This important, two-volume compendium brings together 38 short essays treating key themes in ancient Greek art and its historiography. But what is ‘Greek art’? The answer to this question, as the editors illustrate, is complex and closely tied to the history of the discipline itself. Traditional hierarchies and connoisseurship still dominate the field, yet different approaches have much to offer, and can coexist with and complement accepted practices. These volumes represent a synthesis of viewpoints that address the many diverse facets of ancient Greek art and how we study it. Ultimately, the editors are successful at bringing a variety of perspectives together in a concise and approachable way.
This anthology will be useful for classicists, art historians, archaeologists and their students. But it will also be of interest to a wider audience. The art of the Greeks had a profound influence on the Western art historical tradition as a whole, from Rome, to the Renaissance, to the present moment. We can only begin to understand ancient Greek art when we begin to understand the various historical lenses through which we, and others, have seen it. An ancient Greek philosopher, a Venetian scholar during the Renaissance, or a nineteenth-century British dilettante (to give only a few examples) will have had rather different expectations, values and needs when they approached ancient Greek art. This reality is one to which the editors rightly draw attention.
The volumes are divided into five parts, the first being the editors’ introduction. From there, the essays are broken down into four further sections. The first is ‘Forms, Times, and Places’. The thirteen chapters that comprise this section explain what types of art existed in the Classical age, how these various forms are dated and from whence they come. The second section, ‘Contacts and Colonies’, is devoted to ancient Greek settlements and trade. Its five chapters are devoted to Greek communities off the mainland, their arts and their relationships with other cultures. ‘Images and Meanings’ are taken up in the third section, which treats iconography and the interpretation of ancient Greek art. This section is made up of eleven chapters. Finally, the eight chapters of Section 4, ‘Greek Art: Ancient to Antique’, approach the topic of Classical Studies from a historiographical perspective and address how the views of ancient Greek art have changed over the centuries.
While it is impossible to do justice to all chapters in this short review, five stand out as noteworthy. O. Palagia, ‘Architectural Sculpture’, attempts to explain, in simple and direct language, the various types of sculpture that were associated with the different orders of Greek architecture. She begins by offering an introduction to the topic by explaining the Doric and Ionic orders and how architectural sculpture was often connected to each. She then details specific sculpture types, mentioning that these types were essential to the design of ancient buildings (p. 153). She focuses mainly on the form and content of these types, but also notes their origin and development. Palagia also discusses the iconography of common decorated zones, and why specific themes were commonly used and where. For example, she details the development of pediments from the early limestone sculptures on the Temple of Artemis at Korkyra through the ambitious techniques used on the Parthenon. While the former seems to have been a simple conglomeration of sacred or votive images, the latter depicted a fully developed, unified narrative (pp. 157–8). Finally, in the last section of her chapter, Palagia offers literary evidence that supports her previous claims regarding the content and meaning of these sculpture groups. She also uses this part of her essay to address the ancient audience and their reactions to this type of architectural adornment. Her essay is focused, clear and direct. She offers basic information, includes relevant and interesting detail, and supports her claims with straightforward archaeological evidence.
Also in ‘Forms, Times, and Places’ is ‘Workshops and Technology’ by E. Hasaki. Though Hasaki's chapter is in the same section as Palagia's, they are quite different essays. Hasaki begins by addressing the problems faced by archaeologists who attempt to understand the ancient Greek workshop and its tools. Some approaches to this topic have led to rather unsatisfactory conclusions about ancient Greek craftsmen and their wares (p. 256). She notes that it is important to use all available approaches and evidence in order to understand the subject, echoing the editors’ desire to utilise all approaches to the study of ancient Greek art. Hasaki then explains the ancient workshops, their tools, the materials used and, more specifically, the potters’ relationships with other ancient craftsmen. Of particular value is her treatment of the ancient Greek kiln, its components and overall design (pp. 260–2). Throughout, she cites both the ancient sources and the archaeological evidence in support of her claims. She ends by enlisting the literary evidence, explaining how ancient craftsmen viewed themselves and how they would have been viewed within their society. This chapter is a detailed analysis of the ancient Greek potters’ work environment, a topic that is sometimes overlooked in favour of the objects they produced.
