The Archaeologist

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This 1400s Painting Is Weirder Than You Think. Here's Why!

This piece is called Venus and Mars by Sandro Botticelli and it's not your typical 15th century painting because it's a lot weirder. It features the goddess of love, Venus lounging in the woods with her lover and the god of war, Mars. We catch them sitting on a grassy patch of a forest after one of their rendezvous. Mars is sound asleep and completely unarmed while four tiny half-goat half-baby creatures play with his armor. Recently, an art historian named David Bellingham questioned whether the two figures in the painting were actually Venus and Mars. He proposed that they might instead be Adam and Eve from the Bible. This painting is full of fun and surprises. It might even be hiding a secret hidden meaning!