Pop-culture woman of the week: Leda

Name: Leda (Λήδα)
First appearance: Greek mythology
Creator: Some Greek
Weapon/ability: Child-bearing
Race: Aetolian (Greek)
Age: Lived a normal lifespan

Leda was probably the daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius (Θέστιος) – as usual the Greek mythology is not completely clear on who is related to who, and how. Thestius was (probably, of course) a son of the god Ares and the human woman Epicaste (Ἐπικάστη), thus making Leda herself partly divine. Her mother was Eurythemis. She was the sister of Iphicles, one of the Argonauts – a band of heroes who accompanied Jason on his hunt for the golden fleece, Althaea, Eurypylus, Evippus, Hypermnestra, and Plexippus.

Leda was married to the Spartan king Tyndareus (Τυνδαρεύς – or sometimes Tyndareos Τυνδάρεως), but it was not that which was to make her famous. Instead it was the illicit meeting she had with a bird. The god Zeus got infatuated with the Spartan queen, and to satisfy his lust he turned himself into a swan and then seduced, or raped, her. The same night she slept with her husband – and the result was four children.

A common idea is that the queen laid two eggs, as a memory of the encounter. Who was in which egg differs between different sources, but it is generally believed that Helena and both or one of the twin-brothers Castor and Pollux were the children of Zeus. If it was just one of the brothers, it is generally believed to be Pollux who was the partly divine one. And in some earlier stories it seems like both brothers were mortal. On the other hand it has never been any debate on the second daughter, Clytemnestra, being mortal and the daughter of the Spartan king.

But Leda also had three other daughters by her husband, Thestius: Philonoe, Phoebe, and Timandra.

What happened to the Spartan queen later in life, the myths are less helpful with. But there are plenty of stories around her children, from the Iliad and such onwards.

Leda and the swan has been a motif in art, since ancient times – continuing into our own. The mosaic here can be found in the British Museum, it is Roman and dates to the later part of the second century A.D.

Photo of the week - Olga

Date: 1900's
Photographer: B. Bolling
Sitter: Olga
Provenience: Vetlanda (Hvetlanda, with old spelling), Sweden.

This is a photo from the time when everybody went to the photographer, when everybody was handing out their photos to friends and family - and now you can find these pictures in the old photo-albums, not knowing anything about the person there. If you are lucky you have a name, something written down by somebody who knew who the sitter was. In this case all which is known of her is her first name: Olga - written on the front of the photo.

But more can be deducted if the photo is closely studied. The photo-studio was situated in a rural area of Sweden, and this is very likely a rural girl. Her dress is up to date, it has obviously meant quite a bit of work - and she is just as obviously not from the upper classes of the world. Her chequered blouse (you can see a hint of a dark skirt too, so it is certainly not a dress) is trimmed with lace, which makes it unlikely she was poor, but the fabric is a bit stiff and so is the lace. She is obviously dressed in fine clothes (you did that when you went to the photographer back then), but it is not the clothes of someone who could afford to buy whatever they liked - this is a time when flimsy materials were quite in vogue.

The only jewellery Olga is wearing is a brooch at the collar, it is small and rather simple - far from the daring, flowing styles of the art nouveau which were popular at this time. Her hair-do is just as simple, her hair is just pinned up in a homely fashion - still it is quite modern for the time, and looks quite beautiful that way.

After all, beauty is not just a matter of money.

Fashion of the week - Ladies dressed for a visit, 1874

This picture was published in the French Journal des Demoiselles in 1874.

For once this fashion print does not show an odd mix of dresses for different occasions, but rather chooses to show different models of the same type of the dress - that is the dress for visits. This kind of dress was meant to be worn when leaving the house in the daytime to go and visit others, or doing other stuff in the daytime which meant you wanted to look your best

Of course this was not a luxury afforded by everyone, most women did not have a spare change of clothes for when they were going to call on others, but the fashion magazines did not have that kind of woman as their main audience either. For them the important reader was the well-to-do woman (often the kind with a well-to-do father or husband), and they could very well be persuaded they needed something like this.

