Mythology - then and now.

This morning, I was pleasantly surprised by the pictures for the 2011 (always nude) Pirelli calendar shot by Karl Lagerfeld.  The theme was Mythology.  The black and white shots are beautiful and spare and didn't portray the naked female body in an overtly sexual manner, unlike past calendars (ahemTerryRichardsonahem).  Here are a few to sample:

Apollo

Artemis, the virgin hunter.

Athena

Aurora, goddess of the dawn.

Flora, goddess of nature.

My absolute favorite.  She is Hades and I love the body paint evoking the look of a skeleton, standing atop a heap of abandoned and useless armor.

Hermes on the go.

Orpheus and Eurydice.  She died on their wedding day.  He was so overwhelmed with grief that he bargained with Hades to bring her back.  In order for her to stay alive, he could never look at her.  Unable to resist, he turned around just as she was exiting the underworld, so she died again.  

However, they still cannot rival Madame Yevonde's work.  She was an English photographer who's known for her series of gorgeously rich and colorful photos of high society women dressed as Greek goddesses in the 1930s.  Take a look.

Arethusa, who turned into a spring.

Europa

Daphne, who turned into a laurel tree to escape the unwanted attentions of  Apollo.

Hecate, goddess of crossroads, magic and the night.

Flora.  I think I like the Pirelli one better.  This is a little too sweet. 

Ceres, goddess of agriculture and the harvest.  Suitably earthy and magnificent here.

Artemis.  I love this one.  Love her helmet and gun and her owl familiar.  She looks totally uninterested in the attentions of men and strong enough to blow away any idiot who would try to subject her to the male gaze.

Helen of Troy.  I like her crafty and disdainful expression.  

Medusa!

Penthesilea, the Amazon warrior who died at the hands of Achilles.  In some translations, he fell in love with her in the moment he killed her.  In some, he raped her dead body.