George Washington a God?

[Nictuku]

Did you know that there is a painting in the Dome of the Capitol that depicts George Washington becoming a God?

I saw this on a documentary I was watching and had to look it up! Fascinating info at the Wikipedia page,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apotheosis_of_Washington

here is the image:

[Ilsa]

1. I wonder if you get new teeth when you become a god?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That's why he took the deal.

[GoDawgs]

3. It looks more like a rendering of the Annual Festival of the Hemp harvest at Mt Vernon.

Notice the figure to Washington's right has a huge blunt holder, and the copious clouds of smoke.

https://books.google.com/books?id=cITFVpz2ri8C&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=i+wouldn%27t+miss+the+hemp+harvest+at+mt+vernon+for+all+the+tea+in+china&source=bl&ots=ROba2kt4jc&sig=JJnm3kNGSqTGjeKqKunecZsNErk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBw-qCj_TOAhVC6SYKHWPzCoYQ6AEIHzAC#v=onepage&q=i%20wouldn't%20miss%20the%20hemp%20harvest%20at%20mt%20vernon%20for%20all%20the%20tea%20in%20china&f=false


On a more serious note, your Wikipedia page link was interesting. What documentary were you watching?

[Nictuku]

4. What documentary?

... can't remember the title, it was on the History Channel yesterday. It wasn't the central topic of the program, just showed the painting briefly and is sparked my curiosity so I looked it up.

[Cirque du So-What]

5. Apotheosis

Quite unbecoming of a republic eschewing state religion.

[Nictuku]

6. I know!

That was partially why I wanted to look it up myself.

Specifically, I wanted to look more closely at the painting to see the Rainbow that was under George Washington:
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... and upon closer inspection I noticed the mythological gods, which I thought very odd, (given how hard conservatives try to convince us that this is a Christian Nation)

[gabeana]

7. nice

no wonder we have a country that thinks Jesus was white ( if he existed)

[Hekate]

13. Modern conservatives are ignorant ill-educated boobs. Those are angels to his right and left...

The angel on the left, in blue, carries the fasces in one hand and a book in the other. The fasces stand for unbreakable unity and appeared on the reverse of the old silver Mercury head dimes. The book stands for wisdom and learning, and he gestures with his open hand over it. In his other hand he carries a sword, emblem of his valor in battle in defense of his country. The point of the sword is down, indicating a time of peace.

The angel in green is blowing a trumpet, heralding the event, his arrival in Heaven, presumably. I can't quite make out the greenery, but she appears to be crowned in the laurels of victory and appears to carry palm branches, another significant plant.

[joshcryer]

9. No, quite apt.

The fresco illustrates a variety of gods and goddesses in purely artistic form. It does not in any way represent any single religion or god, and in fact that Washington's ascendancy to godhood is the focus is a literal affront to any single religion. The first amendment enabled the artwork to even exist, not prohibit it from existing.

[joshcryer]

8. George Washington had a near mythical following in his day.

Because when he stepped down after two terms it was simply unheard of. Unthought. Incredible. It was a time in the "civilized world" where kings and leaders held power until death.

When he died Napoleon held 10 days of mourning. The British flew their flags at half mast, for heavens sake. It was crazy.

[GulfCoast66]

10. He was a great man

Not perfect, but his example set us on a path to orderly change of power which was unknown at the time. Because of him the next 4 presidents, who actually knew and loved him followed his example and did not try to subvert the will of the people. By then it was an established principle.

And then there is the whole winning our independence thing he was kind of known for.

[Hekate]

11. That's really in the style of great Renaissance artists. The young nation reached for antiquity....

All the Capitol buildings are done in Greek Revival. Greco-Roman Gods and especially Goddesses abound in statuary and other decorations, not for any religious purpose but for their metaphorical and allegorical meanings.

The original Founders were educated in the Classics, and understood that a statue of a goddess with one or two breasts bared was compassionate and nourishing, not lacivious (John Ashcroft covered up the nekkid goddesses in the Justice Dept.).

It goes on and on.

And as a post says above, Washington could have been King for Life in a heartbeat. Instead he reached back to a Greek myth, that of Cincinattus, and returned to his farm in the end.

[Generic Brad]

12. He did not want to be deified

There are statues of him in the nation's capitol that depict him in the manner of a Greek God. He would not have approved of such art work.

[Hekate]

14. More in the manner of a Greek sage or ruler, I would think. The toga, the laurel leaves, all classic

... references in the sculpture of human beings.