acrylic on canvas; 24×36”

“The surviving ruins of Selinus, Temple C suggest the grandeur of sacred architecture of the past, though sadly owing to war and natural disaster, so many fallen pillars litter the path to the entrance. I chose to overlay the constellation Hydra, the largest of the 88 modern constellations. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. The ancient Greeks saw in this constellation the Hydra (many-headed water snake) that Heracles slew in his second labour. In modern English, hydra or hydra-headed can describe a difficult or multifarious situation.”

ARTIST BIO: Cynthia M. Kukla is a studio artist whose paintings have been exhibited on four continents and in solo and curated group exhibitions throughout the United States. She received numerous grants for international research on art and regularly speaks at international conferences. Cynthia was a visiting professor in Greece three times and uses the rich culture of the ancient Mediterranean as her Muse.