The figure below Christ represents the moon, between the northern hemispheres. These gods corresponded the five known planets, to complete the series of the seven known bodies of the solar system, loosely referred to as the seven planets, the sun is depicted in the upper center, brightly featuring as a halo for Christ, seated on his heavenly throne, with a scepter emphasizing his ruling of the universe. Cronus’s wife Rhea hid her sixth her sixth child, Zeus, and offered him a large stone wrapped in clothes which he promptly devoured. Because of a prediction that one day a mighty son would overthrow him, he ate all of his children when they were born to prevent this. The old man in the upper right, with a scythe, depicts Saturn (Cronus), the forefather of the classical gods, also god of agriculture and harvest, and a symbol of the passing of time and history. Mars (Ares), the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, is shown with his typical attributes of his helmet, shield and sword. The following figure in the clouds with his petasus (winged helmet) caduceus (staff with intertwined snakes) is Mercury (Hermes), messenger to the gods and protector of trade and negotiation. Next to him is Venus (Aphrodite), the goddess of love. Being the king of all gods and ruler of the upper world, he wears a crown and carries a scepter. The figure on the left is Jupiter (Zeus), depicted with his symbols of the eagle and the arrows of lightning. The grand celestial scene in the upper section of the map has a mythological content, combining the seven planets with the gods of the Olympus, home of the gods of the upper world. Interestingly, Joan Blaeu's father Willem Janszoon Blaeu had studied mathematics and astronomy with Tycho Brahe at his observatory on the island of Ven in Denmark, and had published detailed instruction books on the use of armillary spheres and spherical astrolabes. They represent the ancient sciences of the heavens and the earth, astronomy and geography. The hemispheres are flanked by Claudius Ptolemy on the left, holding an armillary sphere and a pair of dividers, and Marinus of Tyre on the right, holding a globe and a pair of dividers. Winter is on the right, allegorically depicted by an old man warming his hands on a brazier set on a chariot drawn by owls and peacocks, symbols of wisdom and guidance. Goats were a symbol of fertility and goat skins were used for wine bottles when travelling. He is riding a chariot drawn by goats and doves. Autumn shows the triumph of Bacchus, or Dionysus, the god of grape-harvest, winemaking and wine, and of fertility. Storks as the symbol of birth and new life, doves for love. Next to her is summer, a woman (probably Demeter, the goddess of harvest and agriculture), holding wheat and riding a chariot drawn by storks and doves. Spring is on the left, represented by a young girl holding flowers, riding a chariot that is drawn by baby calves and lambs, typically born in spring. The seasons along the bottom have been copied after a series of master print etchings by Antonio Tempesta. It expresses the need of mankind to establish order in the world. Under the two hemispheres are allegoric representations of the the four seasons, a popular motif in Dutch graphic art. For this reason, the map is much rarer than the regular world map by the Blaeu family. It replaces the rectangular world map with decorated borders that his father Willem had produced as early as 1606, and which is all other atlases of the Blaeu publishing firm. It is the first and best map of the most magnificent work of its kind ever. Joan Blaeu's highly important map of the world in double hemispheres, used only in the magnificent Atlas Maior, a book for kings and princes, a grand showpiece, the most expensive and impressive book of the day, in twelve volumes containing more than 600 maps.
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