Plate Depicting the Myth of Cadmus

1526

Plate Depicting the Myth of Cadmus, 1526. Circle of Maestro Giorgio Andreoli (Italian, 1465?–1553). Tin-glazed earthenware with gold lustre (maiolica); diameter: 26.3 cm (10 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1950.156 Obeying the command of an oracle, Cadmus followed a cow to Boeotia, or “oxen-land.” There he slayed a dragon and buried its teeth in the ground. From the teeth grew a crop of warriors who fought each other until only the strongest five remained. Cadmus invited the victors to join him, and together they built the city of Thebes, where the mythological hero, Hercules (or Herakles) was later born. This plate depicts multiple scenes from the Greek myth of Cadmus.