STONE AND SOUND

20.11.2025 

"Ille manu fortis, hic citharae citharamque levis percussit eburna."

“One, brave with his hands; the other, gentle in touching the ivory lyre.”

Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book VI

Zethus and Amphion are two brothers from Ovid’s mythological universe. The illustrious poet tells that together they built the walls of the city of Thebes. How? Each in his own way. Zethus, a practical and strong man, lifted the stones with the power of his arms, traced boundaries, planned, and raised the foundations with order and determination. Amphion, on the other hand, inspired by grace and the gift of music, played his lyre, and at the sound of its strings, the stones moved on their own, forming the walls as if animated by an enchanted force.

In the Metamorphoses, Ovid portrays this episode as a perfect balance between intellect and action, between art and concreteness. Zethus represents tireless labor, discipline, and the tangible construction of the world. Amphion embodies the beauty of creation, the invisible strength of the mind and inspiration. Thus, the walls of Thebes arise from the fusion of two opposing yet complementary energies: the passion of the artist and the solidity of the builder.

Their feat shows that no work can be born from pure inspiration nor from effort alone. It is their union that gives rise to the city, a symbol of every human achievement. Where imagination gives form and toil gives substance, the goal comes to life. Thebes becomes the eternal monument to the harmony between creativity and commitment, between music and stone, between dream and reality.

M.A.D.S. Art Ga lery invites artists to present works that explore the union between inspiration and dedication, between the visionary force of art and the concreteness of creation. Artworks that testify how only through harmony between thought and action can new worlds come to life, capable of enduring through time like the walls of a newly born city.

Concept by Mara Cipriano Senior Art Curator