A god in three dimensions
The debate about identification is front and centre of discussions about the Artemision god. But is there anything more to say about this statue than “Zeus or Poseidon”?
Misinterpreting the evidence?
A fragment of a fresco from Pylos
A fragmentary fresco from Pylos has been reconstructed as depicting a warrior with a round shield with armband and grip. A closer look reveals that this fresco most likely depicts something else.
Encased in bronze
The panoply from a Mycenaean tomb at Dendra
When it comes to the history of warfare in the Late Bronze Age Aegean, an important find is the bronze panoply recovered by Swedish archaeologists from a tomb at Dendra in 1960.
Context matters
Tackling a bad-faith argument against current iconoclasm
If it’s okay for modern protestors to topple statues commemorating dubious historical figures, some argue, why shouldn’t we wipe the monuments of ancient slave-owning societies like the Romans from the face of the Earth?
Statues are not mere symbols
Material culture is meaningfully constituted
The ongoing protests against racism have seen protestors deface and destroy statues celebrating dubious historical figures. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has argued that “we need to tackle the substance of the problems, not the symbols.” But this underestimates the significance of material culture.
Troy just keeps on fallin’
Depictions of two sackings of Troy on the pediments of the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina
The pediments of the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina were once said to represent the contrast between Archaic and Classical sculpture in their contrasting depictions of two sackings of Troy. But more recent excavation suggests that the situation is a lot more nuanced than that.
Sculpture in the ancient Greek world, part 2
Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, and Josho Brouwers continue to talk about sculptures in the ancient Greek world. In this second part, we focus on sculpture from the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
Sculpture in the ancient Greek world, part 1
Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, and Josho Brouwers sit down to talk about sculptures in the ancient Greek world. In this first part, we deal with sculpture from the pre-Classical periods.
Dancing figures from Ayia Irini
Clay sculptures of the Bronze Age
In a shrine at Ayia Irini, a site on the island of Kea (ancient Keos), excavators have found a large number of clay sculptures that date back to the Late Bronze Age.
The Lion of Kea
An Archaic enigma
A great stone monument dated to the Archaic period (ca. 600 BC), the Lion of Kea is an impressive early Greek monument. But it is almost entirely ignored in the history of Greek art.