The difference between these dresses and normal day-wear is, of course, that these are more fashionable, more over the top. There are trains, ruffles and mixes of different fabrics - light and dark and chequered and plain. Even the girl, wearing similar clothes (but with a shorter skirt, since she, after all, is not grown up), has different fabrics in her dress. At the same time you would not mistake these dresses for evening-wear. The colours are too sombre, the cut too modest for that - and you would not have had long sleeves. This was for showing off - in the daytime, which could be just as important, even though it might be more common with smaller gatherings then, than later at night. After all, a lady should always look her best.

Religious woman of the week - Catherine of Alexandria

Name: Catherine of Alexandria
Function: Saint
Sphere of influence: Philosophers, students, preachers, libraries, and a lot of other things
Place of origin: Alexandria, Egypt

The actual existence of the person Catherine of Alexandria is debated. There does not exist any hagiography dated to any time near when she was supposed to have lived (late 3rd century-early 4th century), all mentions of her and her legend are from several centuries later. It has been suggested that she was created as a counterpart to the pagan Hypatia, also from Alexandria, and also a highly intelligent woman who debated with scholars and learned men, and who also suffered a gruesome death – but whose existence is not questioned.

According to legend Catherine was a good Christian girl, who was greatly upset with the Roman emperor Maxentius and his persecutions of Christians. To prove that she was right and he was wrong she entered a debate on the greatness of the Christian faith with a whole group of wise, but pagan, men. Of course she converted each and every one of them – and the wife of Maxentius, the empress Valeria Maximilla. The emperor did not like that and put Catherine in prison, but she still continued to convert people there, people who came to visit her. Then it was ordered she was to be put to death with a wheel – but the wheel splintered, and in the end she was beheaded.

Her importance grew after her death. She was regarded as one of “fourteen holy helpers”, that is the fourteen saints who could give the most help from heaven. And according to one legend, an angel carried her body to mount Sinai, where the emperor Justinian built a church and a monastery in her honour. The monastery still exists. But because of the nature of her legend, and the questionability of its reliability, the Catholic church chose in 1969 to remove her fest from the list of feasts to be universally celebrated by the church – but she remained an officially recognized Catholic saint (just as she is a saint in the eastern orthodox church). In 2002 her feast was kind of restored, the church saying it was “optional” to celebrate it. The feast day is 25 November, except in Russia where it is on the 24th.

Catherine’s attribute is first and foremost the wheel, preferably broken, which she is often to be recognized by. But other attributes are books, a bridal veil and ring, or a crown at her feet. The painting at the top of this post is made by Raphael, from about 1507, and is one of the many famous paintings of the saint.

Woman of the week - Fanny Elssler

Name: Franziska, Fanny, Elssler (also spelled Elßler)
Born: 23 June 1810, Gumendorf outside Vienna, Austria
Died: 27 November 1884, Vienna, Austria
Married to: None.
Children: Franz (died in 1873)
Therese (1833-1870)
Occupation: Dancer

Fanny Elssler was one of the most famous ballerinas of the 19th century. She was the daughter of Johann Florian Elssler, who worked as copyist for the Kapellmeister Joseph Haydn. He was to eventually become a valet to the famous composer (and was present at his death). Fanny was trained in ballet from an early age and made her début before the age of seven. She was often performing with her two years older sister Therese (1808-1878). The older sister was to be overshadowed by the success of Fanny, but they continued to perform together – Therese finally leaving the stage when she had gathered quite a fortune and could look forward to a comfortable life, though in the end she chose to marry, at the age of 42 she became the wife of Adalbert Prinz von Preussen, the youngest brother of king Friedrich Wilhelm III.

