Unjust Situations: History, Money, Art, & Mythology

Section III - Studying Abroad: The Calm Amid Chaos

Esquiline Venus - Capitoline Museums

Date(s) Written: May 22-30, 2023

Written & Published by: Rebecca Ruhnke

(Trigger Warning: violence & SA mentioned)

Mythology is The Muse

In the Castel Sant'Angelo library, a large painting stretches around the edges of the ceiling, telling a Greek Mythology tale of the twin-tailed mermaids and the Greeks at war. I have seen these humanoid creatures before, also called twin-tailed Tritons or sirens, or even known as Gorgona. Fontana del Moro, left to the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, showcases these water-people blowing out of shells. Uniquely human, both the sculptures and painted depictions have their genitals outwards, raising questions about the sexual nature and the human-like lifestyles these beings may have portrayed. 

Tells a Different 'Tail' - History of Violence Against Women

In this painting of these sea creatures and humans, it looked almost as if the twin-tailed sirens were pursuing the women. As a woman, I felt inclined to examine these women's faces and body language to see if the pursuit was consensual or forced. As I didn’t have my glasses on, it was a struggle to pick up on those minor details that would tell the majority of the tale. I concluded that I should research further when I got back to the hotel; it slipped my mind and I never did. 

Given that the women and men were fully nude and there was violence at hand, along with the long-rooted history of rape and incest in Greek Mythology, suggests some reasonable concerns about rape within the stretched library painting. Specifically, I noticed there were no twin-tailed mermaids, only twin-tailed mermen, human men, and human women. With that observation, I felt as though the answer was standing right in front of me, staring back at me blankly, waiting for my slow mind to light the switch; either the mermen were winning over the women as the women found them desirable, or most likely based on the historical patterns, the mermen were kidnapping them in hopes of gross aspirations. 

Unfortunate Situations - But We Carry On!

On Monday, May 22, 2023,  I visited the Capitoline Museum with the rest of my Rome Study Abroad group. This museum mostly consisted of items of Julius Caesar or those he was associated with, including pieces on Greek Mythology and the uprising of Christianity. 

Funny story upon entry, my roommate was directly hit by bird poop on our way up the long and narrow steps. With the help of those in our group, she was able to get most of it out, but she still reasonably asked to turn back and try this tour again another time, at least after she showered.

My professor, with a lust for living in the moment, argued that we should carry on and stated that if he was the one who was shat on, he would wear it like a badge of honor. “The bird chose me!” he said, soundly like the ideal optimist he is.

My roommate, with an opposing view on the situation, especially considering she was experiencing it, laughed out of disbelief and told him, “No, we have to go back.” Though her distress was taken seriously, my professor had us all continue walking up the museum steps and into the security lines. 

Moments Alone with Medusa

Along the way through the museum, we toured across the main floor as a group and then later went our separate ways. I love to walk alone in a museum to observe closely as I usually spend a longer time staring at the art, so I ended up getting separated and put together repeatedly from different groups and partners along the way. In every room I went into, I was star-struck by alternative art styles and the tales they would tell. 

After about a solid twenty to thirty minutes of walking around, I entered a room where a statue of Medusa’s head stood center to a wall of art and I was immediately drawn to it. I walked over and saw the detailed carvings of her scared and painful expression and how the snakes for her hair portrayed a similar more protective and aggressive look. As to what the statue was supposed to do, it got me thinking about the tale of Medusa.

The Medusa - Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Alternative Versions of Medusa's Tale

Some of the modern versions of her tale depict her as a boastful, 'easy', and arrogant mortal woman who claimed to be prettier than the Greek Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite, setting Aphrodite into a fiery, jealous rage, cursing her to become 'ugly'. Other versions claim that Medusa was pursued by the Greek God Zeus, making his wife, the Greek Goddess Hera jealous and spiteful, cursing her into a state of isolation.

In another version, Medusa was viewed as the most beautiful woman in her village with such graceful and silky hair, leading many men, including the God Neptune, to abduct and rape her. As she prayed to the Greek Goddess Minerva, depending on the subversion, Minerva either cursed or blessed her with the ability to ward away unwanted attention.

In some of the oldest tales of Medusa, she was one of the three Gorgon sisters, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Gorgons are monsters with stretched-out faces, wings, and flared nostrils, almost having snake-like features. In a subversion of this tale, Medusa had either slept with or was raped by Poseidon, who later killed her out of fear and disgust. After the beheading, she birthed Pegasus and Chrysaor from her severed neck. All of these versions led to her demise of being beheaded by Poseidon, regardless of his intentions behind the slaughter.

The Outcome is Still The Same

All interpretations do her injustice, as in every tale, she is villainized for simply existing. Regardless of her true origin, and regardless if she was too pretty or too ugly, her tale always ends in suffering, the violation of her body, and the harsh judgments of her looks, hence why I think the marble statue sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini speaks so loudly.

Her still image shows years of torment and pain that she did not deserve as it reflects on the treatment of women all across the world. We are taken advantage of, constantly blamed, never believed, too much, or never enough. We are Medusa. 

