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Fenrir and the Chain Gleipnir
Fenrir breaks the fetter Læding, then shatters the heavier Drómi as his strength grows. The Æsir resort to a magical chain resembling silk, while Tyr places his right hand in the wolf’s mouth as a pledge against deceit. Fenrir Breaks the First Chains Fenrir spurned against Læding, the fetter the Æsir had brought to test him. He had grown rapidly. First he was the size of a wolf, then a cave bear, and later a great elk. Tyr alone was not afraid of him. He played with Fenrir and fed him meat each day. The wolf ate more each day, while his strength and fierceness increased. Odin watched him with foreboding, for Fenrir had appeared in his dreams of the end of everything. The Æsir had decided that Fenrir would become fatal to them, so they forged Læding in their smithies. Fenrir did not think it could hold him. When he strained against it, the fetter burst apart. They then made a second fetter, called Drómi, from the strongest metal they could find. It included iron from the earth and iron that had fallen from the sky. Each link was too heavy for an ordinary man to lift. The Æsir told Fenrir that his strength would become known in all the worlds if he broke it, and that he would gain renown. Fenrir knew that he had grown stronger since breaking Læding, but accepted the risk. Drómi also burst apart when he strained against it. In another account, the final binding uses a magic chain that resembles a strand of silken flax. Fenrir suspects a trick and refuses to be bound unless one of the gods places a hand between his jaws. Tyr steps forward and puts his right hand in the wolf’s mouth. The other gods fasten the chain around Fenrir. Source note: Primary text: the ancient sources. Fenrir Is Bound by Gleipnir Fenrir lay on his side as the gods prepared to bind him with Gleipnir. He had already broken large iron fetters, so he said that he could easily break the thin band. He would accept the test only if one god placed a hand in his mouth as a pledge against deceit. He feared that the gods would bind him and then leave him without help. None of the gods offered a hand. Tyr, Odin’s son, stepped forward and placed his right hand between Fenrir’s jaws. One account says that Tyr had done this before, when Fenrir was a puppy and the two played together. The gods wrapped Gleipnir around Fenrir. It appeared as a narrow ribbon, or as a shimmering trail, but it held his legs and left him unable to move. Odin told him to break the fetter. Fenrir strained, twisted, and pushed against it. Each effort made the band tighter and stronger. When he realised that the gods had deceived him, he bit down and severed Tyr’s hand. Tyr grasped the stump with his left hand and held it tightly. The gods fixed Gleipnir to a great stone and drove it deep beneath the ground with another rock. Fenrir snapped at them as they worked, but they stayed beyond his jaws. He accused Odin of treachery. He said that, if Odin had not lied, he might have become a friend to the gods. Fenrir then threatened to kill Odin and eat the sun and moon at the end of all things. From that time, Tyr wielded his sword with his left hand and carried his shield on the stump of his right arm. At Ragnarök, Fenrir will break free from his magical restraint. He will kill and devour Odin. Víðar, one of Odin’s sons, will avenge him by killing the wolf. Fenrir Is Bound by Gleipnir. Original MythSource illustration created for this story; not a historical artwork. Source note: Primary text: the ancient sources. Corpus check: Norse Mythology. The Birth and Rise of Fenrir Loki and Angerboda produced three offspring: Fenrir the wolf, Jörmungandr the serpent, and Hel. The gods had been warned that these children would cause great calamities. They dealt with them separately. Jörmungandr was cast into the deep ocean, where he grew until he encircled the earth. Hel was sent to Niflheim, where she became queen of the underworld. Fenrir remained among the Æsir and was brought up in their home. Fenrir grew rapidly. He became the size of a wolf, then a cave bear, and then a great elk. Each day he ate more meat than the day before. He also became fiercer and stronger. The gods feared him, except Tyr, who continued to play with him and feed him each day. Odin watched Fenrir with foreboding. In his dreams, the wolf appeared at the end of everything, with topaz eyes and sharp white teeth. The Æsir held a council and decided to bind Fenrir. They first brought heavy chains and shackles, presenting them as part of a game. Fenrir broke the first two restraints with ease. The gods then made a slender fetter called Gleipnir. It was made from the noise of a cat’s paw, a woman’s beard, the roots of a mountain, a bear’s sinews, a fish’s breath, and a bird’s spittle. Fenrir suspected deception and refused to let them place it on him. He agreed only after Tyr put his right hand into the wolf’s mouth as a pledge. Source note: Primary text: the ancient sources. Corpus check: Treasury of Norse Mythology; Norse Mythology.
