This is part of a group of drawings by British artist and book illustrator Edward Francis Burney, depicting scenes from Greek and Roman history and mythology.

In Greek mythology, Ino was a Queen of Thebes. She incurred the jealousy of the goddess Hera by raising the god Dionysus, the offspring of one of Hera's husband Zeus' infidelities. Hera caused Ino's husband, Athamas, to go mad and kill their son, Learches. Ino managed to escape into the sea with their other son, Melicerta (Melicertes).

The body of Melicerta was said to be carried away by a dolphin, likely the sea creature depicted in this image. Ino and Melicerta are later turned into the deities Leucothea and Palaemon, respectively.

Ino and Melicerta | National Museums Liverpool

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This is part of a group of drawings by British artist and book illustrator Edward Francis Burney, depicting scenes from Greek and Roman history and mythology. In Greek mythology, Ino was a Queen of Thebes. She incurred the jealousy of the goddess Hera by raising the god Dionysus, the offspring of one of Hera's husband Zeus' infidelities. Hera caused Ino's husband, Athamas, to go mad and kill their son, Learches. Ino managed to escape into the sea with their other son, Melicerta (Melicertes). The body of Melicerta was said to be carried away by a dolphin, likely the sea creature depicted in this image. Ino and Melicerta are later turned into the deities Leucothea and Palaemon, respectively.

Ino and Melicerta

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