redscharlach: Ganymede Serving Nectar to the Gods (c. 1534-38) by Parmigianino Zeus and Ganymede is
redscharlach:Ganymede Serving Nectar to the Gods (c. 1534-38) by ParmigianinoZeus and Ganymede is one of Greek mythology’s canonical slash pairings, but it’s one that Mighty Moments In Slash History has so far neglected to discuss. This is mainly because Ganymede is often represented as being VERY young, and Zeus is generally portrayed as an old beardy guy, and frankly the whole thing is just too Operation Yewtree to think about.Fortunately, some artists preferred their Ganymedes to be rather more grown-up, and here’s one example. Interesting, Parmigianino hasn’t drawn the most famous bit of the legend, which is when Ganymede gets kidnapped by Zeus in the form of a giant eagle. (No hard feelings, though; they were still able to have a friendly drink afterwards.) Instead, he’s chosen a scene from Ganymede’s later career as a cup-bearer to the gods. In his left hand, Ganymede is holding a goblet of nectar (the Official Beverage of the Deities of Olympus™) but we can’t see what he’s holding in his right hand because it disappears off the edge of the paper. It may be a dish of ambrosia, but then again, drunken omnipotent beings probably make all sorts of unlikely demands, so it could well be a KFC party bucket.Most interesting of all is the crowd of gods in the background, none of whom are paying even the tiniest bit of attention to their server for the evening and his state of alluring undress. In fact, they seem to be whispering to each other: “Here comes Ganymede, letting it all hang out AGAIN. Zeus almighty, this is getting tedious. When you’ve seen one immortal todger you’ve seen them all. Isn’t anyone going to tell him? Nobody CARES. And I bet he forgot to bring those Pringles I asked for…” -- source link
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