Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Early Greek Portraiture
  • Cited by 14
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      19 May 2017
      03 May 2017
      ISBN:
      9781316676998
      9781107162235
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316676998
      Dimensions:
      (253 x 177 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.88kg, 324 Pages
      Dimensions:
      Weight & Pages:
      • Subjects:
      Classical Studies, Classical Archaeology, Archaeology, Classical Art and Architecture
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Classical Studies, Classical Archaeology, Archaeology, Classical Art and Architecture
    Information

    Book description

    In this book, Catherine M. Keesling lends new insight into the origins of civic honorific portraits that emerged at the end of the fifth century BC in ancient Greece. Surveying the subjects, motives and display contexts of Archaic and Classical portrait sculpture, she demonstrates that the phenomenon of portrait representation in Greek culture is complex and without a single, unifying history. Bringing a multi-disciplinary approach to the topic, Keesling grounds her study in contemporary texts such as Herodotus' Histories and situates portrait representation within the context of contemporary debates about the nature of arete (excellence), the value of historical commemoration and the relationship between the human individual and the gods and heroes. She argues that often the goal of Classical portraiture was to link the individual to divine or heroic models. Offering an overview of the role of portraits in Archaic and Classical Greece, her study includes local histories of the development of Greek portraiture in sanctuaries such as Olympia, Delphi and the Athenian Acropolis.

    Reviews

    'The first four chapters of this excellent scholarly study focus primarily on Greek portrait images, their origins, meaning, and various contexts from the Archaic to the late classical periods (sixth–fourth centuries BCE). The last chapter deals with the Hellenistic period down to the Roman conquest of Greece, a time when new portraits of contemporary Greeks were set up in various locations, and a number of old Greek sculptural images were removed to Italy by the Romans, or were reused in Greece by local authorities to represent Roman personages (especially prominent military men and statesmen) by providing them with new identifying inscriptions on their bases. Throughout the book Keesling makes excellent use of ancient primary sources, including dedicatory inscriptions and their significance for understanding the social, political, and religious contexts in which these images were set up. Two appendixes list, and provide pertinent information about, known portrait statues set up (c. 600–300 BCE) at the religious sanctuaries of Olympia and Delphi.'

    Source: Choice

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents
    • 4 - Retrospective Portraits as Historical Documents
      pp 153-181
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • HTML
      • Export citation

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.