Famous artists and sculptors of the past were well versed in mythology and borrowed from the ancient Greeks and Romans plots for their works. And if you do not remember in time, looking at the picture or statue, what mythological character inspired its creator, the impression of a work of art may be incomplete. In this book, we will try to explain why painters and sculptors of ancient Greek and Roman myths that arose long before our era, and what heroes people liked from different times. Everyone who has tried to join the art knows that this path is thorny. You come, say, to the Tretyakov Gallery, and there is a picture of Serov “The Abduction of Europe” .. And on the way to the beautiful immediately grows a palisade of questions . [ Why did the artist give the girl such a geographical name? Where does she swim along the waves, sitting on the back of a bull? And why does the bull kidnap her? And then you come to the Hermitage and see the Falcone sculpture "Flora": a sweet, graceful girl, for some reason naked, admires marble flowers . What does it mean? A girl with a rare name Flora ordered her portrait to the sculptor? Of course, if you look at the encyclopedia "Myths of the peoples of the world", you can find out that the ancient Romans called Flora the goddess of flowers. Each year, they celebrated her birthday and brought ripe ears to her altar .......... But not everyone knows about it - few people are now aware of mythology .. [ [ "What Is What" is a series of thematic encyclopedias published from 1994 to 2001 by the publishing house "Word" and aimed at school-age children. Initially, it was translated materials of a similar German series "Was ist was", but later, as part of the series, the publishing house began to produce works by domestic authors. The abundance of illustrations, fascination, diversity and accessibility of the presentation of the material predetermined the great popularity of the series. "What is What" easy reading - serious knowledge!Other books in the series "What is What":Byzantine Wolves of Heaven. Flags Calendar. Caves of the Cat. Time. Dolls. Butterflies Sculpture. Our Body . Ancient Greeks Ancient myths Myths of Slavs Sun Apes Ancient China . Painting Orbital Stations . Underwater exploration of the Earth Planet Ancient Greece. Trees. Forest. Poisonous plants . Money from Russia . Multimedia and virtual worlds Natural Disasters Mountains Pyramids Museums Travelers . Crusaders Weather. Bees, Bumblebees, Wasps Moors Elephants Fish Birds Ships Gladiators Samurai. Pirates. Water. Bridges . Geographic Maps of the Witch Star. Internet Seven Wonders of the World Predators Nuclear Power Arctic and Antarctic. Indians Horses Dinosaurs Ancient Russia . Moscow Rus Revival . Mysterious Treasure Phenomena . Tropical Forest