Aristaeus and Proteus

Aristaeus and Proteus, 1654

Okay, so this isn’t really the story from the Odyssey; it’s from Virgil’s Georgic’s. From the British Museum’s website:

Aristaeus was a shepherd, son of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, and he kept bees. He pursued the nymph Eurydice who was killed by a serpent which she disturbed when fleeing from him. In revenge, her companion Nymphs killed Aristaeus' bees. His mother advised him to ask Proteus, guardian of the sea-monsters, for advice as Proteus could foretell the future. But Proteus was elusive, frequently changing his appearance or disappearing, so he had to be tied down.

Sound familiar? Virgil (and lots of others Romans) rather shamelessly appropriated Greek myths (And I like this print, by the fantastic Wenceslaus Hollar, more than the other one.)

SEE THIS PRINT ON THE BRITISH MUSEUM’S WEBSITE