Category: Art/Archaeology
Abstract–The Tomb Below the Ostrusha Mound and the Painted Prosopa Within the Central Boxes of the Ceiling: Proposal for a New Reading
| April 16, 2013 | Posted by Consuelo Manetta under Art/Archaeology, E-journal, Research Symposium |
The presentation reviews some figurative paintings inside boxes that adorned the ceiling of the thalamos within the so-called tomb-Mound Ostrusha, found in ancient territories corresponding to present-day Bulgaria. It constitutes unquestionably one of most interesting witnesses of understanding Thracian artistic, social and funeral contexts during the early Hellenistic period. My proposal for a new reading of the Ostrusha painted prosopa completely revises the previous interpretations. It introduces innovative perspectives of research, both about the figurative program of the tomb and painted and sculpted representations from similar and contemporary ceilings. more
Abstract–Art in transition: Damophon of Messene in the Ionian coast of Greece
| April 16, 2013 | Posted by Milena Melfi under Art/Archaeology, E-journal, Research Symposium |
This paper consists of a preliminary reassessment of the activity and chronology of the Messenian sculptor Damophon, on the basis of three specific episodes of his career. A new inscription from the Asklepieion of Butrint and two honorary decrees issued for the sculptor by the cities of Leukas and Kranioi (Kephallenia) confirm that he was active in the Ionian coast of Greece in the 2nd century BC. Historical and archaeological data seem also to suggest that at the time of Damophon’s work the whole area was already under the control of the Romans. The sculptor’s activity and the cult statues he made/restored are therefore interpreted in the light of contemporary religious and cultural policies, aimed at strengthening the links between Rome and Greece. more
Abstract–The city of late Hellenistic Delos and the integration of economic activities in the domestic sphere
| April 16, 2013 | Posted by Mantha Zarmakoupi under Art/Archaeology, E-journal, Research Symposium |
Delos underwent a period of rapid economic development after 167 BCE, when the Romans put the island under Athenian dominion and turned it into a commercial base connecting the eastern and western Mediterranean. Due to its advantageous geographical position in the center of the Cyclades, Delos attracted traders from Greece, Macedonia, and the Hellenistic East as well as dealers from Rome. Between 167 BCE and the sacks of 88 and 69 BCE, the island became an intermediary link in Rome’s commercial relations with the Hellenistic East. The accelerated urbanization, attested by the formation of new neighborhoods, as well as the redevelopment of existing urban and harbor areas of the island through the construction of jetties, docksides, warehouses and markets, were the result of this economic development and the unprecedented demographic growth and cultural diversity that it generated. This paper focuses on the residential neighborhoods that were developed in this period… more
“Insignificant”, “superfluous” and “useless”: legal antiquities for export?
| December 31, 2012 | Posted by Yannis Galanakis under Art/Archaeology, Blog, History |
“…our dispositions [toward antiquities, archaeology and the past] have been shaped by the relevant laws…to such an extent that we are likely to forget that those laws are human institutions–products of history, that is–and treat them instead as if they draw their authority from a timeless universal sense of right or wrong. Our relationship with antiquities…is now mediated by a quasi-naturalised legal frame.”[1] In a subject that deals with the trafficking of antiquities and archaeological legislation one may well ask: are there legal antiquities for export? Each country has its own antiquities laws: some do not include the exportation of ancient objects or prohibit it altogether, while others allow the conditional exportation of certain categories. These conditions, as one can easily imagine, vary considerably from case to case. In 19th- and 20th-century Greece, “duplicate”, “insignificant”, “superfluous”, “useless” and “valueless” antiquities could conditionally be legally exported according to the laws of… more
Odysseus and the Cult of Apollo at Delos
| December 6, 2012 | Posted by Jim Marks under Art/Archaeology, Blog, Language/Literature, Mythology/Religion |
For my final post, I would like to explore how the audiences for whom early Greek epics were composed and performed might have responded to representations of the cult of Apollo on Delos in epic poetry. This site, along with Delphi, was one of the god’s major Panhellenic sanctuaries—ones frequented by worshippers from many parts of the Greek world. As a consequence, references to Delos in Panhellenic epics—poems designed to appeal to audiences from many parts of the Greek world—would certainly have reached the ears of people who had visited the island or knew someone who had. Indeed, the epic tradition at some point identified Delos as the site of a competition between the two personifications of Panhellenic poetry, Hesiod and Homer, who were associated with either side of the Aegean, Askre and Ionia respectively (Hesiod fr. 357 MW=Schol. Pindar Nemea 2.1; Contest of Homer and Hesiod p.237.316 Allen; cf.… more
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