Ajax and Cassandra by Solomon Joseph Solomon: Mythic Tragedy on Canvas (1886)
Cassandra is dragged from Athena's altar while Ajax seizes what the gods will later punish. Solomon Joseph Solomon's Ajax and Cassandra (1886) turns the fall of Troy into a single brutal clinch: prophecy ignored, sanctuary violated, and Academic musculature used to make outrage look undeniable. Quick facts Artist: Solomon Joseph Solomon (1860-1927) Date: 1886 Medium: Oil on canvas Notable fact: British Academic history painting of Ajax dragging Cassandra from Athena's altar after Troy's fall Solomon Joseph Solomon, Ajax and Cassandra , 1886. Oil on canvas. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The Curse Behind the Struggle Apollo gave Cassandra foresight and, when she refused him, the curse that nobody would believe her. She warned Troy about the horse; Troy shrugged. Solomon paints the later outrage - Ajax the Lesser tearing her from sacred shelter - so the myth's cruelty is physical, not merely verbal. Bodies That Argue Cassandra's twist and...