Description
Book SynopsisThis book was published to coincide with an exhibition mounted in both France and Greece, dedicated to marine representations on vases, and particularly those inspired by mythology. Thanks to the variety of shapes and decorated surfaces found in vases, the art of pottery developed a more extensive repertoire of subjects related to the sea than any other art form. The first part of this book examines forty-two characteristic examples of marine iconography, which come mainly from the collections of the Louvre, though also from those of other museums. These are divided into four groups: marine fauna and seafaring, the deities of the deep, the voyages of gods and heroes who crisscrossed the ocean, and, finally, the miraculous birth of the goddess who emerged from the waves, Aphrodite, born from the foam. The variety and aesthetic quality of marine scenes in vase-painting reveal once more the importance of the sea to Greek civilization.
The second part of the book contains more specialist articles on the iconography of the sea, and on various aspects of marine archaeology, contributed by both French and Greek experts in the field.
Parallel text Greek and English
Table of ContentsPrologue Moses and Rachel Kapon
Introduction, Aliki Samara-Kauffmann, archaeologist, Academic Colleague at the Louvre Museum
Part I The world of the sea in ancient Greek pottery
Main Greek vase shapes Drawing by Paolo Nadalini
Notions of ancient Greek pottery
The kingdom of the sea
The gods of the sea
Geneaological tables of the Greek gods
Poseidon and Amphitrite
The sons of Poseidon and other sea monsters
Nereus and his daughters
Gods and heroes travel
The birth of Aphrodite
Part II Stories of the Sea
The two faces of the sea
Noëlle Icard / Anne-Violaine Szabados, Équipe du LIMC, CNRS, Paris
The contest between Athena and Poseidon for Athens
Michalis Tiverios, University of Thessaloniki
Tears of stone. The grave stele of the shipwrecked sailor in the Calvet Museum, Avignon
Odile Cavalier, Collections of Antiquties of the Calvet Museum, Avignon
A unique naval monument: The Victory of Samothrac
Alain Pasquier, Département des AGER du musée du Louvre
A Nereid from Samos. The iconography of the 'marine thiasos' in mosaics found in Greece
Vasiliki Yannouli, Twenty-First Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
Index - glossary of mythological figures
Index of objects
Bibliography and abbreviations
