Art, Myth, and Ritual in Classical Greece

by Judith M. Barringer

Overview

What do Greek myths mean and how was meaning created for the ancient viewer? In Art, Myth and Ritual in Classical Greece, Judith Barringer considers the use of myth on monuments at several key sites – Olympia, Athens, Delphi, Bassai, and Trysa – showing that myth was neither randomly selected nor purely decorative. The mythic scenes on these monuments had meaning, the interpretation of which depends on context. Barringer explains how the same myth can possess different meanings and how, in a monumental context, the mythological image relates to the site and often to other monuments surrounding it, which redouble, resonate, or create variation on a theme. The architectural sculpture examined here is discussed in a series of five case studies, which are chronologically arranged and offer a range of physical settings, historical and social circumstances, and interpretive problems. Providing new interpretations of familiar monuments, this volume also offers a comprehensive way of seeing and understanding Greek art and culture as an integrated whole.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521646475
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/21/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Judith M. Barringer is Professor of Greek Art and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. The author of The Hunt in Ancient Greece and Divine Escorts: Nereids in Archaic and Classical Greek Art, she has received awards and fellowships such as the National Endowment for the Humanities at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and the British Academy Larger Research Grant, as well as awards from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.

Table of Contents

1. The temple of Zeus at Olympia, heroic models, and the Panhellenic sanctuary; 2. The Athenian Akropolis, female power, and state religion; 3. Making heroes in Athenian agora; 4. Myth and religion at Delphi; 5. The cult of the individual and the realm of the dead.

Editorial Reviews

"The clarity of the exposition, the carefully designed structure, and the excellent collection of images make this book a valuable introduction to the study of fifth- and fourth-century Greek architectural sculpture, and for this the author and the publisher deserve to be congratulated. Barringer should also be praised for her contextual approach to this important subject."
BMCR

"Barringer's book gives a comprehensive introduction to the discourse of myth as it has been seen and understood within the study of Greek art … Barringer's book unfolds unexpected and diverse perspectives on the complex reaction between religion, ritual, myth and art."
Arctos

From the Publisher