Eirene

Oil on canvas,
50x40 cm 2022
2 700 euros
 
Eirene - Greek goddess of peace, personifying peace and prosperity
As the daughter of Themis and Zeus, Eirene is one of the three Horae and became the epitome of peace efforts.
The reign of the Eirene, i.e. peace and the associated prosperity, was (and unfortunately is) not always a matter of course. War was considered the norm in relations between the Greek tribes.
A static state of order, prosperity, and tranquility such as Eirene envisages was exceptional. Therefore, times of peace were mostly referred to with terms that had more meaning of "armistice".
Only towards the end of the Peloponnesian War was the term "Eirene" and thus the associated goddess increasingly used in today's sense of the word "peace". Even peace treaties were now referred to as "Eirene".
Both are indications that, after decades of war, the understanding prevailed that peace was the normal state worth striving for. In the first half of the 4th century B.C. the idea of a general peace came up, which was to contractually establish a lasting peace order based on autonomy and equality for the Greek states.