Each marble has its personality and a story.
For centuries it has been cherished, adored, influencing Historical events, stories and cultures
From the beginning of the Bronze Age Era to present Modern Era, marble has always been a part of human evolution as it also transmutes through the ages.
From Fables, to historical legends and mythology, to Famous Historical figures, to inspirational, artistical, metaphorical, philosophical, Luxury and Interior design quotes.
Marble fables and stories focus on morality, inspiration, life lessons and endurance.
Here are a few of those fables and stories:
- Pygmalion and Galatea – A mythical Roman legend about the power of love between the attraction of marble and art. This enchanting marble myth, where Pygmalion, a sculptor disappointed with love, decides to sculpt Galatea, a beautiful marble statue, falling in love with the perfection of his own creation. Moved by his love and after praying to the goddess of love Aphrodite, she brings the statue to life.
- The Marble Statue and the Marble Tile – A parable about the need of pain and sacrifice to achieve beauty. A Museum statue and a floor tile, discuss the admiration the statue receives while the tile is stepped on. The statue explains that the tile avoided the sculptor's work, while the statue endured the sculptor’s tools to become a masterpiece.
- The Lion in the Marble – A story about hidden potential and vision. This story is often attributed to Michelangelo and based on one of his quotes (See below). A young boy watches a sculptor work as he chisels through block of marble, he only sees stone and not what the final work will be, leaving displeased with what he couldn’t see.
- When he returns, he sees a beautiful lion carved of out the marble block. Asking the sculptor how was that possible, the sculptor answered he was simply removing the marble that wasn’t the lion. He knew it was there because he could see it in his heart.
- The Lion and the Statue – A fable from Aesop about truth depending on who controls the narrative.
- In an argument between a man and a lion to determine who is the superior specie, the man pointed as proof of superiority, to a marble sculpture of Hercules strangling a lion. The lion replied that if the lions were sculptors, the sculpture would be depicted the other way around.
Other fables from writers such as Aesop use marble to become their storytellers, their keepers of ancient wisdom and values.
Historical legends, mythology and religion have always been associated with marble. The Greeks believed that marble was transformed by the breath of King god Zeus. In honor of the god’s, temples and statues were built out of this marvel stone. It was a material thought to bridge the earthly and the divine.
Here are a few legends and Mythical tales:
- The Marble King – A Greek legend related to the invasion of Constantinople by the Ottomans. As they sieged the city, an angel saved the emperor Constantine XI, by turning him into marble and hiding him in a cave near the Golden Gate, where he still awaits to be awakened.
- The Veins of Venus – Roman mythology suggests that the colorful veins in marble are the embodiment of Venus’s veins, symbolizing love, passion and eternal beauty.
- Connemara Marble Origin – According to Irish legend, following the battle at Tailtu, Amergin divided Ireland in two, giving the surface to the Milesians and the underworld to the Tuatha Dé Danann. The King of the Tuatha Dé, Ri na Beola, also known as King of the 12 Bens, not happy with the division, took the green grazing grass underground, leaving only the rocks of the 12 Bens (12 peaks) exposed. It is said that on wet and misty days, the towers of the King’s castle can still be seen.
- Man-Size in Marble – A 1887 short horror story written by British author Edith Nesbit, set in the Victorian-era and based on a legend from the English village of Brenzett, where two evil life-sized marble statues from a local Church come to life. This story explores themes of superstition vs rationality, blending rural folklore with the natural skepticism of modernity.
Symbolism in Legends:
- White Gold - As early as 700 BC, marble was considered “white gold” symbolizing supreme power and prosperity
- Protection - In various folklore, marble was believed to ward off evil and protect its occupants.
- Immortal Love/Labor - Roman sarcophagi often featured marble carvings of Hercules' labors to suggest a desire for immortality, or scenes of Ariadne and Dionysus.
Other marble legends or even historical controversy, like the Elgin Marbles (Parthenon Marbles) are worthy of a search and a nice read.
Historical figures, frequently are associated with legends, treating marble not just as a stone but as a living or divine substance, where magic and a perfect technic entwine.
Here are some famous figures and their legends:
- Michelangelo and his "David" (1501–1504) – Legend says that Michelangelo did not create David, he just freed him from a 5-meter tall Carrara marble block. A block that many sculptors had rejected for not being “good” or even, considering it “worthless”.
