Attic Vase-painting Research Articles

COMPARATIVE ANTHROPOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTIC WHITE-GROUND VASE PAINTING

Introduction. Of the numerous ceramic production centers of ancient Greece, the Attica region is notable for its continuous development of vase painting styles. Compared to the black-figure and red-figure painting techniques, the polychrome painting of Attic vases on a white-ground may indicate polymorphism in the pigmentation of the ancient Greeks. Materials and methods. The material was collected in digitized museum collections and thematic literature. The color and nature of the characters' hair were studied from vase painting and funerary painting. Anthroposcopic method and simple statistics were used. The significance of differences between groups was assessed using the chi-square test. Results and discussion. In all samples of Attic vase painting, the wavy nature of the hair is predominant, and this frequency does not change significantly over time. The highest frequency of straight nature of the hair (13.3%) is observed in white-ground vase painting. In comparison with the characters in vase paintings, modern Greeks have predominantly straight, lightly wavy hair, especially in women, and then wavy hair. For all style groups of Attic vase painting, no gender differences in nature of the hair were identified. The depiction of hair color on white-ground vase paintings of the early classical and classical times is significantly different: in the earlier vase painting, black and dark brown predominate, and in the later ones, brown/light brown and red-brown. The minimum frequency of dark shades of the hair is noted in Hellenistic funerary painting; it shows, like the white-ground vase painting of the classics, a lighter-pigmented population. The hair color of the modern Greek population is predominantly dark. Based on the hypothesis that the artist depicts familiar forms as traditional ones and reflects the anthropological characteristics of his group, the polymorphism of pigmentation and nature of the hair of the ancient and modern Greek populations is different. Conclusion. Groups of art sources that differ in chronology and style do not represent the hair pigmentation of the population of ancient Greece in the same way. To further study polymorphism of pigmentation of the ancient population, it is necessary to correct the methodology to correlate the actual colors used in vase/mural painting with the hair color classes of the traditional color scale, as well as the use of additional comparative materials.

Sirens’ Songs and Music: Their Representations and Significance on Archaic and Classical Attic Vase-Paintings

Dans la religion grecque antique, les sirènes étaient souvent associées à l’au-delà et aux rituels funéraires. Leur rôle dans la littérature et la philosophie de la Grèce antique était également très important. Le motif des sirènes peut être interprété de plusieurs points de vue, a de nombreuses significations différentes et est associé à diverses divinités. Cet article présente les sirènes dans leur rôle de chanteuses et musiciennes, individuellement ou en groupe. Des représentations choisies de sirènes, principalement sur des vases attiques, sont combinées avec des sources littéraires, en se concentrant sur les périodes archaïque et classique (vie-ve siècles avant notre ère). Nous tentons d’examiner l’évolution de leur iconographie et de leur signification, soit dans des scènes mythologiques inspirées des épopées (Odyssée ou Argonautique), soit dans des scènes différentes, où les sirènes anonymes sont liées à divers concepts (par exemple, religieux-eschatologique). Les sirènes sont représentées sur des vases à figures noires et rouges de formes et d’usages divers. En général, elles chantent ; parfois, elles tiennent des instruments de musique, généralement l’aulos et la lyre, rarement la crotale. La comparaison avec des thèmes similaires représentés sur des peintures de vases montrera les similitudes et les différences dans leur iconographie et leur symbolisme.

Hoplitodromos - the category of ancient Greek athletics

The purpose of the study is to find out whether the hoplitodromos, or hoplite race, was more of a military or sporting event, whether the nature of this agon was associated with its late introduction into the program of the Panhellenic games, and whether the rules for its organization differed in Panhellenic and local competitions. On the basis of written sources and data from Attic vase painting, the author shows that there were different types of weapons of the participants in the run - heavy and light, and also that over time the “full” weapons of the hoplite - helmet, greaves, shield - change, retaining only the shield. Despite the widespread opinion in the scientific literature that the hoplitоdromos belonged to “military” competitions, the author comes to the conclusion that the nature of the run was determined by the type of games. And if at local games this agon was often associated with the aition of the festival, for example, with the military exploits of Athena on Panathenaia or the anniversary of the Battle of Plataea on Eleutheria, then at Panhellenic competitions, such as the Olympic Games, the military nature of the run was transformed into a reconstruction, thereby acquiring the nature of an entertaining spectacle.