In the second section, C. Marconi, ‘Sicily and South Italy’, discusses ancient Greek settlements, their art and their architecture. For Marconi, the ancient Greeks saw these places as independent, new city-states rather than ‘colonies’ in the modern sense; settlements thus developed in their own unique ways and practices. Few artefacts were found from the founding years of the colonies. Yet by the Early Classical period, monumental art was prevalent due to local tyrants who wished to be known as patrons of the arts in order to promote their images (p. 380). After detailing several different artistic characteristics of the colonies from Archaic to Hellenistic times, Marconi concludes by again noting the importance of these locations as unique Greek settlements whose creation and consumption of art was complex and varied. They differed from mainland Greece in that their art reflected local history and politics closely. Though native cultures probably influenced the art of these Greek settlements to an extent, Marconi does not believe this is the sole reason for differences (pp. 395–6). He introduces complex and thoughtful arguments about the developments of ancient Greek settlements in Sicily and South Italy while supporting his case with clear archaeological and textual evidence.
Part 3 is devoted to iconography and the reading of ancient Greek art. One important chapter in this section by J. Neils, ‘Age, Gender, and Social Identity’, explains how, when and why the life cycle of a Greek person was depicted. Her article is also focused on gender and touches on the representation of women in ancient Greek art. Neils uses specific examples such as the Parthenon frieze to explain the representations of men and women and how those depictions differed based on their respective roles in society. She starts by explaining the role of gender in depictions of Greek life spans and notes that women were typically depicted at an ideal age, whereas men were represented throughout their life cycle (p. 501). Throughout the rest of her chapter, she offers evidence from various ancient time periods (Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic) to support her theories about gender and the stages of life. For example, she notes that women could appear as old nurse-figures with a baby instead of young and idealised, though this particular development did not emerge until the Classical era (p. 504). It seems the Greeks were much more interested in depicting the life cycles of men, and Neils demonstrates this with clear and varied examples. The result is a pithy, informative essay that addresses important social aspects of Greek art.
The essays in the final section, ‘Greek Art: Ancient to Antique’, complement the previous sections and highlight the importance of understanding Classical Studies as a field along with the biases that accompany it. One important essay from this section is ‘Greek Art through Roman Eyes’ by M. Squire. It explains the problems modern historians have with trying to separate what is Greek from what is Roman. He notes how complex it is to separate the art of the two cultures, since they are not mutually exclusive. By trying to separate them into definite categories based on linguistic standards, the art becomes over-simplified (p. 606). Much of the problem lies in the obsession with Greek ‘originals’, and how that can lead to negative bias against Roman works. He picks specific case studies to illustrate his points and concludes with a discussion about how the Romans would have viewed ancient Greek artworks. According to Squire, the artistic relationship between the Romans and Greeks was active and creative. The Romans appreciated and admired Greek art, but they also engaged with it and were willing to change aspects of it to fit their own agendas (pp. 617–18). Rome has, in many ways, shaped modern ideas about ancient Greek art through its re-creation and consumption of Greek imagery. Those who study Classical art do well to keep in mind that these preferences, and consequently the Roman lens, are still present today.
By concluding the two volumes with historiographies, the editors subtly reiterate their opening statements about the inclusion of various perspectives and historical lenses within the field. They focus on topics within Classical Studies, but also address the complex development of the field itself. This self-consciousness elevates the volumes and makes them more than a collection of objects, sources and theory.
Ultimately, bringing together multiple authors and various ideas about ancient Greek art was the goal of the editors, and they are successful. Their collection of clear, interesting and approachable essays is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the Classics. By presenting data, theory and the modern bias that must come with the two, these volumes succeed at being an inclusive overview of the art history of ancient Greece.
