Cadmus & Athena : King of Diamonds

Cadmus & Minerva Athena : King of Diamonds

The English LWB says we are seeing here "Cadmus visiting Mercury"
but by the picture and in the French LWB we can see it is Minerva.



Mighty Minerva aka Athena



Presumably, Cadmus is bringing Minerva the Dragon's teeth,
which she instructed him to sow, producing the Sparti race.

Quiet gardening version:



Exciting dramatic version:


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from about.com:

Cadmus, legendary founder of Thebes, was not a Greek by birth, but a Phoenician who brought the alphabet to Boeotia where he started the Theban royal family familiar to us from Greek tragedy. When his sister Europa was carried off by the bull-Zeus, Agenor sent off his sons, Cadmus, Phoenix and Cilix, in pursuit of their sister, with instructions not to return without her.

Cadmus and a group of warriors went to the oracle at Delphi to find out what to do. The oracle told him it was foolish to continue to hunt for his sister because the bull on which she had been carried off was no ordinary beast. Instead, Cadmus should follow a cow with a white, full moon-shaped spot on either flank. Where the cow collapsed in exhaustion, Cadmus was to build a city. Cadmus obeyed the words of the god, found and followed the cow to a spot in Boeotia (Cadmea) where it lay down. The name Boeotia is from Greek for cow (bous).

While Cadmus prepared the cow as an offering to Minerva Athena, he sent his warriors to draw water from a nearby spring, but they were all killed by a Dragon. Cadmus slew the dragon. Minerva Athena advised Cadmus to sow half the teeth of the dragon if he wanted more men. He sowed half the teeth and gave the rest to the goddess.

In one version of the story, the remaining teeth, which Cadmus had given to Minerva Athena, she saved for Jason.

Thanks - this helps a lot!

(Where'd they get "Mercury"....? )