Inked Mag Staff

August 27th, 2015

Mythological Tattoos

From the first time I heard the story of Icarus flying out of the labyrinth Greek mythology fascinated me. Clearly I’m not the only person who feels this way. Thousands…

From the first time I heard the story of Icarus flying out of the labyrinth Greek mythology fascinated me. Clearly I’m not the only person who feels this way. Thousands of years after the stories were first told people still find meaning in them, so much so that they end up getting the myths tattooed into their skin. In the following gallery you’ll find Zeus, Hera, Medusa, Atlas and more.

I wonder if having a tattoo of Zeus, the king of the Gods in Greek mythology, will allow this person to throw lightning bolts.

Tattoo by Q

We could have easily filled this entire list with tattoos by Jun Cha. The black and grey artist specializes in turning classical art into tattoos. This sleeve includes a breathtaking rendition of Atlas holding up the world.

I hope that you don’t turn to stone staring at this Medusa tattoo by Valerie Vargas.

The story of Sisyphus is my personal favorite myth. Thanks to this tattoo our hero will be forever pushing that boulder to the top of the mountain.

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Hercules is to Greek mythology as Arnold Schwarzenegger is to ’80s action movies.

Tattoo by Jun Cha 

Ien Levin has an interesting take on the Trojan Horse in this tattoo. I love it, but, honestly every time I see a horse head I just think about The Godfather.

This tattoo by Sue Jeiven is a depiction of “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli. Venus is the Roman equivalent to the Greek’s Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.

Hera, depicted here in a back piece by Lu’s Lips, is the wife of Zeus. While Zeus is the king of the gods, Hera serves as the goddess for women.

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If you thought horses were fast you should try riding a pegasus! Oh how I wish they were real…

Tattoo by Ondrash 

This tattoo of a nymph simply takes our breath away. So gorgeous.

The tragedy of Icarus is that he flew too close to the sun. This sleeve by Niki Norberg tells the myth with fantastic detail.

This may look like a simple wing tattoo… but it is clearly inspired by Hermes. As the messenger of the gods, Hermes need to get places in a hurry, hence the wings on the feet.

A stunning Medussa head piece by Anderson Luna

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