizens of Athens. After a naval victory over Sparta in 375 BC, the Athenians established a cult for Peace, erecting altars to her. They held an annual state sacrifice to her after 371 BC to commemorate the Common Peace of that year and set up a votive statue in her honour in the Agora of Athens. The statue was executed in bronze by Cephisodotus the Elder, likely the father or uncle[4] of the famous sculptor Praxiteles. It was acclaimed by the Athenians, who depicted it on vases and coins.[5]

Although the statue is now lost, it was copied in marble by the Romans; one of the best surviving copies is in the Munich Glyptothek. It depicts the goddess carrying a child with her left arm—Ploutos, the god of plenty and son of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Peace's missing right hand once held a sceptre. She is shown gazing maternally at Ploutos, who is looking back at her trustingly. The statue is an allegory for Plenty (i.e., Ploutos) prospering under the protection of Peace; it constituted a public appeal to good sense.[5] The copy in the Glyptothek was originally in the collection of the Villa Albani in Rome but was looted and taken to France by Napoleon. Following Napoleon's fall, the statue was bought by Ludwig I of Bavaria.[6]

References

  1. ^ Beekes, R. S. P. (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Brill. p. 391. No etymology; Pre-Greek origin is very probable, principally because of the ending
  2. ^ Simon, Erika, "Pax", in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). VII.1: Oidipous – Theseus, Zurich and Munich, Artemis Verlag, 1994. ISBN 3760887511. Internet Archive. p. 205.
  3. ^ Gauché, Isebell (3 February 2012). "Irene". The A to Z of Names (revised and expanded ed.). Struik Christian Media. ISBN 978-1-4153-1626-9 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Robertson, Martin (1981). A Shorter History of Greek Art. Cambridge University Press. p. 138. [Praxiteles' father's name is not recorded,] but, given Greek practice of handing down names and crafts in the family, it is likely that if not Praxiteles' father, he was a relation.
  5. ^ a b Wünsche, Raimund [in German] (2007). Glyptothek, Munich: Masterpieces of Greek and Roman Sculpture. C. H. Beck. p. 79. ISBN 978-3-406-56508-3.
  6. ^ Robinson, Edward (1892). Catalogue of Casts Part III Greek and Roman Sculpture. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. p. 222.

Further reading

  • Media related to Eirene at Wikimedia Commons
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eirene_(Greek_goddess)