Vin og ekstase i svart og rødt. Attiske vaser med Dionysos og menader i norske antikksamlinger (580–430 f.Kr.)

Wine and Ecstasy in Black and Red. Attic vases with Dionysos and Meanads in Norwegian collections. Depictions of Dionysus and his followers the Meanads are the most common images used in Greek Attic vase paintings. Wine-drinking is seen in relationship with the ecstasy of the Maenads and as part of becoming ecstatic. New theoretical perspectives give a fresh understanding of these scenes - suggesting that they portrayed and played an important role in Dionysian ritual and ecstasy. The Meanads achieved ecstasy by drinking wine, seen as a metaphor of the wine god Dionysus, and thus become a part of the god in moments of ecstasy. According to Van Gennep´s rites de passage, the liminal phase was an essential part of religious rituals, and the article concludes that it is the liminal phase of reaching a higher level - being at one with the divine - that is depicted in the selected vases. It is also suggested that, while drunk, the men of the symposium felt the same connection with the divine as the Maenads did during their ecstatic experiences. Ethnographic parallels show how these rituals were carried out, and indicate the symbolic role of Maenads in the rituals of the symposium. Pieces from Norwegian collections are revealed as relevant and representative examples of Dionysian iconography.

Erichthonius or Theseus, who established the Panathenaea?

The sources know two versions of the establishing of Panathenaia, the main public holiday of the Athenian polis. The earliest version of aition of Panathenaia is associated with the history of the Athenian indigenous king Erichthonius. The son of Gaia and Hephaestus, Erichthonius was raised by the goddess Athena on the Acropolis, and after becoming king of Athens, he dedicated the feast of Panathenaia to the goddess. In the source, he is the first founder of the holiday. However, two types of Panathenaia were known in Athens: the Lesser Panathenaia, which were held annually, and the Greater Panathenaia, which, like the Olympic Games, were held every four years. Gradually, there appear pieces of new information about the history of the establishing of the Panathenaia in the mythological tradition. Now the authors distinguish two stages in the history of the feast, wherein the earlier one was called Athenaia. Gradually Erichthonius was relegated to the background, as founder Athenaeus, whereas the holiday got a new name - Panathenaia. This process was often associated with the synoekismus of Theseus, when he had united all the Athenians into one urban community. The cult of Theseus became especially popular in Athens after the reforms of Cleisthenes. Theseus' exploits are becoming a popular theme in Attic vase painting, especially scenes depicting the struggle, which Theseus was believed to be the founder of in Athens. At the same time, the program of the Panathenaic Games was expanding, the Panathenaia gradually acquired a supra-regional character.

Espelho ou tímpano?

Analisa-se aqui uma oinochoe ápula, conservada em Varsóvia, produzida no final da técnica de figuras vermelhas, c. 300 a.C, e próxima do Pintor de Mignot, de um grupo muito tardio de pintores, em que a técnica colapsara. Sua iconografia singular se destaca devido ao objeto circular na mão da figura feminina, identificado como espelho (κάτοπτρον) ou tympanon (τύμπανον). Realizamos um exercício de interpretação, discutindo aspectos passíveis de análise iconográfica, comparando a pintura de vasos ática e italiota. Concluímos: o objeto circular não é compatível com um tympanon, mas sim como um espelho — espelho especial, místico, ligado ao culto a Eros, importante no séc. IV a.C. na Itália meridional, em que o espelho desempenhava um papel místico.

고전기 아티카 도기화에 나타난 아르카익 양식의 시각적 역사성: 신화적 맥락을 중심으로

고전기 아티카 도기화에 나타난 아르카익 양식의 시각적 역사성: 신화적 맥락을 중심으로

Мотив «эмоциональной» собаки в аттической вазописи VI-V веков до нашей эры

Мотив «эмоциональной» собаки в аттической вазописи VI-V веков до нашей эры

Helios Rising: The Sun, the Moon, and the Sea in the Sculptures of the Parthenon

The figure of Helios driving his chariot into the heavens in the south angle of the east pediment of the Parthenon is underappreciated. After brief reviews of the role of the god in myth, religion, and culture, and of his appearance in Attic vase painting, the article surveys the four (possibly five) Helioi in the Parthenon's sculptural program. The focus is on the pedimental figure, whose rising marks the dawn of the day of Athena's birth and who is shown emerging from the sea in a rare and remarkable classical fusion of figure and nature that has not received the attention it deserves. Additional figures appear under this article’s abstract on AJA Online.

