- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Ancient Greek Iconography, Geometric and archaic Greece, Aegean Archaeology, and 27 moreArchaeology of Gender, Early Iron Age Greece and Greek communities overseas, early iron age Greece, History, Michel Foucault, Late Antiquity, Gender Studies, Anthropology of Children and Childhood, Ancient Greek and Roman Theatre, Roman Art, Philology, Ancient Religion, Anthropology of the Body, History of History, Human-Animal Relations, Girls' Studies, Girlhood Studies, Gender Archaeology, Greek Myth, Cult of Saints, Ancient Greek and Roman Art, Classical philology, Homer, Death and Burial (Archaeology), Funerary Practices, Anthropology of Death, and Archaeology of death and burialedit
- EDUCATION 1995 Ph.D., Freie Universität Berlin, Dissertation: Die Mänade in der attischen Vasenmalerei des 6. und 5.... moreEDUCATION
1995 Ph.D., Freie Universität Berlin, Dissertation: Die Mänade in der attischen Vasenmalerei des 6. und 5. Jhs. v. Chr. – Rezeptionsästhetische Analyse eines antiken Weiblichkeitsentwurfs , Advisor: Adolf H. Borbein
1992 M.A., Freie Universität Berlin, Advisor: Luca Giuliani
CURRENT POSITION
Privatdozentin at Augsburg University
AREAS OF RESEARCH
Art, religion and culture of Ancient Greece; ancient Greek theatre; imagery and culture of Late Antiquity; gender studies; childhood studies; human-animal studies; thanatoarchaeology
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
since 2017 Universität Augsburg, Department of Classics
2017–2021 Universität Leipzig, Department of Classics
2016 Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Department of Classics
since 2002 Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Department of Classics
2000–2002 Ludwig Maximilians Universität Munich, Department of Classics
1997–1998 Universität Rostock, Department of Classics
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES
2022 co-organizer of the international conference "Family Affairs? The Intergenerational Transmission of Religious Knowledge", Augsburg University
2015 Habilitation at Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Department of Classics, habilitation thesis: Die Odyssee in der Spätantike. Bildliche und literarische Rezeption
2010 co-organizer of the international conference "Mädchen im Altertum/Girls in Antiquity", Berlin, in collaboration with "FemArc. Network of Women in Archaeology"
2009 co-organizer of the international conference "Bild – Raum - Handlung", Berlin, in collaboration with "TOPOI. The Formation and Transformation of Space and Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations", Exzellenzcluster of the Freie Universität Berlin
since 2005 one of the editors of the series "Frauen – Forschung – Archäologie" (www.femarc.de/hgg/index.html)
since 2004 member of the managing committee of "FemArc. Network of Women in Archaeology" (www.femarc.de)
2002 co-organizer of the international conference "Die andere Seite der Klassik – Gewalt im 5. und 4. Jh. v. Chr." , Bonn, in collaboration with the exhibition "Die griechische Klassik. Idee oder Wirklichkeit"
1999–2003 chair of the working party "Bild und Gesellschaft im antiken Griechenland"
FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS AWARDED
2021-2022 Visiting professorship at Jakob-Fugger-Center of Augsburg University
2010 AIA Study in the United States Fellowship, Brown University (Providence, RI)
2002–2004 Postdoctoral Research Grant Friedrich Schiller University, Jena
2000 International Exchange of Museum’s Employees Fellowship, Musée de l’Ephèbe, Le Cap d’Agde (France)
1996–1997 Travel Grant of the German Archaeological Institute
1992–1994 Berlin Senate Fellowship for Women’s Studies
MEMBERSHIPS
since 2012 International Network for the Study on Late Antiqity (ILAN)
since 2008 working group Archaeology and Gender in Europe (AGE) at the European Association of Archaeologists
since 2007 Archäologische Gesellschaft zu Berlin. Elected member
since 2006 Mommsen-Gesellschaft. Verband der deutschsprachigen Forscherinnen und Forscher auf dem Gebiet des Griechisch-Römischen Altertums
since 1995 Deutscher Archäologen-Verband
since 1994 FemArc. Netzwerk archäologisch arbeitender Frauen.edit
A person’s identity is a complex fabric. It is in constant state of flux, depending on factors such as age, family status, profession, economic or social status. Gender is one of these factors, and one that attracted, and still attracts,... more
A person’s identity is a complex fabric. It is in constant state of flux, depending on factors such as age, family status, profession, economic or social status. Gender is one of these factors, and one that attracted, and still attracts, a lot of scholarly attention. Does this necessarily mean that gender is the most important contribution to a person’s identity? In all stages of a given person’s life course? In all cultures?
