Last week we went to Versailles. I had been to the house before but it was the gardens that really took me away. Like everything about Versailles, the gardens are meant to impress and display the king’s wealth and power. This they absolutely do. The size and the opulence of the gardens where amazing, and we spent hours wandering through them.
In the gardens, it was almost impossible to overlook the statues. They where everywhere and mainly depicted figures from classical Greek or Roman mythology. I particularly loved all of the fountains that had people/ animals vomiting out water (see below).
It would be impossible to talk about the story behind EVERY mythological figure in these gardens, so I am going to focus on Louie XIV`s favorite god, Apollo. Everything in Versailles was heavily symbolic. For example, the state rooms where all assigned a planet and a greek god/goddess. Unsurprisingly, the Sun King saw himself as represented by the sun god and therefore, scenes from the life of Apollo are everywhere in the gardens celebrating the might of the god (and king). I am focusing on three fountains with statues, and using the information given by Versailles` website.
Apollo In His Chariot
Located in the middle of the main walkway, it is impossible to miss this impressive sculpture. It shows Apollo in his chariot rising up from the sea to begin a new day. It clearly shows Apollo looking very impressive and commanding, just how Louie XIV would like to be seen.
Latona`s Fountian:
(Please excuse the bad quality of this picture) Also in a position of prominence, this fountain is a huge centerpiece at the bottom of the stairs in front of the palace. Originally I took this picture to show the spitting frogs (why are there so may spitting animals?!) but the story behind it is wild and crazy too. It is a scene from Apollo’s childhood where his mother, Latona was running away from an enraged Juno after having several of Jupiter’s children. On her way, she pleaded wiht the peasants of a town for water but was refused. She then called on Jupiter to curse them and he turned them all into frogs. The middle of the fountain shows Latona and her kids (including baby Apollo) crying out for help towards the palace, while frogs, turtles, and women (for some reason) spit water around her.
Dragon`s Fountain:
Tucked away towards the side, this cool looking fountain is also about Apollo (surprise!!). It shows the dragon/ python dying after being shot with one of Apollo’s arrows. The dragon was asked to chase Latona when she was pregnant and prevent her from giving birth to the twins Apollo and Artemis. As revenge, once he was old enough, Apollo killed the dragon with his arrows.
Maybe my favorite part of Versailles was how symbolic everything was. With a little bit of research, you can see the ego behind it all. All of these fountains (and probably much more of the gardens) where meant to show the might and power of the great sun god Apollo, but I’m sure in the 17th century everyone knew who these fountains were really about.