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Maggie Meister - The Siren - Partenope
Category: Wall hanging.
The body of the piece is an original design, graphed and worked in flat peyote stitch. The border, done in square stitch, is from Celtic Charted Patterns #163.
The entry:
I chose the myth of Partenope after my family and I moved to Naples, Italy from Seattle. I had been researching the subject before the move but after moving to Naples, I was bombarded with myths. I chose Partenope because the myth had to do with the discovery of Naples and my family and I were just starting to discover this wonderful city.
After visiting the Archeological Museum, I became interested in the mosaics they found in Pompeii. They looked like small beads. I decided to do the story of Partenope for the Myths and Legends. I did the base of the piece in peyote stitch beginning with her face and then graphing the mountains around Sorrento in the background. The border was done in square stitch and based on a pattern found in many mosaic borders. I based mine on Celtic Charted Patterns #163. There is surface embellishment on the wings and 14/0s adorn her hair. A small portion of her body was done in brick stitch to distinguish between the breast of the bird and her wings.
I decided to make Partenope a bird after researching the myth of sirens. I had always thought that sirens were mermaids. In the myths of the pagans, sirens were half woman/half bird and not particularly attractive. Their voices were beautiful and lured sailors to their deaths. After the rise of Christianity, the sirens were portrayed as mermaids as the fish was the secret symbol of Christianity. I wanted to portray her as a bird which is from the original Greek myth.
The Myth:
There are two legends for Partenope. According to one legend, the Siren from the island of Euboea, had been guided by the flight of a dove in order to find the city which would take her name and build her a temple after her death.
Another legend has Ulysses resisting Partenope's call and she was so distraught that she threw herself off the cliffs and her body washed up on the bay which is now Napoli (the original Greek name for the city was Parthenope-Palaepolis). Both legends have her buried in the city.
I will respond by email if anyone is interested.
mmeister.nospam@lp.cybernet.it