Pictorial space as a media phenomenon: the case of ‘Landscape’ in Romano-Campanian wall-painting

In his ground-breaking article “Perspektive als symbolische Form” Erwin Panofsky argued for the fundamental significance of modes of spatial depiction in the visual arts for cultural history. In line with Panofsky’s approach, changing modes of spatial depiction in Graeco-Roman art have been interpreted as indicators of cultural historical change too, as e.g. in Tonio Holscher´s important works on changing images of war. This paper adopts a different approach. Differences in the modes of spatial depiction are explained as media phenomena responding to the specificities of picture-genres. Taking the very different treatments of ‘landscape’ in Attic vase-painting (treated as a contrasting comparandum) and in Romano-Campanian wall-painting as a case-study, my aim is to demonstrate how these differences correspond to the respective types of decoration, their specific requirements and their context: Athenian drinking vessels for the symposion and adorned walls as decorum of the Roman upper-class-house.

Хоры в аттической вазописи VI–V веков до н. э.

The authors analyze some characteristics of ancient Greek vase-painting in order to study ancient drama and theatre. This problem has been discussed a lot within the last decades, e.g. in the works of J. R. Green,O. Taplin, E. Csapo et al. The authors focus on the Attic vase-painting of the 6th–5th centuries BC, which was close to the time of ancient Greek theatre to be born. The group of Attic vases with the so-called ‘animal’ choruses (ca. 560–480 BC) draws the scholars’ attention due to nearly twenty pictures of costumed processions offantastic birds, cocks, horsemen, riders on dolphins, etc. These sets remind of ‘animal’ choruses in Aristophanes’The Birds and The Knights. The authors specially analyze the so-called ‘rider choruses’ on the Greek vases from the museums of Berlin, Boston, New York, etc. All these pictures help to prove socio-cultural (and not onlyreligious!) aspects of komos. This analysis also allows the authors to discover sources of ancient Greek comedy and dramatic performances, which were connected with aristocratic culture of symposion in Archaic and early Classical Greece.

LAME HEPHAISTOS

The Return of Hephaistos to Olympus was a popular scene in Attic vase-painting from the beginning of the sixth century through the end of the fifth centurybce, and it is found occasionally on other forms of pottery as well. According to myth, Hephaistos was lame, and this disability is sometimes depicted on painted pottery, almost always in scenes of his Return. The most well-known example is the François Vase, which is often the only vase cited when discussing instances of Hephaistos's lameness on Athenian pottery. Although three other Attic vases are occasionally cited as showing the disability, one of which does not show his Return, but instead the Birth of Athena, there are actually quite a number more Attic vases that depict his lameness than have previously been recognised. In this paper I present seven new Attic examples that clearly display his lameness, and consider both the different ways in which his disability is rendered and how they relate to the various epithets associated with him For example, he is often associated with the epithet ‘clubfoot’, and while there was an established iconography of clubfoot Corinthian komasts, the god's disability is never rendered in this manner on Attic vases. Instead, he is depicted in ways more similar to other epithets associated with him. Most notably, four vases represent the disability in a fashion that seems to be connected with Hephaistos's most common Homeric epithet, ἀμφιγυήεις, or ‘with both feet crooked’.

Phantasms and Metonyms: The Limits of Representation in Fifth-Century Athens

This essay reconsiders key questions about ancient Greek representational practice by studying representations of the dead. It examines both literary and visual evidence, stretching from the eighth to the fourth century BCE, but focuses especially on a fifth-century Attic vase painting. Historicist readings of textual sources indicate that the concept of the image was only fully developed in Greek philosophical writings of the fourth century BCE. The essay argues that Greek visual culture provides evidence of complex thinking about the role and status of images within a broader spectrum of representational possibilities prior to their philosophical theorization. This kind of material evidence supplies the historical matrix for the development of philosophical theory, but it also exceeds the complexity of that theory. In the face of the images themselves, philosophy presents not a revolution but a retrenchment.

Athenian Marital Life: A Union of Affection or of Duty?

