Eva Papadopoulou : Myths and Legends
Inspired by ancient myths Eva Papadopoulou created the collection Myths And Legends including a series of sculptural jewelry that could once have been worn by Hecuba or Olympia, maybe Ariadne, or even the beautiful Helen.
The importance of the archeological sites that have been selected for each series, such as Mycenae, Troy, Amphipolis and Knossos is very significant, since the very importance of these sites bestows another dimension on the objects that could have been found in the excavations there.
Mycenae
In legend, Atreus the king of Mycenae had two sons, the Atreids: Agamemnon and Menelaus. Agamemnon inherited Mycenae and married Clytemnestra and Menelaus married Helen and became the King of Sparta. Soon, beautiful Helen eloped with Paris of Troy. Agamemnon conducted a 10-year war against Troy to get her back for his brother. Legend tells us that the long and arduous Trojan War, although nominally a Greek victory, brought anarchy, piracy, and ruin; the conflict had divided the gods as well, and this contributed to curses and acts of vengeance following many of the Greek heroes.
Treasure of Troy
In the age of the Macedonians, Amphipolis became a powerful city of the Macedonian kingdom with internal autonomy and an important economic and cultural development. Excavations in and around the city have revealed important buildings, ancient walls and tombs. At the nearby vast Kasta burial mound, an important ancient Macedonian tomb has recently been revealed dated 4th Century BC, the period after the death of Alexander the Great.
Eva Papadopoulou tried to imagine what it would be like to discover in the tomb of Amphipolis precious jewelry and set out to create an object that would give exactly that impression, a piece of jewelry that had the same powerfulness and glamour as the prominent person to whom the tomb belonged.
Amphipolis
In mythology, Ariadne the daughter of King Minos of Crete is mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. Her father put her in charge of the Knossos labyrinth where sacrifices were made. Later, she helped Theseus overcome the Minotaur by supplying the hero with thread used to navigate the tangled passages. In appreciation for her assistance, Theseus promised to make Ariadne his bride and bring her with him when he left Crete and sailed for his home in Athens.
Knossos
Eva Papadoppoulou grew up in an artistic environment, her family’s art foundry, where she worked for a good many years and experienced from close the work of many Greek and foreign sculptors. During this period she observed and processed forms, shapes and materials, an experience that eventually created the desire to express herself in some way, to tell her own story, triggered by observations and emotions, yet also very personal.
For the past five years she has lived and worked in Paris, yet in order to achieve a quality virtually lost in an era of mass production, all the pieces in this series are hand crafted in Greece, cast out of sterling silver which is then 24 karat gold plated.
