LMAC continues with round #58. It all begins with @shaka's beautiful template photo:
My interpretation of this photo was inspired by various origin myths. Some of these have helpless babies adrift and rescued. Some have wolves acting as benevolent intermediaries. In some cases, a deity oversees rescue of the helpless baby.
Romulus and Remus: The Founding of Rome
Image credit: Benutzer Wolpertinger. Public domain. The wolf statue is said to be from the 13th century. The twins Romulus and Remus were added in the 15th.
The Foundation Myth for Rome
The summary offered here was derived from Romulus and Remus, by Brittany Garcia:
Romulus and Remus are twins. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, is a Vestal Virgin who lives in the city of Alba Longa. The father (in one popular version) is Mars. A Vestal Virgin who violates her vows is to be buried alive (she is, after all, supposed to be a virgin). But the king of Alba Longa is fearful of Mars so he spares the mother. The boys, however, are to be cast in the river where they, it is presumed, will drown. A merciful servant places the infants in a basket and sets the basket afloat on the Tiber River.
Tibernus Watches as Romulus and Remus are Rescued
Painting, Romulus and Remus by: Peter Paul Rubens, 1614-1619. From the Web Gallery of Art. Public domain. Here you see not only the wolf, the infants and Tibernus, but also the shepherd, who will raise the boys.
The god of the Tiber River, Tibernus, calms the waters and causes the basket to be snared on the roots of a fig tree. There the boys are discovered by a she-wolf, who suckles the infants. Eventually, a shepherd comes upon Romulus and Remus, and takes them home.
According to legend, other great leaders who have been set adrift in baskets and rescued include:
Moses
Credit: This engraving, 'Moses im Binsenkörbchen am Nile ausgesetzt', by Bernhard Rode (1725-1797), shows the baby Moses being put in a basket and set adrift on the Nile River.
The story of Moses' rescue from the Nile (summarized from British Library):
The Pharaoh of Egypt decrees that all first-born male babies be killed. Jochebed, mother of Moses, places him in a basket. She sets him afloat on the Nile, where she knows the Pharaoh's daughter bathes regularly. Sure enough, the young woman discovers the baby and rescues him. She raises Moses as her own.
Karna, Demigod from the Hindu epic, "Mahābhāratawho"
Credit: Extract from a larger piece, "Arjuna and His Charioteer Krishna Confront Karna". 1820 Public domain. From the Philadelphia Museum Collection.
This summary is derived from Fort Fairfield Journal, by David Deschesne):
In this tradition we see another pairing between a god (the sun god Surya) and a mortal, Kunti. This union results in the birth of the Hindu demigod, Karna. Shame over her unwed state drives Kunti to put her son in a basket. She places the basket in the Aswa River (Some sources say she placed him in the Ganges, and at least one source says the Yamuna.) Eventually the child is rescued by, "Adhiratha, charioteer of King Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur." Karna grows up to be a great leader and his exploits are revealed in the ancient Hindu epic, "Mahabharata".
The Wolf as Protector, or Deity
Egyptian Wolf God, Wepwawet
Image credit: Roland Unger. Used under CC license 1.0,2.0,2.5,3.0.
In the picture, Wepwawet is offering insignia to Seti 1,the Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled (approximately) from 1294 BC to 1279 BC. Wepwawet was a god of Egypt's early dynasties. He is viewed as a guide. In the Book of the Dead, he "leads the deceased through the underworld and guards over them on their perilous journey". (From Ancient Egypt Online).
Wolf as Deity, for the The Ainu People of Japan
Image credit: Cadell and Davies. 1796 Public domain. An Ainu family of Hokkaido Island.
The Ainu are indigenous people of Japan who live in its northernmost islands. The Ainu inhabited these islands before the Japanese owned them. According to Ainu oral tradition, in the beginning there was a union between a white wolf and a goddess. According to this tradition, it is from this union that the Ainu people descended. Wolves therefore were venerated by the Ainu.
My Collage
When I saw @shaka's photo, I envisioned water in the foreground. (The lake is taken from Pixabay)
At first I tried to put in a kind of 'highway to heaven' (I drew the highway).
That didn't work.
Then the idea of the baby in a basket came to me, and the wolves. I decided to remove background that made the image contemporary, and to bring the whole scene closer.
You can see the baby came naked (from Pixabay), so I drew a blanket.
I took a wolf from Paint 3D, one from Pixabay, and found an angel (also Pixabay) to watch over the baby.
By now, the ribbon-like suggestion of water in @shaka's picture had become a stream. I tried to make that look realistic by adding shadows and curves.
I was ready to make my GIF layers. This process went on and on. I think I made twenty different GIFs until I decided on this one. If you look closely (I don't blame you if you don't) you will see the stream flow, and the wolves' eyes blink. One wolf flicks its tail, magic dust falls from the angel and a head rises behind the wolves and then sinks into the earth again. Of course, through it all, the baby floats toward its wolf protectors.
Another weekend of creative challenges. Thank you, @shaka.
To all my readers, please check out @shaka's blog to see the remarkable collages on display. All are welcome. Once you start on the LMAC road, you can go anywhere. We have a school to help you get there and a very encouraging teacher, @quantumg, who always is ready to give advice.