The beginning of the great success for Fanny Elssler came at her performance in Berlin 1830 – with her sister. This was to mark the beginning of international travels and performances in Europe and the US. One of her most famous performances was doing the La Cachucha in the role of Florinda in the ballet Le diable boiteu, written by Jean Coralli and Casimir Gide. This was even to be captured on prints of the time, and even in porcelain. She was to stay on stage and perform until she retired, as her sister, having earned a fortune which could make it possible for her to have a comfortable life henceforth. She lived outside of Hamburg. But she died in Vienna, and was buried there at the Hietzing cemetery.

Her personal life was not quite as straightforward as her career. In 1827 she met Leopold of Naples-Sicily, prince of Salerno, and son of Ferdinand IV, king of Naples. With Leopold she had the son Franz, who was to commit suicide in 1873. In 1829 she met Friedrich von Gentz (1764-1832), a writer and politician who had to withdraw from public affairs in 1830 and lived the reminder of his life on his castle at Weinhaus, and Fanny stayed with him there – when she was not out performing. After the death of Gentz she was to get reacquainted with an old friend from her youth, Anton Stuhlmüller, with whom she in 1833 had the daughter Therese. Therese was later to marry into the prestigious noble family of Webenau, but she died in 1870.

Pop-culture woman of the week - Chun-Li

Name: Chun-Li (チュンリー ,Chun-Rī, from the Chinese 春麗 Chūn-Lì)
First appearance: Street Fighter II (1991), from Capcom.
Creator: Akira "Akuman" Yasuda
Weapon/ability: Chuan Fa-fighting technique, her most famous attack is Hyakuretsu kyaku (百裂脚 ,Hundred Rending Kicks), commonly known as Lightning Kick.
Race: Chinese
Age: Born on March 1, 1968

Chun-Li was the first woman to appear in a one on one-fighting game as a playable character, when she entered the stage in Street Fighter II in 1991. She has since then appeared in every game in the series, as a playable character - but along the way had had the company of other women too (like Sakura, Rose and Cammy). She is sometimes referred to as "First Lady of Fighting Games".

Chun-Li's name means "spring beauty", with chun meaning spring and li beauty. She has no known last name.

In the game she is introduced as an Interpol-agent, working undercover, and searching for the one responsible for the murder of her father. It is revealed to her it is the crime-syndicate Shadaloo, run by the evil man M. Bison. But in this first game Bison gets away, and she swears vengeance. This continues in the following games.

In the games Chun-Li has two different outfits (and a third is added in Street Fighter IV, from 2008). The first one, the one seen in this picture, is a version of the qipao, also known as cheongsam, a Chinese dress from Manchuria - but open at the side to allow freer movement when fighting. In the second game she appeared, in this was changed to a blue body-suit and a small vest on top of it - though the qipao was later added as an alternative dress. In the Street Fighter IV game there is another dress available for Chun-Li to wear, available in a wide range of colours.

Chun-Li's hair-buns are known as "ox horns", a Chinese hair-do for children, and silk brocade and ribbons in her hair - this is to signify mourning for her dead father. Another feature in her appearance is her spiked bracelets.

Photo of the week - Ada Wennlund

Date: Around 1900
Photographer: Anna Nordlöw-Björk
Sitter: Ada Wennlund
Provenience: Gävle, (Gefle with old spelling), Sweden

Ada was born in 1881 in Stockholm, the older sister of Ragnhild Wennlund - who is my maternal grand-mother's mother. She was in the family referred to as "Little Ada", to keep her apart from her cousin Ada von Böös. She was later to marry the brother of Ragnhild's husband and take on the surname of Ringholm.

