Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Semiramis.
The gallery
Semiramis Building Babylon
Edgar Degas, 1861
Degas' early history painting: Semiramis surveys the rising walls of Babylon — the legendary queen as nineteenth-century builder of empire.
Semiramis Receiving Word of the Revolt of Babylon
Guercino, 1624
Guercino's canvas: the queen interrupted at her toilet by news of revolt — Baroque theatre for the ruler who would not delay justice for vanity.
Ninus Handing the Crown to Semiramis
Guido Reni, 1625–1626
Reni's transfer of the crown: Ninus yields power to Semiramis — Bolognese elegance for the legendary succession that made her queen of Assyria.
The Oath of Semiramis
Pietro da Cortona, c. 17th century
Cortona's Ashmolean composition: Semiramis and the oath that seals her rule — High Baroque rhetoric for the Babylonian queen of Greek legend.
Semiramis Called to Arms
Jacques Stella, c. 17th century
Stella's Lyon canvas: Semiramis rising from her toilet to answer the call of war — the same anecdote Guercino painted, in French classical calm.
On screen
Queen of Babylon
Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia
Italian peplum casting Semiramis as screen queen of Babylon — mid-century cinema's take on the legendary builder and warrior.
I Am Semiramis
Primo Zeglio
Another Italian historical spectacle with Semiramis at its centre — the Assyrian queen as 1960s sword-and-sandal heroine.