Camma offers the poisoned wedding cup to Synorix in the temple of Diana, 1644,
oil on canvas, 171,8x125,7 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Inv.
48.16
Camma was a Galatian princess and priestess of Artemis whom Plutarch writes about in both On the Bravery of Women and the Eroticus or Amatorius.
A statue of Diana, goddess of the hunt and protectress of women,
presides over a classical temple where Camma, a priestess of Diana’s
cult, takes revenge on the powerful ruler Synorix, who has murdered her
husband. Pretending to accept his proposal of marriage, she offers him
poisoned milk and honey, after first drinking some herself. According to
the ancient Greek writer Plutarch, Camma “died cheerful and happy” as
soon as she learned of Synorix’s death. Le Sueur, unlike most French
history painters of his era, never went to Italy. He based his detailed
archaeological and architectural references to the ancient world
primarily on book illustrations.