Postcard DE-14013643

The Deer Group - Actaceon (Detail) in Schwetzingen Palace Garden
Sculptor: Peter Anton von Verschaffelt

Opposite the castle, at the western apex of the circular garden, stands the deer group as the conclusion of the parterre. It depicts, in a symmetrical arrangement, two deer being attacked and brought down by dogs.
The group of figures is based on the legend of myth from Ovid: Actaeon, the son of the god Aristaeus and Autonoe, a daughter of Cadmus, once stumbled upon a grotto where Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, was bathing with her nymphs. As punishment for seeing the goddess naked, she transformed him into a deer, after which his own hounds tore him to pieces. . - Monica GPT-4

Photo: Ursula Wetzel

https://www.schloss-schwetzingen.de/en/