[Close Up of] The Medusa - Gian Lorenzo Bernini

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Crowds Promote Concern

On Monday, May 29, 2023, I went to visit the Vatican City. Though it was not my first time visiting as I got to see the Pope speak outside the St. Peter’s Basilica on the twenty-fourth, this experience allowed me to tour around the Vatican and take in all the wonderful sights and art of Michelangelo. Bewildered and displeased, I had found myself drowning in a sea of people rather than immersing myself in such perplexing and beautiful masterpieces. 

How The Day Started

When I started my day, I could have already told you then and there that my expectations were lower than most days on this excursion. My eyeliner wouldn’t line right, my mascara smeared onto my eyebrows when applying, and I kept dropping my belongings. To add to the irritation throughout the day, it was a humid-hot day as the sun was shining down as if to burn everything in its path, and I had decided to wear a pair of jeans with a long-sleeved shirt. All the sweat built up on me, making every step a sensory overload as the fabric would stick to my skin.

To make matters worse, a few group members and I got lost on the way to the Vatican because of the crowds of people that swarmed around us, and so we had to wait outside in the blazing heat until the rest of our group was able to reconnect with us.

Nothing Changed

In the Vatican itself, the conditions of heat and space never changed. No matter where we went for the rest of the day, we could not escape the crowds. At every turn, someone was standing too close to me, and as a short woman, I kept getting trampled over, purposely pushed over, and followed too closely, especially by men who tried to rub up against me.

I was surrounded by mountains of humans and could barely see the art alongside the walls. So I had to look up or look down. Thankfully, there was plenty of art to be seen above, but if I dared to stop to take a picture, someone always knocked into me. This was not a museum or a tour at all, this was an endless and heedless line of sweaty people who either had no situational awareness or were just plain brash.

Crossroads - Sistine Chapel

What finally infuriated me to a breaking point was once we entered the Sistine Chapel. I had already known to wear clothes that covered up as it is the respectful thing to do, hence I wore long sleeves and jeans. Though I do find it ironic considering that the walls are covered with nude humans and celestials; I can’t show my shoulders or knees to stare at paintings of penises, butts, and breasts created in the name and image of god.

However, the circumstance that made the experience worse for me was when I was told to stop taking pictures as I wrapped up my snaps of The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment paintings. I was baffled as to why I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in this room but I was able to shoot away in all other areas of the Vatican. 

The Last Judgement - Michelangelo

Upon My Research

As anyone like me who finds themselves curious when agitated and confused would do, I did my research. In an article published semi-recently on January 11, 2021, titled “Here is the Real Reason Why Photos Are Banned in the Sistine Chapel,” writer Jason Ward goes on to explain the history behind it all.

Apparently, during the 1980s, they went through a time of restoration which took fourteen years to complete and ate up all their money. Looking for financial assistance, they decided to bid for the rights to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel artwork; winning these rights by three million dollars was the Nippon Television Network Corporation of Japan (NTV). Because of this, no one was allowed to take photos or videos unless they were a part of NTV.

Despite that, in 1997, the deal ceased to exist while the ‘no photo’ rule stayed in place. Ward goes on to say, “The main reason for the ban is simple. There are too many people,” and proceeds to describe that the thirty-thousand people that visit daily cannot stay packed in that room to take a bunch of pictures. 

The Reality of the Rules

Though I can comprehend the significance of what Ward is saying, none of it matches what occurs in that room. From what I witnessed firsthand, the room is packed and loud. The guards are shouting and using a megaphone to announce things to visitors as they push everybody into the center of the room where you are shoulder-to-shoulder with those around you.

Bless those who are in the middle of the center because they are not getting out for a long time and they probably gained another ounce of sweat on their bodies.

We were ordered to stand in the middle of the room for who knows how long, with only one exit, and I’m fairly certain that everyone who got packed like sardines either took pictures or videos. Or, even our tour guide warned us before going our separate ways, any of these people could have been victims of groping and pick-pocketing. 

The Creation of Adam - Michelangelo

The Wrong Solution

Ward then expands on the opinion of an Italian literary critic, Pietro Citati, “He argued that the chapel and its art was supposed to be a place of quiet contemplation. The hordes of tourists disrupt that. If they were armed with cameras, it would be worse.”

When I read this part, and as I continued to get squished in between bodies, I recalled what the tour guide said in the beginning about how the original population requirement for the Vatican City was only one thousand. There are way more than a thousand cramming into these delicately painted walls, shouting from across the room (whether it’s a group that lost a member or a security guard raising their voice to announce ‘no photos'), and stomping along the laborious flooring.

It’s not the pictures that are the problem, it’s the amount of people. 

People were still doing everything that the rules were trying to eliminate; they were still loud, they were still bumping into the art and each other, and they were still taking pictures. So honestly, why does it matter if we are taking pictures, if they want to enforce a quiet and respectful space, they need to understand human behavior and stop allowing thousands of people in at a time.