

Herakles in Africa
Confronting the Other in Libya and Egypt
Around the mid-sixth century BCE, Greek vase-painters began depicting mythological episodes involving the hero Herakles set in Libya and Egypt. While these are typically seen as visualizations of Greek preoccupation with barbarian “others,” closer examination reveals a more complex reality.

Hoplites riding dolphins
An Attic red-figure psykter
A red-figure vessel currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York depicts a line of spearmen riding dolphins. What is this object and how should we interpret the scene that decorates it?

To the godfather of Greek art studies
A review
Few scholars can claim to be legendary within their field. However, within the discipline of Greek art studies, Sir John Boardman is most certainly that. This is a review of a Festschrift offered to him for his 90th birthday.

An equid from Phaistos
A closer look at a terracotta figurine
The Archaeological Museum of Iraklion has a terracotta rhyton of an equid carrying two vessels. Over time, the interpretation and date for this object have changed. Let’s take a closer look.

A Total War Saga: Troy
Thoughts on the game
The newest entry into the Total War series of strategy games is inspired by the Trojan War. While the game looks beautiful, it’s not something that I have enjoyed playing.

How does one interpret figurative art?
A look behind the curtain
On Reddit’s AskHistorians, someone asked how one goes about interpreting the evidence from figurative art, such as vase-paintings. We figured it would be good to share our response here, too.

A rich Athenian woman and child
A spectacular cremation burial of a woman and a foetus on the Areopagus of Athens has prompted much speculation about Early Iron Age Athenian society and the role of women and children within it.

The griffin family of Lefkandi
A twelfth-century-BC alabastron from Xeropolis-Lefkandi
The site of Lefkandi flourished in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mycenaean Palaces. Among the pottery found at the settlement on the Xeropolis tell is an alabastron on which griffins are depicted not as monsters, but in a loving family scene. What does it mean for the changing contexts of pottery production in the postpalatial Aegean?

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.