Gradiva

The Gradiva, The woman who walks, has become a modern 20th century mythological figure. As she has sprung out of the imagination of a fictional character she may be considered unreal twice over. The fictional character in question is a young archaeologist, the protagonist of a novella by the German writer Wilhelm Jensen He is fascinated by a female figure in an antique bas-relief and gives her the name "Gradiva" after Mars Gradivus, the Roman god of war walking into battle; later, not quite certain whether he is awake or dreaming, he meets her in the ruins of Pompeii.