"Go tell the Spartans ... ": War and the Warrior in Archaic Greek Vase-Painting

Programs

Part of the The Eye of the Painter: Ancient Greek Pottery Series Read More About This Series...
Sponsored by the Elios Charitable Foundation
Date and Time: Saturday, November 6, 2010 - 2:00pm
Location: Legion of Honor, Florence Gould Theater
Presented by: Dr. Andrew Stewart, Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Art and Archaeology, Departments of History of Art and Classics, Nicholas C. Petris Professor of Greek Studies, and Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology, Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley

This lecture explores some aspects of the representation of war and warriors in archaic Greece (ca. 800–480 B.C.): the Greek warrior ethic, the phalanx and its representations, and the popular but puzzling figure of the solitary hoplite. Since archaic Greek warfare was a mass affair where formation and discipline counted for everything, the solitary hoplite is both an anomaly and an anachronism. Or is he? The presentation also addresses the ever-present specter of death and the warrior’s code of honor, with a side glance at his memorialization in funerary sculpture. It concludes with the Persian Wars (490–479 B.C.) and the battle imagery generated in response to them.

This program is made possible by a generous donation from the Elios Charitable Foundation. "Go tell the Spartans ... ": War and the Warrior in Archaic Greek Vase-Painting is Part IV of five lectures in The Eye of the Painter: Ancient Greek Pottery series.

Cost: The lecture is free to the public; suggested donation of $5 is welcome

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