The myth of Leander and Hera

A myth about the tragic love of young Leander and the priestess Hera

Hera was a priestess of the goddess Artemis and guarded the eternal fire in her temple in Sesto, which was located on the Thracian coast of the Hellespont (today's Dardanelles). Festivities were held there every year, to which people came from many places. During one of those festivities, the young Leander from the city of Abydos, located on the Asia Minor coast of the Hellespont, fell in love with Hera. He began to visit her secretly and, deaf to his sister Hermione's warnings, swam across the strait every night. In order to help him not get lost at sea in the dark night, Hera lit a big fire on the tower every night. One night, during a big storm, the fire went out, the storm pushed Leandro onto the sharp rocks and he drowned. When Hera found Leander's dead body, out of grief and despair she jumped into the sea and drowned.

The myth of young Leander's love for the priestess Hera is one of the most famous ancient legends. Although this story belongs to ancient Greek folk art, it has been an inspiration for poets and painters for centuries. Famous paintings also include a collection of unique Bratislava tapestries (in the State Gallery in Vienna and the National Gallery in London).

It is a series of six paintings from the 17th century, which represent the only known complete series. The tapestries are made of swilleng and wool material, extremely preserved colors and tones, and were made in the English royal weaving mill in Mortlake near London.

It is not entirely clear how the tapestries arrived in Bratislava. The only thing certain is that their last owner was the Estregom Archbishop of Batangi, the first owner of the Archbishop's Palace, who ordered them to be hidden under the wallpaper in the Hall of Mirrors, probably in fear of Napoleon's army. The tapestries were discovered there in 1903, during the extensive reconstruction and adaptation of the palace, and today they are owned by the Bratislava City Gallery, where they represent an integral part of the old art exhibition.

One of these precious tapestries - "Meeting of Hera and Leander" has been artistically processed, so that today even lovers of old valuable works can make it in the form of a tapestry. Making a picture this large (dimensions 44,5×44,5 cm consists of over 60,000 crosses or tapestry points, if 1:4 means 240,000 points) requires not only a lot of time, but also, considering the large scale of colors and shades, great patience, effort and concentration. If you work with selected materials and colors, the result will be the most beautiful reward.

You can find the scheme with all the details about making this tapestry HERE