The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities (SLJH) is a peer-reviewed, bi-annual, journal of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. It is devoted to publishing articles based on original research in the Humanities and related fields. It aims to reach a readership of both specialists and non-specialists.The SLJH is currently accepting submissions for Volume 43, Nos. 1 and 2 (2021)Submissions could range from research articles (6000-7000 words, including footnotes/tables/graphs, etc.) to book-reviews, review articles, opinion pieces and interviews (not exceeding 3000 words). For detailed instructions on submissions, see https://sljh.sljol.info/about/submissions/;Deadlines - Volume 43, No. 1: 31 March, 2021 - Volume 43, No. 2: 31 August, 2021

Painters, Potters, and the Scale of the Attic Vase-Painting Industry

Painters, Potters, and the Scale of the Attic Vase-Painting Industry

Ancient Greek Prostitutes and the Textile Industry in Attic Vase-Painting ca. 550–450 b.c.e.

This paper examines the link between ancient Greek prostitutes and the textile industry, specifically through the women’s association with braiding frames, spinning, and wool-baskets, as they are portrayed in Attic vase-painting. The argument presented is twofold: one, prostitutes from all ranks were involved in the textile industry and were thus depicted working wool in vase-painting; and two, Aphrodite, the prostitutes’ patron deity, was also linked with textiles through the representations of her headdress, gestures of spinning, and her embroidered chest ornament on Attic pottery.

Prostitutes, Plonk, and Play: Female Banqueters on a Red-figure Psykter from the Hermitage

My examination of the female banqueters on this psykter investigates gender ideologies in Attic vase painting, but also humor, eroticism and the use of stereotypes in late-archaic Athens. I suggest this image of female banqueters helped male symposiasts bond and reinforced the privileged position of the Athenian male citizen. The similarity of this image to the actual symposium forced the symposiast to reflect on his behavior, while its differences worked to identify any female at the symposium as “other.” In the process, I also unravel attitudes towards the female prostitute and problematize the identification “hetaira” given to female banqueters.

‘Men who were the most beautiful, not only among their fellow citizens, but in all Hellas’ (Aeschines, Against Timarchus 1.156): sports and athletics on Athenian vases of the sixth to fourth century bce

The task of archaeology is to assemble the marks and traces of the past in order to gain a vivid impression of bygone circumstances. Bearing in mind the fact that they also underlie contemporary ideal and ethical conceptions, Attic vase paintings of the sixth to fourth century bce give the most vivid pictures of Athenian sports. However, they have not only to be seen as mere illustrations for publications on ancient sports, but also to allow the reconstruction of the sporting activities of contemporary Athens. They bring to life several areas of the ancient Athenian training methods and competitions, and many details of the actual execution and performance of the disciplines can be verified in that way. Moreover, they do not give information only about men's physical activities, but about if, and to what degree, Athenian children and women were integrated into the world of athletics and sports.

HOUSEWIVES, <em>HETAIRAI</em>, AND THE AMBIGUITY OF GENRE IN ATTIC VASE PAINTING

So-called genre scenes or scenes of everyday life in Attic vase painting have proven irresistible to scholars of Greek iconography, and indeed to many historians working on classical Athens. Not only were the vases objects used by “regular people,” but their imagery provides tantalizing potential glimpses into the quotidian activities and everyday concerns hinted at in surviving texts. What transpired behind the closed doors of the oikos or at the height of a symposion? Yet, as iconographers have well demonstrated over the past few decades, it would be a mistake to rely upon these images as if they were photographic documents. A more fruitful interpretive strategy is to treat a scene as if it were a text, to decipher a painter’s pictorial language while recognizing the image for the construction it is. Because of their unusual or provocative iconography, certain vases have received repeated attention. Among these is an Attic red-figured hydria by the Harrow Painter (ca 470 b.c.) in the Tampa Museum of Art (Figs. 1–3), formerly in the collection of Joseph Veach Noble and discovered at Vulci in the early nineteenth century. The scene on the body (Fig. 2) is deceptively simple, lacking inscriptions or discernible mythological narrative. At the left stands a building or portico; inside sits a woman enveloped in her mantle, wearing a sakkos and holding a large mirror whose face is turned outward toward the viewer. A small boy faces her, also enveloped in his himation and wearing a red fillet (mostly flaked away), with an alabastron hanging in the field between them. Outside the structure stands a bearded, half-draped man with a mostly lost red wreath who leans on his walking staff, left hand clutching a purse or

