Transformation of Athens - Painted Pottery and the Creation of Classical Greece

Why did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in classical Greek art? The scenes depicted on Athenian pottery of the mid-fifth century BC are very different from those of the late sixth century. Did Greek potters have a different world to see - or did they come to see the world differently? In this lavishly illustrated and engagingly written book, Robin Osborne argues that these remarkable changes are the best evidence for the shifting nature of classical Greek culture. Osborne examines the thoUSnds of surviving Athenian red-figure pots painted between 520 and 440 BC and describes the changing depictions of soldiers and athletes, drinking parties and religious occasions, sexual relations, and scenes of daily life. He shows that it was not changes in each activity that determined how the world was shown, but changes in values and aesthetics.

About the author

Robin Osborne is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Cambridge. He writes widely across the range of Greek history, Greek archaeology, and Classical art history.

Summary

How remarkable changes in ancient Greek pottery reveal the transformation of classical Greek culture Why did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in classical Greek art? The scenes depicted on Athenian pottery of the mid-fifth century BC are very different from those of the late sixth century. Did Gre

Additional text

"Beautifully produced."---Paul Watkins, Argo

Report

"This is a highly engaging, persuasive, and original book. Combing rigorous scholarship with clear and lively prose, it almost seamlessly integrates a variety of theories with a more empirical approach."--Jonathan Hall, University of Chicago

Product details

• Authors: Robin Osborne, Osborne Robin
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2018
• EAN: 9780691177670
• ISBN: 978-0-691-17767-0
• No. of pages: 304
• Series: Martin Classical Lectures; Martin Classical Lectures
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Art history; European History, Ancient Greece, ART / History / Ancient & Classical, HISTORY / Ancient / Greece, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, History of Art, Archaeology, Ancient World, Ancient History, Classical history / classical civilisation, Archaeology by period / region, Classical style, History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE, BCE period – Protohistory, Classical Greek & Roman archaeology