Page "The Tempest (Giorgione)" Paragraph 3

There is no contemporary textual explanation for The Tempest, and ultimately, no definitive reading or interpretation.

To some it represents the flight into Egypt ; to others, a scene from classical mythology ( Paris and Oenone ) or from an ancient Greek pastoral novel.

According to the Italian scholar Salvatore Settis, the desert city would represent the Paradise, the two characters being Adam and Eve with their son Cain: the lightning, as in ancient Greek and Hebrew times, would represent God who has just ousted them from Eden.

Others have proposed a moral allegorical reading, or concluded that Giorgione had no particular subject in mind.