It is not the best of scans, but the photograph in itself is quite nice and interesting - rather solemn in the depicting of the young woman. Her clothes are simple, but simple in cut only, there is no reason to suspect it was cheap in any way at all, she was a girl from a well off middle class home. The sleeves of the blouse are extremely narrow and contrast to the big ruffled collar. The collar seems to have been made of some kind of very sheer fabric, but probably not lace on the collar itself. On the other hand there is some lace hinted at the neck. It is also possible there are some kind of lace trimming at the end of the sleeves, hard to tell for sure, but there is something there. The skirt has nothing extra added, and seems to have had the same colour as the blouse - at least it is the same kind of lightness to the two pieces. To this clothing are added the extra touches of both a necklace - a medallion - and a thick bracelet.

The hair is the most extravagant part of the picture. The hair has obviously been curled to make those rather hard, formal shapes on the top of her head. A few curls are left to soften the frame of the face, but the rest is pulled back and up, making it look like the hair is almost trying to defy the laws of gravity - and since this was long before the use of hair-spray that is quite an accomplishment.

Fashion of the week - Day dresses of 1840

This picture comes from the Austrian magazine Wiener Zeitschrift, printed in Vienna. This is from the issue for July 1840, and shows two women in day dresses - but the white one could possibly be described as a walking-dress too. It can be somewhat of a fine line between the two types of dresses since many women at the time hardly would have offered to have a specific dress for walking - though a day dress in good shape would have to be preferred if no such distinction was to be made in the woman's wardrobe; the walking-dress was what would be worn when visiting people in the day-time.

As we see here, the big sleeves of the 1830's had by now disappeared into something much more practical - and in the daytime long sleeves were always worn. But the shape of the skirt is much the same as previous years, as are the sloping shoulders, which is quite a contrast to the broad and straight shoulders preferred on men.

The checkered fabric on the woman to the left is also typical for both the 1830's and 40's - the clothing industry had made patterned fabrics a much cheaper commodity than it had ever been before, and it became widely popular now that anyone, or at least close to anyone, actually could afford it.

Another typical trait of the fashion in this example worth pointing out, is the ruffle at the end of the skirt, a very popular thing at the time - on skirts which otherwise were very plain in cut. These ruffles seem to have a corresponding thing going on at the top of the dresses too, over the bust - being straight out ruffles in one case and more of a folded fabric in the other - making it one of the more eye-catching part of the dresses. I doubt the aim was to make people stare at the busts of women, it is much more likely it was about making the upper part of the torso wider, which made the lower, corseted, part seem even smaller. A narrow-looking waist was about the most important thing on the silhouette of women at the time.

On Pause

My lovely blog will have to be paused for a little while now, but I am to return to it and you within a month, sometime before the middle of April.

Love to you all!

Goddess of the week - Nike

Name: Nike
Sphere of influence: Victory
Location: Greece
Famous portraits: Nike from Samothrace (but other portraits exist).

Nike (in Greek Νίκη) is the personification of victory. She was the daughter of Pallas and Styx, and the sister of Cratos, Bia and Zelus (other personifications). She enters the stage of classical myths in the service of Zeus during the Titan wars. Her mother has brought her and her siblings there and Nike was his charioteer. After the victory of Zeus, she and her siblings were appointed as senteniels, standing next to the throne of Zeus. This is the only time Nike is active in any mythological stories, but she is sometimes depicted as the god's charioteer from time to time.

She is generally portrayed with wings - one of the few gods and goddesses in classical Greece to be so. She could be seen with several different attributes, all to do with her role as the personified victory. It is the vessels needed for a libation (the ritual pouring of liquids as offerings to higher powers), a wreath to crown a winner, a lyre for playing a victory song, and so on. The list can be made much longer.

She is sometimes seen as closely related to the goddess Athena, and sometimes the two goddesses are merged so that Nike turns out to be nothing more than an aspect of the more prominent goddess.

Nike from Samothrace, the headless statue which can be seen here, is a prime example of Hellenistic art - found on the island of Samothrace. The exact date of the statue is not known, the classical assumption is somewhere 220-190 B.C., but dates from 250 to 180 B.C. have been mentioned too. The statue is now on display at the Louvre, Paris, where it has been since 1884.