13 Munich 2301, by the Andokides and Lysippides Painters, LIMC IV s.v.10 Especially for the 6th cent, vases: Metzger, 209 (but cf.Verbanck-Piérard, “Le double culte d’Héraklès: légende ou réalité?”, Lire les polythéismes 2, 4 (.) Status quœstionisĤThe iconography of Herakles reclining at feast has been diversely interpreted by scholars. Nevertheless, the representations of Herakles at banquet are just a part of the general iconography of the feast in Greek art and so evoke questions about eating and drinking in ancient society: what were the circumstances of a δεῖπνον? What did the συμπόσιον imply for the participants – human or Olympians? What does this image of Herakles tell to us? 8 2. Our attention will be centred mainly on Attic vases. But, in order to avoid a “dilution” of this inquiry and for the sake of a momentary clarity, we shall concentrate here on the theme of Herakles reclining in a divine and non-narrative context and postulate its unity. 7 So we should admit that the ambience can differ, but how can we determine what is the best and most significant criterion for inferring a different meaning? All the nuances must be kept in mind. We can distinguish the feast on a kline and the feast on the ground: 5 in the first case, the kline brings to mind a civic way of life 6 and Athena is often present in the second case, the feast on the ground, generally with Dionysos or satyrs, there is a truly rustic flavour and an allusion to the tradition of stibades. 4 But when Herakles and Dionysos recline together, for example, which one is in fact the secondary figure? And there are other possible classifications. Beazley, in the mythological index of his ABV, for example, seems to consider it is not and distributes his Herakles resting into nine items, ordered according to the identity of the secondary figures. 8 For important bibliography on the symposion in general: Ο.Gernet, “Frairies antiques”, in Anthropologie de la Grèce a (.) 7 For stibades and skenai, main ref.: L.Murray, ed., Sympotica (Oxford 1990) 122-31 (about the k (.) 5 In Fehr’s catalogue, there is a clear distinction between the feast “auf der Kline” and “zu ebener (.).
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