The Persian Garden in Miniature Painting
Persian miniature painting transformed the depiction of nature into an idealized vision of divine paradise. Developed across major manuscript traditions from the Mongol period to fifteenth-century Herat, these garden settings combined stylized botanical motifs, gold backgrounds, and poetic symbolism. Lyrical Settings and Divine Paradise An organised period in Persian manuscript painting began around 1396 with the Khwaju Kermani manuscript. This stylistic direction culminated between 1420 and 1440 in the Herat school. Timur's son Shah Rokh created an academy in Herat, which his son Baysunqur Mirza developed to codify, copy, and illustrate classical Iranian literature. Paintings from this period shifted the tone of manuscripts such as the Shah-nameh of Ferdowsi from epic narratives to lyrical compositions. Puppet-like figures engage in activities within idealized garden or palace environments, frequently positioned against backgrounds of solid gold leaf. These rendered settings represented a divine paradise presented through the form of a royal palace or garden rather than an exact copy of the physical world. The compositions embodied themes from mystically interpreted lyrical poetry, such as the writings of Nezami, Rumi, and Hafez. While later artists repeatedly executed standardized formulas, the finest miniatures achieved a controlled lyricism that expressed a search for the divine. Illustrated manuscripts of Nezami held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York demonstrate this approach, using precise execution to articulate complex spiritual ideas. Early Compositional Conventions and Chinese Influences In the early fourteenth century, manuscript painting in Mongol Iran introduced new conventions for depicting outdoor settings. The Small Shahnama manuscripts, including examples housed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., demonstrate a synthesis of regional styles. Painters incorporated traditions from pre-Mongol Central Asia and thirteenth-century Mesopotamia alongside elements brought from Chinese pictorial art under the Il-Khanid dynasty. These compositions maintained a pattern-like appearance against gold backgrounds, using two-dimensional arrangements to construct the environment. Specific botanical features defined the outdoor depictions in manuscripts like the Freer Small Shahnama. Artists painted green, gently sloping hillocks at the feet of standing or hunting figures to indicate grassy ground. These hillocks did not include detailed individual blades of grass or receding perspective lines to convey spatial distance. Instead, painters arranged bunches of flowers across the slopes, relying on decorative formulas derived from thirteenth-century Mesopotamian painting techniques. Different regional workshops across Ilkhanid territory adapted these imported and existing conventions in varying measures. The poet Sa'di converses by night with a young friend in a garden. Miniature from Gulistan Sa'di. Herat, 1427. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. f.3r. Public domain; source: Wikimedia Commons. Botanical Motifs and Architectural Integration Miniature paintings established harmony between natural elements and architectural structures. Lawns of dark green suggest the presence of living water, surrounded by abundant floral motifs. Flowers appear across lawns, within foliage, and on embroidered carpets where figures sit in robes of green or red silk. Trees in bloom rise against gold backgrounds, while birds with bright plumage populate the branches. Water jets flow into porphyry vases near terraced structures, reflecting sunlight across cupolas rendered in pink, azure, or white hues. Palace architecture within these painted gardens features enameled walls, damascened surfaces, and crystal ceilings. Porticos and light-filled gates open onto terraced courtyards where golden peacocks display emerald tails. Figures gather on embroidered carpets to listen to musicians along blue waters or consume candied flowers from small cups of coral and porcelain. Night scenes maintain visibility through illuminated architecture, preserving the light of day across white terraces and cupolas. The fine details of execution in these scenes parallel the calligraphy on delicate paper surrounding the images. Regional Developments and Narrative Painting The Mongol era introduced major stylistic shifts to Iranian painting, moving away from Seljuq models while establishing new forms of text illustration. Masterpieces of literature, including Ferdowsi's Shah-nameh and Nezami's lyrical poems, were systematically illustrated alongside historical chronicles. Rashid al-Din's Jami al-tawarikh, produced in the early Il-Khanid period, contains historical narrative scenes that reflect the direct impact of Chinese painting traditions introduced under Mongol rule. Provincial workshops maintained distinct approaches to depicting natural settings. The British Library copy of Kalila wa Dimna, dated to 1307, presents natural elements without naturalistic rendering, continuing earlier Mesopotamian conventions. In scenes depicting animals, backgrounds contain tooth-shaped rocks built up in dense layers and balloon-like trees housing haloed birds. These features drew from models developed by the pre-Mongol Mosul school rather than Chinese sources, demonstrating how regional Iranian centres retained earlier Arab visual traditions while developing manuscript illustration. Observational Detail and the Later Herat Style A major change occurred in Persian painting during the second half of the fifteenth century at Herat under the rule of Husayn Bayqara. This transition is closely associated with the master painter Behzad. Moving away from purely idealized garden formulas, Behzad introduced realistic poses and direct observations of his physical environment into manuscript illuminations. His compositions incorporated numerous details of daily life and genre elements, altering the structural layout of painted settings. Behzad also introduced psychological interpretation into the depicted events and figures. His work preserved the fine execution and spatial clarity characteristic of Iranian manuscript art while adding individual expression to the human figures within the scenes. Earlier pastoral works, such as Junayd's border paintings for the Diwan of Sultan Ahmad from around 1405, had established lyrical pastoral settings. Behzad expanded upon these foundation techniques, balancing decorative geometry with observed human behaviour.