- Michelangelo famously said “I saw an angel and carved until I set him free”.
- Once the statue was reveled in Florence, it’s defying glare was interpreted as a political statement to all the city’s rivals.
- Praxíteles and his “Aphrodite of Knidos” (4th Century BC.) – This was the first nude statue of a Greek Goddess in ancient Greece. Legend has it that, the Town of Kos rejected the statue because it was “scandalous”, preferring a dressed version of the Goddess. Knidos accepted the nude version, it became so realistic that men fell madly in love with it, believing that the marble possessed the heat of real human skin.
- Donatello and his "Zuccone" (1434-1436) – This white Carrara marble sculpture depicts the biblical prophet Habakkuk, commisioned by the Opera del Duomo in Florence. Since ancient times known as “Zuccone” (meaning “Big Pumpkin-head”). It has been said that while sculpting the statue, Donatello was so impressed with the realism of his own work, that he used to scream to it “Speak, damn you, speak!”.
- Augustus of Prima Porta (around 20 BC) – The first Roman Emperor used white marble to elevate himself to Godhood. His famous statue depicts a young and eternal hero in military clothing, bearfoot and Cupid riding a doplhin by his side. The use of white marble is a deliberate choice to associate his reign to purity and divine peace (Pax Romana).
- King Attalus I and the Pergamon Altar (166-156 BC) – Considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and entirely made out of white marble, even though it was built during King Eumenes II. His adopted son King Attalus I commisioned various marble monuments, such as, “The dying Gaul” to celebrate his victories. The legend behind these sculptures is that the King wished to imortalize not only his strenght, but also the pain and dignity of his defeated enemies, carving his military victories eternally in to stone.
- Phidias and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia (Circa 435 BC) – Even though the original statue was made out of gold and ivory, it sat on a black marble base containing an oil reservoir to reflect light and protect the materials. Considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, this majestic seated figure depicted the king of Greek gods, Zeus. Legend says that once Phidias finished his masterpiece, he prayed to Zeus for approval and a ray of lighting struck the floor of the Temple, confirming that the god had happily acknowledged the offering of metal and stone.
There are many more historical figures with stories and legends involving them and marble. From emperors like Hadrian, sculptors like Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Antonio Canova, Giovanni Strazza, Alexandros of Antioch, Auguste Rodin, Agesander, Athenodoros or Polydorus, all of them with amazing stories, masterpieces and historical events that assure our past and guarantee our present and foresee our future.
Quotes are of great historical importance, a word-for-word repeated by us for years to be and years to come. Influencing us in our day-to-day life’s. These phrases sustain arguments, provide evidence, highlight moments and memories. From inspirational, to artistical, metaphorical, philosophical, Luxury and Interior design. Quotes are just like marble, they pause time and give us a glimpse of what was, what is and what will be.
Here are some quotes related to marble:
- “I saw an angel in the marble and carved it until I set him free” – Michelangelo on Creativity and Art
- “Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor” – Alexis Carrel on Self-improvement
- "Write your injuries in dust, your benefits in marble" – Benjamin Franklin on Inspirational
- "I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble" – Augustus on Legacy
- "What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul” – Joseph Addison on Education
- “Carve your name on hearts, not on marble” – Charles Spurgeon on Legacy
- “The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greates artist has” – Michelangelo on Inspiration and Art
- “The work of art is already within the block of marble. I just chop off whatever isn’t needed” – Auguste Rodin on Art
- “We are each given a block of marble when we begin a lifetime, and the tools to shape it into sculpture... We can drag it behind us untouched, we can pound it into gravel, we can shape it into glory.” – Richard Bach on Life
- “The Parthenon without marble is like a smile without teeth.” – Neil Kinnock on History
- “Dear God! How beauty varies in nature and art. In a woman the flesh must be like marble; in a statue the marble must be like flesh.” – Victor Hugo on Beauty
- “One should always dress like a marble column.” – Jackie Kennedy on Fashion
- “A disaster where marble has been substituted for imagination” – Ada Louise Huxtable on Imagination
The natural beauty and purity of marble has been an inspiration to so many people, cultures, religions, yet, it is still the stone that defines history and proves that it’s real place in our lives.