The “Ebe Canova” exhibition has just ended in Bassano Del Grappa, bringing to life one of the greatest masterpieces of the sculptor Antonio Canova, the precious plaster depicting Hebe, the splendid cup of the gods, symbol of eternal youth.
The statue, one of the four versions that Canova created between 1796 and 1817, was destroyed by the last Allied bombing in 1945 and has now come back to life thanks to the last frontiers of restoration, which have allowed its complete reconstruction.
One cannot remain indifferent to the graceful charm of the sculpture depicting the young oenophor maid (literally “wine bearer”) walking with her right arm raised over her head, almost as if she were dancing.
Ebe steps forward with an elegant and delicate pose as she serves the gods with her amphora, suspended on a cloud.
The hair is gathered in a sober but elegant hairstyle that collects it at the top, behind the nape, and tightened by a diadem around the forehead.
The expression is ethereal, detached just enough to reveal itself of eternal beauty.
A figure of bewitching grace portrayed in the act of carrying out his precious task, that of serving ambrosia and nectar to the deities, that is, the food and drink with which they kept themselves young and immortal.
We could define her as the first sommelier in history.
A myth full of symbols on which it is worth making some more reflections.
Hebe was one of the daughters of Hera and Zeus, the divine personification of youth. He had the task of pouring and serving nectar to the gods of Olympus, dispensing them with immortality.
It is no coincidence that two complementary symbols are associated with the same mythological figure, youth and wine, rich in beneficial properties that still today make it deserve the title of elixir of long life.
But the symbology, on closer inspection, is even more profound.
In fact, when can we really consider ourselves “young”, eternally young? Probably when we continue to feel alive.
We are young when we indulge our passions, when we are still full of projects, when we see in front of us the road that feeds our good “daimon”, the vital drive that makes us feel enthusiastic, cheerful, full of objectives.
And the wine, with the thrill it gives in the act of drinking it, is a perfect symbol of this childish and vital joy. When the slight intoxication of wine rises, projects, ideas and enthusiasms crowd into our minds that know how to infuse pills of youth, turning back the hands of time.
But if you drink a little more, the magic disappears and gives way to its exact opposite, making us lose the energy and the desire to do, that is, the “eternal youth” conquered shortly before.
In short, you need to know when to stop.
“The right measure”, one of the most important concepts of Greek philosophy, is shown here in all its force.
And the story of Hebe also teaches us this, which legend tells at one point victim of a false step that cost her the place.
In fact, it seems that, due to a fall probably due to excessive intoxication, Zeus removed the handmaid from her post, preferring the handsome Ganymede, still remembered today as the official “cupbearer” of the gods. The excess therefore cost Hebe the privilege of giving immortality.
It matters little if it was actually a replacement “Interested” by Zeus’s attraction for the handsome mortal.
The moral that the story of Ebe restores to all of us is that yes, staying young forever is possible, but only if we know how to evaluate exactly how much wine our glass can contain.