The beginning of narrative art in attic vase painting A review of proposed theories

Η αρχή της αφηγηματικής τέχνης στην αττική αγγειογραφία: Μια επισκόπηση των προτεινόμενων θεωριών. Το άρθρο αυτό διερευνά διάφορες θεωρίες των τελευταίων 60 χρόνων σχετικά με την αρχή της αφηγηματικής τέχνης στην αττική αγγειογραφία (και την ελληνική τέχνη γενικότερα). Το διηγηματικό περιεχόμενο μιας σκηνής συνδέεται κλασικά με τη δυνατότητα ανασύνθεσης μιας συγκεκριμένης ιστορίας ή τουλάχιστον μιας συγκεκριμένης πράξης ή δραστηριότητας, ενώ μια πιο στρουκτουραλιστική προσέγγιση το αναγνωρίζει ακόμη και ελλείψει ιδιαίτερων ή συγκεκριμένων στοιχείων, δηλαδή ακόμη και σε σκηνές γενικού περιεχομένου. Μετά το τέλος της μυκηναϊκής εποχής και ύστερα από μια μακρόχρονη περίοδο ανεικονικής τέχνης αρχίζουν και εμφανίζονται στα αττικά αγγεία, σταδιακά από τη μεσογεωμετρική περίοδο, εικονιστικές σκηνές, με αποκορύφωμα πολυπληθείς παραστάσεις πρόθεσης, εκφοράς και μαχών σε μνημειακά αγγεία της ύστερης γεωμετρικής περιόδου, τα οποία φαίνεται ότι προορίζονταν ως σήματα σε τάφους αριστοκρατών. Το περιεχόμενο αυτών των σκηνών έχει προσελκύσει αλλεπάλληλες συζητήσεις με διάφορους άξονες: είναι γενικό ή ειδικό, συνδέεται δηλαδή στην αντίληψη των αγγειογράφων και των σύγχρονων θεατών με συγκεκριμένα πρόσωπα, τόπο και χρόνο, δηλαδή με την εκφορά και τα κατορθώματα των νεκρών, με τους οποίους συνδέονται τα αγγεία, οι οποίοι ζούσαν στην Αθήνα του τέλους του 8ου αι. π.Χ.; Ακόμη και αν είναι όμως γενικό το περιεχόμενό τους, αυτό σημαίνει απαραιτήτως ότι δεν μπορεί να είναι διηγηματικό; Είναι ιστορικό και συγκεκριμένο, αναφέρεται σε γεγονότα της ζωής των νεκρών, ή γενικά στο στυλ μιας ζωής τιμημένης και περιπετειώδους; Ή είναι ίσως μυθικό-ιστορικό, αναφέρεται δηλαδή στους ένδοξους προγόνους των νεκρών; Ή μήπως πρόκειται εν τέλει για μυθικές σκηνές; Με γενικό ηρωικό ή συγκεκριμένο περιεχόμενο; Αν ναι, συνδέονται με γνωστά γραπτά έργα, για παράδειγμα το ομηρικό έπος, ή και με έργα που δεν μας έχουν παραδοθεί, ή απηχούν μήπως τρέχουσες προφορικές ιστορίες, που δεν μπορούν μοιραία να ανιχνευθούν; Τελικά μπορούμε να περιμένουμε μυθικές σκηνές στην ελληνική τέχνη πριν από τον 7ο αι., τουλάχιστον σε ό,τι αφορά ορισμένες, λιγοστές σκηνές σε υστερογεωμετικά αγγεία, που δεν ακολουθούν την εικονογραφία της πρόθεσης και της εκφοράς, λ.χ. μιας σκηνής ναυαγίου, ή αποχαιρετισμού (ή απαγωγής;) γυναίκας από πολεμιστή, που την κρατά από τον καρπό, ένδειξη γαμήλιου δεσμού (ή απαγωγής) κ.ο.κ.; Κάποιες σκηνές πάλης με λιοντάρι, που κατά τεκμήριο ακολουθούν συριακά πρότυπα, έχουν ήδη κατά τα ύστερα γεωμετρικά χρόνια συσχετισθεί με τον Ηρακλή ή αποτελούν αντικείμενο μηχανικής αντιγραφής; Διάφορες θεωρίες αντιπαραβάλλονται και αποτιμώνται (Carter, Ahlberg- Cornell, Webster, Boardman, Snodgrass, Stansbury-O’Donnell), υπό το φως νέων δεδομένων, αρχαιολογικών (λ.