Astarte Syriaca by Dante Gabriel Rossetti ~ 1877 Oil on Canvas. Pre-Raphaelites were highly influenced by Romantic poetry, scenes of nature, and Mediaeval art of which these interests were reflected in their style and their themes. Many of these paintings portray scenes from mythology and literature such as Pandora, Ulysses, Romeo and Juliet, Don Jaun, Ophelia, Flora, Joan of Ark, Psyche, the Lady of Shallot, the legends of King Arthur, Guinevere, Venus, the Grail, Dante and Beatrice, goddesses and regal ladies, angels, sirens, mermaids and nymphs. Beautiful girls and women are perhaps their most well known and admired subjects.