Heracles and the Last of His Labours
Heracles captured Pylos after defeating Neleus, his sons, and the city’s defenders, while Hades aided the Pylians and was wounded in the fighting. Periclymenus changed shape during combat, yet Heracles killed him, leaving Nestor as the sole surviving son of Neleus. Heracles Attacks Pylos After taking Elis, Heracles marched against Pylos. Neleus and the Pylians resisted him, and a battle began for the city. Heracles overcame the defenders and captured Pylos. Periclymenus, the bravest of Neleus’ sons, fought against him. Periclymenus could change his shape during combat, but Heracles killed him despite this power. Neleus also fell in the fighting. Heracles killed all of Neleus’ sons except Nestor, who was still a boy and was being raised among the Gerenians. Another account says that Neleus had twelve sons and that Heracles killed eleven of them. Nestor was therefore the sole survivor of the family. He remained the only son of Neleus to live beyond the destruction of Pylos. Hades came to the aid of the Pylians during the battle. Heracles wounded him while fighting for the city. After Pylos had fallen and Neleus and his sons had been defeated, Heracles later marched against Lacedaimon. The sons of Hippocoon had supported Neleus, so Heracles attacked them in a separate campaign. That expedition followed the capture of Pylos and was not part of the fighting for the city itself. Source note: Primary text: Homer, Odyssey. Corpus check: The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics); War in Greek Mythology. The Belt of Hippolyta Heracles set sail in a single ship with a group of volunteers to obtain the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Eurystheus had ordered this as Heracles’ ninth labour because his daughter Admeta wanted the belt. The Amazons lived by the River Thermodon and were skilled in war. Hippolyta kept the belt as a sign of her supremacy among them. It had once belonged to Ares, the war god. When Heracles and his companions reached the land of the Amazons, Hippolyta went to ask what they wanted. Heracles told her that he had come for the belt. She promised to give it to him. In some accounts, the two champions were attracted to each other, and Hippolyta offered the belt freely. Hera then intervened. Disguised as an Amazon, she spread a rumour that the newcomers intended to seize their queen. The Amazons believed her and attacked Heracles and his men. The peaceful meeting became a battle. In the account where Hippolyta is killed, Heracles struck her down, took the belt from her body, and fled towards his ships. One version also says that he took her battle axe. The belt was a prized war belt rather than an item of intimate clothing. It was heavy protective armour worn over clothing, with ornaments and fittings of gold and bronze. Euripides described it as embroidered with gold. Other accounts give a different course to the fighting. Orosius says that the Amazon queen Orithyia was away at war, leaving Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe with a small force. Heracles then attacked by surprise while the Amazons were unprepared. In every version preserved here, he obtained the belt and returned with the object sought by Admeta. The Belt of Hippolyta. Original MythSource illustration created for this story; not a historical artwork. Source note: Primary text: Apollodorus, The Library. Corpus check: The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics); Greek Myths & Tales. Heracles on Mount Oeta As the tunic grew warm during the sacrifice, the Hydra poison within it began to act. Heracles was seized by terrible pain, as if he were burning. He tore at the garment, but it clung to his body and brought away pieces of his flesh. The suffering did not kill him. He remained alive, though he was in torment. In his first agony, he seized Lichas, who had brought the tunic, and hurled him from Mount Oeta into the Euboic Sea. The tunic had been sent by Deianeira. Heracles had captured Iole after sacking Oichalia and killing Eurytos and his sons. He then remained at Cenaion to sacrifice to Zeus, while Lichas went to Trachis for fine clothing. Deianeira feared that Heracles loved Iole more than her. She rubbed the tunic with what she believed was a love potion made from the blood of Nessos. In fact, the blood had been poisoned by the Hydra venom carried into Nessos by Heracles’ arrow. Deianeira learned what the garment had done and killed herself. Heracles could still kill others, but he could not die from the poison. Since death would not come to him, he decided to go to death. He ordered those around him to build a great pyre on Mount Oeta and carry him to it. When he reached the pyre, he knew that he could now die and welcomed the end. He lay upon the pile with his head resting on his club and the lion’s skin spread over him. His face was calm, as if he were taking his place at a feast. Heracles commanded that the torch be applied. The flames spread across the pyre and covered it. The gods were troubled as they watched him perish. The immortal part of Heracles was then taken to Olympus by Zeus, and Heracles ascended through the flames to the gods. The site on Mount Oeta later held a fire festival with ox sacrifices and contests. Source note: Primary text: Ovid, Metamorphoses. Corpus check: The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics); War in Greek Mythology.