The Kerameikos kratēr The Athenian Kerameikos was the potters’ quarter of the city, from which the English word “ceramic” is derived. Kerameikos was named after Keramos, son of Dionysos and Ariadne, hero of potters[1]. A particularly notable pedestalled kratēr of this area is kept at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, where it is soberly referred to as the New York MMA 34.11.2 vase[2]. The vase is dated to the… Read more
Following the heroic age of the Myceneans is the silence of the Greek Dark Ages. In the proto-Geometric period (c1150–c950 BCE), the pre-Greek tribes make war, then consolidate and start forming city states. The Doric tribes mix with the Attics of Athens, and art focuses on motifs that express “order”: concentration and intensity. There is no expression that refers to myth or religion. The Minoan and Mycenaean palaces and civilization… Read more
Previously, Part 1 of this post discussed hoplite warfare and how the battle of Mantinea demonstrated the advantage of professionalism. Part 2 considers how the battles of Leuctra and Gaugamela continued the development of Greek and Macedonian warfare. Concentration of Force—Leuctra 371 BCE Location of Leuctra (Google maps) The end of the Peloponnesian War did not bring the promised “…beginning of freedom for all of Greece.”[1] Instead, Sparta provoked a… Read more
By the second part of the Bronze Age the Mediterranean was a vibrant place, full of maritime activity, enabling exchange in knowledge and materials. The Greek art of building ships and knowing how to operate them was at the basis of western civilization. The natural drive to look beyond the horizon resulted in cultural growth, wealth, trade and migration.[1] The ancient Greeks explored new coastlines and envisaged to enter into… Read more
In March 2017, the Book Club will be discussing Seneca’s Phaedra. This is the first of a series of posts which intend to illuminate the authors and works discussed as means of enriching the ongoing dialogue. A guest post by Georgia Strati Lucius Annaeus Seneca (known as Seneca the Younger) was, according to the standard biographical entries, a Roman philosopher, statesman, orator, and tragedian, living between c. 4 BCE (reign… Read more