The animal dimension : an investigation into the signification of animals in Homer and archaic Attic black figure vase painting.
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Date
2000
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Abstract
The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the representation of specific types of
animals as they occurred in Homer and archaic Attic black figure vase painting with a
view to understanding bow they were most likely perceived in antiquity. This
involved determining the underlying concepts around which each animal was
constructed by comparing and contrasting the imagery presented in the Homeric
works and archaic Attic black figure vase painting. The primary objective was to
suspend modern and westernized conceptions and to attempt to approach the animal
as from an ancient perspective. The Homeric works were chosen as representative of
the literary evidence since these poems offer the most complete, oldest extant
literature and are the result of a dynamic and continuous oral tradition. Similarly,
archaic Attic black figure vase painting was considered the most suitable corpus of
artistic evidence since the 6th century BC was a time when the artists actively engaged
with and manipulated their themes and subject matter within an established tradition;
this artistic fabric presents a parallel with the Homeric evidence. As a result of this
investigation, clear and discrete concepts and images were determined for each
animal.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.
Keywords
Homer--Criticism and Interpretation., Vase-Painting, Greek--Greece--Athens., Animals in literature., Animals in art., Theses--Classics.