When Flaxman's engraved illustrations to the Iliad and the Odyssey were first published in 1793, they created a sensation throughout Europe, catapulting the Neo-classical sculptor, who was then studying in Rome, to international fame. Based on Greek vase paintings and echoing Classical reliefs, Flaxman's simple and pure outlines here elegantly illustrate the opening of Book Twelve of the Odyssey, a metaphor for the beginning of the day.
