The Followers of Solon Defending the Temple of Venus 1634

Willem Basse created this etching, "The Followers of Solon Defending the Temple of Venus," sometime during his life between 1613 and 1672. The image plunges us into a scene of conflict, a clash between the perceived virtues of wisdom, represented by the followers of Solon, and the passionate, often unruly, forces associated with Venus. The women, armed and actively fighting, challenge the typical representations of women as passive or merely symbolic figures. What does it mean for them to defend a temple dedicated to Venus? Is it a defense of love, desire, or perhaps even a woman's right to her own body and choices? Basse was working in a time of religious and political upheaval, thus the piece serves as a reminder that the struggle between opposing ideologies—be they political, religious, or personal—often results in the disruption of social norms and the reevaluation of individual and collective identities. What does it mean to each of us, to choose our own identities?