Heathen Divinities

Published August 04, 2024 Updated August 04, 2024

Handmade playing cards from the British Museum depicting classical Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.

United Kingdom Art & Design Hand-Painted Myths & Legends
Handmade playing cards depicting “heathen divinities” early 18th century. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Following archaeological discoveries and new literary works, the Romantic era saw a resurgence of fascination with ancient myths, folklore, and pre-Christian religions. The 12 full-length court cards from this 52-card pack in the British Museum, produced by an anonymous artist, are an early 19th century depiction of classical Greek and Roman divinities. The kings are wearing crowns and classical robes and the four queens are their consorts or wives. The four jacks are other related gods. The ace of spades shows an assembly of the 12 deities encircling the suit mark.

The term "heathen divinities" therefore refers to gods and goddesses worshipped in pagan or pre-Christian religions. In this pack we see a variety of Greek & Roman deities including Pan, Venus, Vulcan, Mercury, Prosperine, Pluto, Momus, Amphitrite, Neptune, Bacchus, Juno and Jupiter. The captions beneath the images attempt to summarize the relationships between the deities which may have inspired the artist's imgination.

The numeral cards are also hand painted but undecorated, just plain pips. The card backs are also plain.

Handmade playing cards depicting “heathen divinities” early 18th century. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Above: Pan was the Greek god of shepherds, also representing untamed, rustic passion and desire. Here we see him playing pan pipes in the wilds of nature. • Venus is the goddess of love and beauty, equivalent to the Greek Aphrodite. She was the consort of Vulcan, the Roman and Greek god of fire. A forge and metal workers can be seen in the background. These three deities are connected through themes of love, desire, and beauty, though in different contexts.

Handmade playing cards depicting “heathen divinities” early 18th century. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Above: the Roman god Mercury, fleet-footed messenger of the gods, wears winged shoes and a winged hat, and carries a caduceus • Prosperine (or Persephone) was the daughter of Ceres. She was abducted by Pluto, king of the underworld, during which time the earth experienced a period of darkness. The dogs may be symbolically linked to the underworld. There also appears to be an image of Sisyphus in the background. Pluto also presides over the afterlife and various scenes in the background may allude to this. All three are connected through the mythological framework of the underworld: Mercury's role as a guide and mediator, Proserpine's position as the queen of the underworld, and Pluto's dominion over the dead.

Handmade playing cards depicting “heathen divinities” early 18th century. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Above: Momus, the god of satire, mockery and poetry in Greek mythology, was also a figure of harmless fun, a harlequin. He became the Fool in Minchiate packs • Amphitrite in Greek mythology was the goddess of the seas and wife of Poseidon, who was identified as Neptune, god of the sea in the Roman pantheon. Neptune and Amphitrite are therefore closely linked through their marriage and shared dominion over the sea, while Momus has a more general role.

Handmade playing cards depicting “heathen divinities” early 18th century. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Above: Bacchus was the god of wine and revelry in Roman mythology, and we can see this going on in the background scene • Juno was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the chief Roman god of the sky and of thunder. His sacred animal was the eagle which became a common symbol of the Roman army. Jupiter, Juno and Bacchus have interconnected stories that highlight themes of jealousy, protection, and divine power. Jupiter, as Bacchus's father, protects and nurtures him, while Juno, driven by jealousy, attempts to undermine him • The cards were produced using watercolours with pen and ink, 62x93 mms, backs plain. © The Trustees of the British Museum • Number 1896,0501.941

References

British Museum Number 1896,0501.941

O’Donoghue, Freeman M: Catalogue of the collection of playing cards bequeathed by Lady Charlotte Schreiber (English 39), Trustees of the British Museum, London, 1901 [digital version here]

avatar
1,478 Articles

By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.

Related Articles

1905 Whist by Ditha Moser

Whist by Ditha Moser

Ditha Moser created this minimalist Whist deck in 1905, in the style of the Vienna Secession art mov...

2022 Beowulf

Beowulf

Jackson Robinson's Beowulf playing card deck inspired by the Old English pagan poem.

2018 Keith Haring playing cards

Keith Haring playing cards

Energetic graffiti images by the American artist Keith Haring.

1992 Disney’s Aladdin playing cards

Disney’s Aladdin playing cards

Characters from the 1992 Disney film Aladdin.

2011 2011 Worshipful Company Pack

2011 Worshipful Company Pack

Celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, with characters adapted from drawings b...

1926 Jockey Club de Buenos Aires

Jockey Club de Buenos Aires

Spanish-suited pack by Chas Goodall & Son Ltd for the Jockey Club, Buenos Aires.

New interest in old games

New interest in old games

Games once fashionable are now eclipsed by quicker gratifications.

1999 Polygo™

Polygo™

Cards of irregular, four-sided shape for playing word and colour games as well as more traditional o...

1995 Treasures from the Bodleian Library

Treasures from the Bodleian Library

Rare books, manuscripts, music scores, portraits, maps, gospels, chronicles and other valuable artef...

1983 Carte di Natale

Carte di Natale

Designed by Pier Canosa as a Christmas pack for the Cortina Art Gallery in Milan.

1863 Victorian grocer’s scale plate

Victorian grocer’s scale plate

Large flat plate decorated with highly coloured English cards and royal arms.

2024 Queen of Arts

Queen of Arts

A wide variety of women artists celebrated on cards with illustrations by Laura Callaghan.

2015 Fredericks & Mae playing cards

Fredericks & Mae playing cards

A rainbow pack from the design team of Fredericks & Mae and Benjamin English.

1990 The Glasgow Pack

The Glasgow Pack

Issued to celebrate Glasgow’s reign as European City of Culture in 1990, with city views and works o...

2018 Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

54 pictures of different famous cathedrals, abbeys and minsters in England and Wales.

2018 Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols playing cards illustrated by Stuart Dilks