Orestes and Poussin's Tomb

 

In Antiquity, it was common to consult the gods before embarking on quests. One such place was the Greek oracle of Delphi, with the famous Pythia in residence, ready to prophecise the future.

One story of this consultation was recorded by the Greek writer Herodotus, in his First book of History.
At one point, the oracle was questioned by the Spartans to learn the wishes of the god Apollo. The question was whether it would be prudent that the Spartans invaded Arcadia. The Oracle uttered a stern “no”. Instead, she felt that Tegea, a nation in Arcadia, was within the grasp of the Spartan warriors. Unfortunately, the Tegeans were of a different mind. The Spartans were defeated, with many soldiers taken prisoner. In an excellent example of how the negation of the outcome nevertheless still reinforced belief in the messenger, the Spartans know interpreted the last part of the Pythia’s prediction: that the Spartans would till the ground and the plains; not as free, victorious men, but as slaves.
The Spartans again consulted the Oracle of Delphi. How could they retrieve Tegea? Her reply was now enigmatic: “Bring home the bones of Orestes, son of Agamemnon.”

The story was classic: Agamemnon had been murdered by his wife upon his return from Troy. His son, Orestes, had killed his mother in revenge. It were those bones that the Spartans had to discover, the Oracle stated. The Oracle continued that the Spartans had to go to Tegea, where they would find the bones of Agamemnon, at a place where “two winds are ever blowing by hard force, where shock answers to shock, where anguish lies on anguish.”

A Spartan, Lichas, was authorised to go to Tegea and search for the bones of Orestes. Though no-one knew whether Orestes had ever lived, no-one knew where he died, let alone where he was buried, this mission was embraced by the heart of the nation, in the hope of gaining a foothold in Arcadia.
The mission was unsuccessful, until he arrived into a blacksmith’s shop. Watching the man work, Lichas felt that the circumstances in which the bones would be found were there and now. Together with the smith’s assistant, they went to the nearby cemetery, where they uncovered bones in a coffin, “seven cubits long”. Lichas believed he had found the tomb of Orestes. He then returned to Sparta, with the bones, where the discovery was greeted with enormous relief. This fuelled an attack against Tegea, and this time, the Oracle’s prediction had been correct: the Spartans were successful.

In short, the story of Lichas and Orestes is therefore that a Spartan went to Arcadia, in search of a tomb, the tomb of Orestes, and together with a blacksmith’s apprentice, Lichas discovered such tomb in Arcadia.

At the very least, there is a clear source of inspiration here for Poussin’s Tomb painting, The Shepherds of Arcadia. Though, indeed, the discoverers have a different occupation, at least the search for a tomb, the discovery of a tomb, and this in Arcadia, can now be traced to a source that was available to Poussin: the writings of Herodotus.
It is furthermore well-known and accepted that Poussin painted several classical themes, and a theme from Greek history or mythology would be no strange order for Poussin to paint.

It is entirely possible to add a mythical layer to this quest. The quest for the bones of a mythical hero, Orestes, might have become the “public billboard”, the cover, for another quest: the search for the bones, the tomb, of an important person – whose identity might for some reason not be named. Though the name “Jesus” will easiest come to mind, that I would definitely leave to the fertile plains, not of Tegea, but of the reader’s mind.