Tapestry with Scenes from the Story of Cadmos

Taking a close look at the figures and motifs of this large tapestry rich in detail, one finds a thrilling narration. The adventurous story replete with miraculous elements is narrated in greatest detail by Ovid in the Metamorphoses. One of the mythic heroes, Cadmus, the son of the king of Phoenicia, Agenor appears in the third “book” with a divine mission: to be the founder of the city of Thebes in Greece. Before this act, however, he has to give proof of his commitment and aptitude: he has to defeat the harmful, wicked demons embodied by a loathsome beast in the form of a dragon. Cadmus challenges it and triumphs, “hurling his lance into the dragon’s throat… and the lance nails its neck to the oak-tree.” This episode is illustrated by the left-side motif of the tapestry. Following a divine afflatus, Cadmus sowed the dragon’s teeth in the soil. 61 Warriors “sprout” from the earth and fight a fierce battle, with five survivors who will be the mythic ancestors of the battle-hardy Spartans. These episodes of the story are illustrated on the right where Cadmus is standing in a calm and dignified posture with his back to the fighters, as if concentrating on a transcendental voice. And behold, a celestial apparition – Pallas Athene, the goddess of the Olympus – appears above him as the personification of divine wisdom. She is Cadmus’ patroness under whose protection the city of Thebes is to be built; its ideal image is represented on the upper right of the tapestry. The tapestry, the item of extraordinary value in the once renowned Venetian collection of Francesco Morosini (1618–1694) was bought by Baron Bela Lipthay (1827–1899) in the last decade of the 19th century and brought to Budapest.