Gods and Heroes in Late Archaic Greek Art

The depictions of mythological scenes in vase-painting, sculpture and metalwork that form the subject of this book (the sequel to Karl Schefold’s Myth and Legend in Early Greek Art) survive from the second half of the sixth century BC, the richly creative closing years of the archaic period of Greek art. As before, Professor Schefold’s aim is to underpin his aesthetic analysis by situating the monuments in their full literary and historical context. The transition in Athens from the dictatorship of Peisistratos to radical democracy, and the flowering of lyric poetry which came to supplant the epic genre, are shown to be of crucial importance in determining the direction taken by artistic creativity. This volume comprises the best and most complete collection available of the representations of myth in late archaic art, and for students of Greek art and of Greek mythology it provides an incomparable store of fine illustrations and descriptions. The 361 photographs and drawings present a rich selection of mythological scenes, with unfamiliar but fascinating material considered side-by-side with famous works of art. For this English translation it has been possible to revise the text at certain points and to update many of the references.

• This book provides an incomparable collection of illustrations for myth pictures of this period • Students of Greek art and of Greek mythology will need to consult it when investigating, for example, the similarities and differences in the depictions of the Labours of Herakles • An extremely fluent and authoritative translation by a scholar who is an expert in Greek art and a teacher of Greek mythology

Preface; Introduction; Part I. Myths of the Gods: 1. The birth of Athena Children of the gods; 2. The erotic impulse; 3. The return of Hephaistos; 4. The reception of Herakles among the gods; 5. Other gods arrive on Olympos; 6. The battles of the gods against the Titans and Typhon; 7. The battle between the gods and the Giants Other opponents of the gods; Part II. Legends of the Heroes: 1. Genealogical cross-links; 2. Kadmos and his family: Pentheus; 3. Perseus, Bellerophon and Oedipus; 4. Herakles; 5. Theseus; 6. The epic of the Argonauts; 7. The Seven against Thebes; 8. The Trojan War; Part III. Conclusions: Abbreviations; Notes; List of illustrations (with bibliographical notes); List of museums and collections; Sources of photographs; Index.