This volume brings together the work of leading scholars on two of the most important, yet puzzling, extant ensembles of Hellenistic Age sculpture: the Great Altar at Pergamon, with its Gigantomachy and scenes from the life of Telephos, and the Cave at Sperlonga in Italy, with its epic themes connected especially with the adventures of Odysseus. From Pergamon to Sperlonga has three aims: to update the scholarship on two important monuments of ancient art and architecture; to debate questions of iconography, authorship, and date; and to broaden the scope of discussion on these monuments beyond the boundaries of studies done in the past. In addition, the volume brings forward new ideas about how these two monuments are connected and discusses possible means by which stylistic influences were transmitted between them.

"[The] contributors not only capture the extensive sweep and fascinating complexities of an international artistic style but also engage the reader in the accomplishment and sheer joy of collaborative discourse and scholarship."—Diana E. E. Kleiner, author of Roman Sculpture

The Hellenistic period—the nearly three centuries between the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C., and the suicide of the Egyptian queen Kleopatra VII (the famous "Cleopatra"), in 30 B.C.—is one of the most complex and exciting epochs of ancient Greek art. The unprecedented geographic sweep of Alexander's conquests changed the face of the ancient world forever, forging diverse cultural connections and exposing Greek artists to a host of new influences and artistic styles. This beautifully illustrated volume examines the rich diversity of art forms that arose through the patronage of the royal courts of the Hellenistic kingdoms, placing special emphasis on Pergamon, capital of the Attalid dynasty, which ruled over large parts of Asia Minor. With its long history of German-led excavations, Pergamon provides a superb paradigm of a Hellenistic capital, appointed with important civic institutions—a great library, theater, gymnasium, temples, and healing center—that we recognize today as central features of modern urban life. The military triumphs of Alexander and his successors led to the expansion of Greek culture out from the traditional Greek heartland to the Indus River Valley in the east and as far west as the Strait of Gibraltar. These newly established Hellenistic kingdoms concentrated wealth and power, resulting in an unparalleled burst of creativity in all the arts, from architecture and sculpture to seal engraving and glass production. Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World brings together the insights of a team of internationally renowned scholars, who reveal how the art of Classical Greece was transformed during this period, melding with predominantly Eastern cultural traditions to yield new standards and conventions in taste and style.

A new, illustrated study of the Iliac tablets, a group of objects inscribed in miniature with epic episodes. Like the tablets themselves, Michael Squire tackles major themes through small ones, by relating their production to macroscopic problems of signification in Graeco-Roman antiquity.

Drawing on discourses in the sociology and anthropology of space, the author presents an innovative new interpretation of pebble mosaic imagery as an active contributor to the ancient Greek symposium as a metaphorical experience.

This book explores the aspiration to universal, imperial rule across Eurasian history from antiquity to the eighteenth century.

Across the Roman Empire, ubiquitous archaeological, art historical, and literary evidence attests to the significance of bathing for Romans' routines and relationships. Public baths were popularly viewed as necessities of daily life and important social venues. Given the importance of bathing to the Roman style of living, by endowing eight magnificent baths (the so-called imperial thermae) in the city of Rome between 25 BCE - 315 CE, imperial patrons greatly enhanced their popular and political stature. Decoration and Display in Rome's Imperial Thermae presents a detailed analysis of the extensive decoration of the best preserved of these bathing complexes, the Baths of Caracalla (inaugurated 216 CE). Maryl B. Gensheimer takes an interdisciplinary approach to existing archaeological data, textual and visual sources, and anthropological theories in order to generate a new understanding of the visual experience of the Baths of Caracalla and show how the decoration played a critical role in advancing imperial agendas. This reassessment of one of the most ambitious and sophisticated examples of large-scale architectural patronage in Classical antiquity examines the specific mechanisms through which an imperial patron could use architectural decoration to emphasize his own unique sociopolitical position relative to the thousands of people who enjoyed his benefaction. The case studies addressed herein--ranging from architectural to freestanding sculpture and mosaic--demonstrate that sponsoring monumental baths was hardly an act of altruism. Rather, even while they provided recreation for elite and sub-altern Romans alike, such buildings were concerned primarily with dynastic legitimacy and imperial largess. Decorative programs articulated these themes by consistently drawing analogies between the subjects of the decoration and the emperor who had paid for it. The unified decorative program--and the messages of imperial power therein--adroitly honored the emperor and consolidated his reputation.

"As any reader of Tacitus' Annals or Suetonius' biographies knows, Rome's second emperor was a mere hypocrite when he was not a thoroughgoing villain-treacherous, grasping, depraved, and vindictive. But in Tiberius and His Age, Edward Champlin develops the overlapping themes of luxury, sex, power, and, especially, myth to show that the man was-and was seen by contemporaries to be-a far more complex and recognizable human being than the villainous hypocrite of hostile tradition. As worthy successors to the landmark Nero, the nine studies gathered here draw on vast amounts and diverse kinds of evidence, much of which will be unknown even to specialists, to present lucid arguments and startling new perspectives on Tiberius and the culture of his times. The first four chapters survey Tiberius's standing as a figure out of folkore in the popular imagination and his own quite conscious use of themes from myth to consolidate his power. The next two chapters show how striking but ultimately incoherent fictions of sexual depravity shaped the image of the emperor that our literary sources passed along to later generations. And in the book's concluding section, portraits of three men in Tiberius' orbit-the gourmands Asellius Sabinus and Marcus Apicius and the emperor's lieutenant, Sejanus-show how even lesser figures can throw new light on this pivotal period in Rome's history, and our own"--

Exploring a key area of Greek culture as it developed under Rome and the Second Sophistic, this work investigates questions of how identity is constructed through a cultural appropriation of the past.

A Companion to Roman Art encompasses various artistic genres, ancient contexts, and modern approaches for a comprehensive guide to Roman art. Offers comprehensive and original essays on the study of Roman art Contributions from distinguished scholars with unrivalled expertise covering a broad range of international approaches Focuses on the socio-historical aspects of Roman art, covering several topics that have not been presented in any detail in English Includes both close readings of individual art works and general discussions Provides an overview of main aspects of the subject and an introduction to current debates in the field