Myth into Art: Poet and Painter in Classical Greece - Hardcover

Shapiro, H. Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415067928 ISBN 13: 9780415067928

Publisher: Routledge, 1994

Synopsis

How did the visual artist adapt mythological tales from Greek literature to the medium of painted poetry? This is an introduction to this critical field of Greek iconography. It focuses on the problem of narrative, the different means by which poet and painter tell the same story, rather than presenting a conventional survey of Greek myths. The approach is a comparative one, with excerpts from Greek authors set alongside the corresponding images within a text. It is less a retelling of the myths than an interpretation of how they were rendered. 30 well-known myths are treated, covering the principal texts from the Homeric epics to the tragedies of 5th-century Athens. The artistic material, featuring 130 illustrations, concentrates on the black and red figure vases of Athens and South Italy, from the 6th to the 4th century BC. The book is thus an introduction both to the myths themselves, and to the use of vase-painting as an essential primary source, - alongside the texts - for an appreciation of the Greek view of myth.

About this title

Review:

'Shapiro extends to students and their lecturers an extremely compelling invitation to study Greek myth as it should be studied, holistically through the visual as well as the textual documentation.' – Scholia Reviews

From the Back Cover:

Myth Into Art is a study of Greek iconography, focusing on the depiction of myth on Greek painted pottery. Taking a comparative approach to narrative, Shapiro explores the different means by which poet and painter tell the same story. The book provides a clear, concise and lively interpretation of 30 of the best-known myths told in Homer, lyric poetry, and Attic tragedy, and focuses on the black- and red-figure vases of Athens and South Italy. With 130 illustrations in the text. Myth Into Art is an introduction both to mythology and to the use of visual sources in the study of Greek myth.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0415067928
• ISBN 13: 9780415067928
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192