Hephaistus on the Athenian Acropolis
Current Approaches to the Study of Artifacts Made of Bronze and Other Metals
edited by Nassos Papalexandrou and Amy Sowder Koch
This volume discusses the Acropolis bronzes. The introduction reflects on the history of the relevant scholarship vis-a-vis the life of the bronzes in various museums and collections in Greece and elsewhere. The six essays then provide overviews, reinterpretations, and critical discussions as well as new methodological approaches.
The study of bronzes and other metals from the Athenian Acropolis traditionally has been overshadowed by the emphasis given to the famous monuments of architecture and sculpture, in part due to the incomplete publication of the metal small finds from the site following the major excavation campaigns in the 19th century. Without attempting to be a comprehensive synthesis on this topic, this volume positions itself against this tradition by resuscitating discussion on the Acropolis bronzes. The introduction reflects on the history of the relevant scholarship vis-a-vis the life of the Acropolis bronzes in various museums and collections in Greece and elsewhere. The six essays provide overviews, reinterpretations, and critical discussions as well as new methodological approaches to various aspects of the existing corpus. Diane Harris-Cline employs Actor-Network theory to showcase the intricate web of social relationships behind each gesture that resulted in the deposition of bronzes on the Acropolis. Andronike Makres and Adele Scafuro reflect on methodological quandaries and detail their efforts to produce a new critical edition of the corpus of inscriptions on dedicatory and other bronzes that takes into account the materiality of this epigraphic record. Amy Sowder Koch reviews the corpus of hydriai from the Acropolis, taking into account newly published examples, and situates them within the larger context of bronze hydriai, seeking to understand Athens’ role in bronze hydria production. Germano Sarcone revisits technical and social aspects of the impressively monumental and technically complex tripod-cauldrons from the Acropolis from the eighth century BCE onwards. Nassos Papalexandrou discusses the corpus of griffin cauldrons arguing that their original lavishness added to the prestige of the sanctuary during a formative period of Athenian society. Elena Karakitsou publishes a fascinating inscribed phiale retrieved from the southwestern entablature of the Parthenon along with the remains of a rare ritual deposit.
Preface Introduction: A Historiographic Essay Nassos Papalexandrou and Amy Sowder Koch The Social Life of Bronzes: Actor-Network Theory on the Entangled Acropolis Diane Harris Cline Archaic Inscribed Bronze Dedications on the Acropolis: Thoughts on a New Edition Andronike Makres and Adele C. Scafuro Hephaistos in Athens: Bronze Hydriai from the Akropolis and Beyond Amy Sowder Koch The Monumental Tripod-Cauldrons of the Acropolis of Athens between the Eighth and Seventh Centuries B.C.E. Germano Sarcone Monsters on the Athenian Acropolis: The Orientalizing Corpus of Griffin Cauldrons Nassos Papalexandrou A Bronze Vessel inside the Parthenon's West-Side Entablature Elena Karakitsou
- Edited by Nassos Papalexandrou
- Edited by Amy Sowder Koch
Other Titles in this Series
Similar Books
A Collaborative Tapestry in Honour of Shirley Ann Brown / Une fresque brodée en l’honneur de Shirley Ann Brown
The Bayeux Tapestry Seen by her Colleagues and Friends / La Tapisserie de Bayeux vue par ses collègues et amis
Balthasar Caymox of Nuremberg
Early Modern German Print Publishers: Popular Prints of the Seventeenth Century
Caesar’s Visions and Impact on the Roman Empire
Revisiting the Archaeological and Historical Record of the 40s BC
Volume 2
Construction Processes in Historical Western Societies (5th c. BC – 10th c. AD)
Case Studies on Techniques, Models, and Costs
Contesting Labeled Identities
The Sociology of Gentilics in Biblical and Northwest Semitic Literature
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
ENTANGLED AFRICA
Intra-African Relations Between Rain Forest and Mediterranean from Around 4,000 BCE to 1,500 CE
Epigraphic “Shades” from Hellenistic Thrace
Contextualizing Inscriptions in Greek from Thracian Tombs
Epiphanies of the Divine in the Septuagint and the New Testament
Fifth International Symposium of the Corpus Judaeo-Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti (CJHNT), 14-17 May 2015, Nottingham
Etruscan and Roman Hellenistic Anatomical ex votos
Reassessing Popular Religious Expressions in Central Italy
Volume 8
Gold, Silver and Glass: Power Networks, Cultural Identities, Technology Transfers and Agency across the Old World (7th Century BC – 1st Century AD)
Proceedings of a Conference Held at the British Museum, 16–18 June 2023
Invisible Labour in Antiquity
Visualizing Obscure Work in the Ancient Mediterannean and West Asia
Volume 1
