Icon, Cult, and Context

Sacred Spaces and Objects in the Classical World

edited by Maura K. Heyn and Ann Irvine Steinsapir

Book cover: Icon, Cult, and Context

Extent: 224 pages

Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press

Subjects: Classical Studies, Mediterranean Archaeology, World Archaeology

Series: Monographs

Series volume number: 82

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(April 2016)

ISBN: 9781938770067

6.26 x 9.21 inches

Price: $60.00

In stock

PDF (Published)

(December 2016)

ISBN: 9781938770593

Price: $48.00

This festschrift honors UCLA professor emerita Susan Downey and her meticulous scholarship on religious architecture and imagery in the Roman/Hellenistic world. The iconography of gods and goddesses, the analysis of sacred imagery in the context of ancient cult practices, and the design and decoration of sacred spaces are the main themes of the book. Authors examine such subjects as painting from Dura-Europos, Hellenistic sculpture at Saqqara in Egypt, Roman cameo glass, Pompeian fresco, and aspects of Venus in portrait sculpture. The essays on Dura-Europos are especially valuable in light of the present turmoil in the region. Professor Downey’s influence shines through in these discussions, which echo her mentorship of several generations of art history and archaeology students and recognize her scholarly achievements. The broad temporal and geographic parameters of the volume are expansive, and the juxtaposition of images and analyses leads to surprising new conclusions.

  • Edited by Maura K. Heyn
  • Edited by Ann Irvine Steinsapir