Secundum mythologiam Graecam Andromeda filia Cephei e Cassiepeiae erat. A patre suo ad terram propriam a monstro marino conservandam sacrificata, a Perseo liberata est, qui Andromedae narrationem audivit, eam amavit et cum ea coniunctus est. Hic mythus Euripidem ad tragoediam scribendam hortatus est, Andromedam, quae tamen usque ad tempora nostra non conservata est - hodie solum fragmenta eius habemus. Probabiliter hoc in opere auctor opem affectuum spectatoribus demonstrare desiderabat; eo ipso de vi amoris ardentis disceptatur, qui homines improviso capere potest. Ad fabulam restituendam res ab Euripide exposita cum Aristophanis comoedia (Thesmophoriazusae) confertur, quae fabulam ab Euripide narratam continet. Hoc in modo Aristophanes fabulam propriam facilius ad finem adduxit.
The paper analyses three relief sculptures that decorate spandrels of the northern façade of the Prague Belvedere, which was built by Ferdinand I between 1538 and ca. 1550. Their uniqueness consists in that it is the first series inspired by the myth of Perseus in Renaissance architectural sculpture. We find here, from left to right: Perseus freeing Andromeda, Perseus turning Atlas into a rock by showing him the head of Medusa, and Pegasus creating a source of poetical inspiration. The monogram, FA (Ferdinand I and Anna, his wife) is the only inscription on this villa and it has a crucial role in the villa decoration. We may consider Perseus as alter ego of Ferdinand I.
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