Ancient Greek Terracotta Sculpture

The phrase “terracotta sculpture” refers to all figurative representations in fired clay produced in Greece and in the Greek world during the first millennium bce, (from the Geometric period to the end of the Hellenistic period), whatever their size (figurine, statuette, or statue), whatever their manufacturing technique (modeling, molding, mixed), whatever their material form (in-the-round, relief, etc.), whatever their representation (anthropomorphic, zoomorphic [real or imaginary], diverse objects), and whatever the limits of their representation: full figure (figurines, statuettes, groups), truncated or abbreviated representations, including protomai, masks, busts, half figures, and anatomical representations, among others. All these objects, with the possible exception of large statues, were the products of artisans who were referred to in ancient texts as “coroplasts,” or modelers of images in clay. Because of this, the term “coroplasty,” or “coroplathy,” has been used to refer to this craft, but also increasingly to all of its products, large and small, while research on this material falls under the rubric of coroplastic studies. Greek terracottas were known to antiquarians from the mid-17th century onward from archaeological explorations in both sanctuary and funerary sites, especially in southern Italy and Sicily. Yet serious scholarly interest in these important representatives of Greek sculpture developed only in the last quarter of the 19th century, when terracotta figurines of the Hellenistic period were unearthed from the cemeteries of Tanagra in Boeotia in the 1870s and Myrina in Asia Minor in the 1880s. These immediately entered the antiquities markets, where their cosmopolitan, secular imagery had a great appeal for collectors and fueled scholarly interest and debate. At the same time, sanctuary deposits containing terracottas also began to be explored, but scholarly attention privileged funerary terracottas because of their better state of preservation. For most of the 20th century, the study of figurative terracottas basically was an art-historical exercise based in iconography and style that remained in the shadow of monumental sculpture. It is only in the last four decades or so that coroplastic studies has developed into an autonomous field of research, with approaches specific to the discipline that consider modalities of production, as well as the religious, social, political, and economic roles that terracottas played in ancient Greek life by means of broad sociological and anthropological approaches. Consequently, this bibliography mainly comprises publications of the last forty years, although old titles that are still essential for research are also included.

Private Associations in the Ancient Greek World

Private associations abounded in the ancient Greek world and beyond, and this volume provides the first large-scale study of the strategies of governance which they employed. Emphasis is placed on the values fostered by the regulations of associations, the complexities of the private-public divide (and that divide's impact on polis institutions) and the dynamics of regional and global networks and group identity. The attested links between rules and religious sanctions also illuminate the relationship between legal history and religion. Moreover, possible links between ancient associations and the early Christian churches will prove particularly valuable for scholars of the New Testament. The book concludes by using the regulations of associations to explore a novel and revealing aspect of the interaction between the Mediterranean world, India and China.

The Greek Crown Games

The crowns of the four major Panhellenic crown games reveal the religious and symbolic meaning of the plants of whose leaves they were made. Special attention will also be paid to the historical, political, and socio-economic reasons why these four festivals became the most prestigious and popular in the Greek world from the archaic period onwards. Texts and inscriptions reveal many organizational features of the games. The wider regional function of the festivals is evidenced even in organization. The games were also important occasions for trading, for communicating news of international relevance, for announcing military and political initiatives and building up alliances, or for advertising literary and artistic works. Victor lists, ‘archival documents’, monuments and dedications at the sites preserved public memories and created cultural unities. The prestige of crown games was shared by many local games designated as ‘isolympic’, ‘isopythian’, and so on during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Naval Events and Aquacades

Roman water spectacle took several forms. The literary sources favour bloody spectacles featuring condemned criminals and prisoners of war. In theatres or amphitheatres, the orchestra or arena might be flooded and convicts forced to play the parts of well-known mythic heroes facing mortal danger in some Greek tale with a ‘watery’ theme. Larger naval battle shows, called naumachiae, took place rarely, and almost exclusively at Rome, in specially designed basins. These pitted two teams in mortal naval combat, complete with custom-built ships and real weapons. Less commonly described, but frequently staged, was the hydromime—water pageantry taking numerous forms, such as synchronized swimming, mimed sketches of popular myths, and other kinds of light entertainment. There is little evidence that any form of Roman water spectacle had precursors in the Greek world, but the naumachia may bear a distant relationship to Athenian ephebic boating competitions first attested in the fourth century bce.

The Destruction of Cities in the Ancient Greek World

From the Trojan War to the sack of Rome, from the fall of Constantinople to the bombings of World War II and the recent devastation of Syrian towns, the destruction of cities and the slaughter of civilian populations are among the most dramatic events in world history. But how reliable are literary sources for these events? Did ancient authors exaggerate the scale of destruction to create sensational narratives? This volume reassesses the impact of physical destruction on ancient Greek cities and its demographic and economic implications. Addressing methodological issues of interpreting the archaeological evidence for destructions, the volume examines the evidence for the destruction, survival, and recovery of Greek cities. The studies, written by an international group of specialists in archaeology, ancient history, and numismatic, range from Sicily to Asia Minor and Aegean Thrace, and include Athens, Corinth, and Eretria. They highlight the resilience of ancient populations and the recovery of cities in the long term.

Gymnasium and Polis

The article sketches the development of the gymnasium from its origins in the archaic period to the later Hellenistic period when, in addition to its military function, the gymnasium was a multi-use complex numbering among a city’s largest buildings. Epigraphical and archaeological evidence provide insights into the gymnasium’s infrastructure, user groups, and contests which were peculiar to it. Its administrator, the gymnasiarch, was a prominent official, whose position provided opportunities for displays of competitive generosity. The gymnasium also received benefactions from the local elite, kings, and dynasts, who thereby burnished their reputations as supporters of Hellenic culture. Gymnasia were also equipped with instructors in athletic and military subjects, with lectures or courses in the liberal arts mostly provided by travelling teachers. The homogeneity of its programme throughout the Greek world made the gymnasium an effective vehicle for transmitting Hellenic culture to non-Greeks, although Jewish society was ambivalent about its benefits.