χ. σχετικά με τη φύση και την έκταση των επαφών Ελλάδας και Ανατολής, τον προορισμό ή όχι των αγγείων στη γεωμετρική -ή και άλλες εποχές- για συγκεκριμένους πελάτες), εικονογραφικών (λ.χ. για τους τρόπους της αφήγησης μιας ιστορίας ως εικόνας σε τόσο πρώιμες εποχές, την αλληλεπίδραση ή όχι τέχνης και λογοτεχνίας και με ποιους όρους) και φιλολογικών (λ.χ. για τον τόπο και τον χρόνο σύνθεσης των επών). Στην πορεία της συζήτησης αναλύεται ακόμη η σημασία δυο επίμαχων μοτίβων α) της ασπίδας του Διπύλου, που κρατούν ορισμένοι πολεμιστές, κάποτε και σε σκηνές εκφοράς, και έχει συνδεθεί με την οκτάσχημη μυκηναϊκή ασπίδα, ως υποτιθέμενο σύμβολο αναφοράς στο έπος ή εν γένει στην ηρωική εποχή (θεωρία που ανασκευάζεται συστηματικά, με αρχαιολογικά και εικονογραφικά επιχειρήματα) και β) των λεγόμενων Ακτοριόνων/Μολιόνων, μιας παράξενης διπλής μορφής με κοινό σώμα, αλλά και με δύο κεφάλια και ζευγάρια άκρων, που έχει ερμηνευτεί ως οι γνωστοί μυθικοί δίδυμοι ή ως καλλιτεχνική σύμβαση για την απόδοση μορφών που τοποθετούνται δίπλα-δίπλα, ή ως συμβολική αναφορά σε μορφές αχώριστες ή εξαρτώμενες η μία από την άλλη (υποστηρίζεται βάσει εικονογραφικών και άλλων στοιχείων η μεγαλύτερη πιθανότητα της τρίτης άποψης, χωρίς να αποκλείεται εντελώς και η δεύτερη). Από τα πιο βασικά συμπεράσματα που συνάγονται είναι καταρχάς ότι οι πρώτες μυθικές σκηνές πιθανώς δεν χρονολογούνται πριν από το τέλος της ύστερης γεωμετρικής Ι, αν όχι της ύστερης γεωμετρικής ΙΙ, και κατά τεκμήριο πληθαίνουν από τις αρχές του 7ου αι. π.Χ. Η μετατόπιση του ενδιαφέροντος από τη σύγχρονη στην ηρωική πραγματικότητα ίσως σχετίζεται με τις αξιώσεις της αριστοκρατίας της εποχής για καταγωγή από ηρωικές ή μυθικές μορφές. Το έπος, προ-ομηρικό, ή αργότερα και το ομηρικό, φαίνεται να προλείανε το έδαφος για τη χρήση μυθικών προτύπων. Η δε εισροή μοτίβων από την Ανατολή, όπως της πάλης ήρωα με λιοντάρι ή της σφίγγας, που εντείνεται κατά το δεύτερο μισό του 8ου αι. π.Χ., πρέπει να ενθάρρυνε την ταύτισή τους με μορφές της ελληνικής μυθολογίας, ή πιθανότερο να ενέπνευσε γενικά τη δημιουργία εικονογραφικών τύπων για την απεικόνισή τους, όπως επίσης ίσως και η ανεύρεση μυκηναϊκών τεχνουργημάτων με ανάλογες σκηνές. Είτε πραγματική, είτε μυθική, ωστόσο, το σημαντικό είναι ότι τα αττικά αγγεία του τέλους της γεωμετρικής εποχής διηγούνταν μια ιστορία, σημειώνοντας την αυγή μιας διηγηματικής τέχνης, που έμελλε να αναπτυχθεί και να μεγαλουργήσει κατά την ανατολίζουσα και, κυρίως, κατά την αρχαϊκή περίοδο.