Two Fleeing Figures (Atlanta and Hippomenes?) 1784

Lydia Bates etched "Two Fleeing Figures (Atlanta and Hippomenes?)" in 1724. The immediate drama lies in the figures' hurried escape, but it's the golden apples cast by Hippomenes that truly capture our attention. These aren’t merely objects; they are symbols of desire and distraction, echoing the fruit of temptation from the Garden of Eden. This symbol of the apple recurs throughout history, from Greek mythology to fairy tales, each time embodying a disruption of innocence. The fleeing figures reveal an underlying tension between destiny and choice, a battle played out in the human psyche. The act of tossing the apples becomes a potent metaphor for life's diversions, those alluring temptations that can alter one's path, underscoring how deeply ingrained these archetypes are in our collective consciousness.