Profiles and sections of the ship above 

Here we see Giovanni Battista Piranesi's etching of ship profiles and sections. Note the prominent prow, rendered as a sculpted figurehead, an emblem of power and direction. Such prows, tracing back to antiquity, remind us of the Roman rostral columns adorned with ship rams, symbols of naval victories and dominance. These evolved from even earlier practices in ancient Greece and Phoenicia, where ships bore eyes to guide them safely through the seas. But the prow is more than mere decoration. It’s a potent psychological symbol, evoking our primal connection to the sea, a realm of both opportunity and peril. This manifests in myths such as Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, where the ship *Argo* embodies the heroic journey. Piranesi captures this tension, inviting us to contemplate the ship as a vessel navigating the currents of history, a symbol continually reshaped by collective dreams and anxieties. The image resurfaces, each time carrying echoes of the past, revealing our enduring fascination with the sea's allure and its representation.