
The Art of Libation in Classical Athens
Milette Gaifman(Author)
Yale University Press
Published on 27. February 2018
Book
Hardback
196 pages
978-0-300-19227-8 (ISBN)
Description
This handsome volume presents an innovative look at the imagery of libations, the most commonly depicted ritual in ancient Greece, and how it engaged viewers in religious performance. In a libation, liquid-water, wine, milk, oil, or honey-was poured from a vessel such as a jug or a bowl onto the ground, an altar, or another surface. Libations were made on occasions like banquets, sacrifices, oath-taking, departures to war, and visitations to tombs, and their iconography provides essential insight into religious and social life in 5th-century BC Athens. Scenes depicting the ritual often involved beholders directly-a statue's gaze might establish the onlooker as a fellow participant, or painted vases could draw parallels between human practices and acts of gods or heroes. Beautifully illustrated with a broad range of examples, including the Caryatids at the Acropolis, the Parthenon Frieze, Attic red-figure pottery, and funerary sculpture, this important book demonstrates the power of Greek art to transcend the boundaries between visual representation and everyday experience.
Reviews / Votes
"A feast for the eyes and the intellect...A remarkable achievement of learned scholarship; it moves with ease between history, philosophy, literature and daily life practices as the author offers a guided tour of how to read and interpret ancient pottery."-G.S. Bowe, Classical Review"In this intelligent and rigorous study, Milette Gaifman has taken on one of the most challenging topics in ancient Greek religion and iconography. This is an exemplary book."-Verity Platt, Cornell University
"Milette Gaifman's book is extremely well planned, written, and organized around specific images and works of art. Frankly, it is both cutting-edge and exemplary."-Jas Elsner, Corpus Christi College Oxford
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
127 color + 5 b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 216 mm
Weight
1179 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-19227-8 (9780300192278)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Milette Gaifman is associate professor of Greek art and archaeology jointly appointed in the Departments of Classics and History of Art at Yale University.