Bernard Picart, Ixion's Wheel



Date: 1733 (1754 edition)
Technique: Etching and engraving, 13 1/2 x 10 in.

From the Temple of the Muses (Neu-Erofneer Musen-Tempel) published in Amsterdam and Leipzig

The King of the Lapithae, Ixion, was invited to dine with the Gods. When he gazed upon Hera he was immediately consumed with irresistible desire. In the delirium of his passion Ixion embraced a cloud which Zeus had fashioned in the shape of Hera. The cloud became the mother of the Centaurs.

As punishment for his actions, Ixion was perpetually bound to a fiery, revolving wheel. Some accounts have the wheel placed in the night sky while others state it is located in the Infernal regions.

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