As a case study, the paper examines the tomb painting of a Late Antique elite girl from Naples. It will be shown that at least in this case, gender was less important for identity than were social status, religion and sanctity. This slightly surprising emphasis was generated first by the family’s high social status (combined with the wish to propagate this status) and second by the task that had been assigned to the little girl: to be the instrument of her parents’ salvation. As such she is represented in the tomb painting, independent of what kind of identity she may have experienced herself. A final paragraph is devoted to the methodological implications that follow from this for the study of gender in Late Antiquity. These implications involve awareness of the kind of evidence that is analyzed, a plea for an intersectional approach, and the question of how many different genders one should postulate for Late Antique society.
As a case study, the paper examines the tomb painting of a Late Antique elite girl from Naples. It will be shown that at least in this case, gender was less important for identity than were social status, religion and sanctity. This slightly surprising emphasis was generated first by the family’s high social status (combined with the wish to propagate this status) and second by the task that had been assigned to the little girl: to be the instrument of her parents’ salvation. As such she is represented in the tomb painting, independent of what kind of identity she may have experienced herself. A final paragraph is devoted to the methodological implications that follow from this for the study of gender in Late Antiquity. These implications involve awareness of the kind of evidence that is analyzed, a plea for an intersectional approach, and the question of how many different genders one should postulate for Late Antique society.
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This essay argues that elite Athenian married women preferred to see themselves as Aphrodites rather than matrons in the painted ceramics they commissioned or had purchased for use in their homes. This is in stark contrast to the... more
This essay argues that elite Athenian married women preferred to see themselves as Aphrodites rather than matrons in the painted ceramics they commissioned or had purchased for use in their homes. This is in stark contrast to the male-centered discourse that defined motherhood as a female’s teleia (main purpose in life). Iconographic analysis makes clear that for an elite woman in classical Athens, motherhood and child rearing belonged into the category of duty (like spinning, weaving or other household tasks), not into the category of pleasure. The modern ideology of intensive mothering does not fit. Rather, Athenian children were raised in an alloparental care system (as, one could add, most children in pre-modern times).
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This article deals with the history of FemArc – Netzwerk archäologisch arbeitender Frauen e. V. The first part puts the foundation of FemArc into the context of campus protests in Germany during the winter of 1988/89. The second part... more
This article deals with the history of FemArc – Netzwerk archäologisch arbeitender Frauen e. V. The first part puts the foundation of FemArc into the context of campus protests in Germany during the winter of 1988/89. The second part talks about the requirements related to the foundation in 1991 and how (repectively if) these requirements have been met. The third part, in lieu of a conclusion, tentatively outlines some fields for further action.
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This paper deals with depictions of goddesses in Late Antiquity, from the fourth to sixth century AD, i.e. in an increasingly Christian society. Though nobody believed in these deities - now termed "pagan" - any more, they were nontheless... more
This paper deals with depictions of goddesses in Late Antiquity, from the fourth to sixth century AD, i.e. in an increasingly Christian society. Though nobody believed in these deities - now termed "pagan" - any more, they were nontheless rendered in art on a well defined range of objects, mostly belonging to the social elite. These objects were related to two fields of Late Antique life: the display of traditional education, paideia, and the propaganda of political status and success. In both cases, the ancient goddesses could be used as allegories for positive values that the viewer was expected to attach to the object's owner or purchaser: A depiction of Venus on a silver casket hinted at its female owner's Venus-like beauty; the frequent depiction, e.g. on coins, of Victoria accompanying the emperor hinted at the latter's nature as eternal victor.
When represented as interacting with males, the goddesses were subjected to the gender norms of Late Antique society. These norms asked for male supremacy, visualized by means of composition and iconography, even in those cases where the represented males were mortals, such as an emperor or a high magistrate. Female supremacy, on the other hand, was rendered as inherently bad. A goddess who is dominating other gods or even male mortals is a cautionary tale. The only exception are deptictions of females dominating beings of clear-cut inferiority. This is proven by numerous images of Venus with her retinue of Nereids, Erotes, and creatures of the sea.
When represented as interacting with males, the goddesses were subjected to the gender norms of Late Antique society. These norms asked for male supremacy, visualized by means of composition and iconography, even in those cases where the represented males were mortals, such as an emperor or a high magistrate. Female supremacy, on the other hand, was rendered as inherently bad. A goddess who is dominating other gods or even male mortals is a cautionary tale. The only exception are deptictions of females dominating beings of clear-cut inferiority. This is proven by numerous images of Venus with her retinue of Nereids, Erotes, and creatures of the sea.
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Nonnosa and her identities: a late antique case study from the San Gennaro catacomb, Naples Abstract ‒ A tomb painting in the San Gennaro catacomb in Naples depicts a late antique Christian family, consisting of father, mother and an... more
Nonnosa and her identities: a late antique case study from the San Gennaro catacomb, Naples
Abstract ‒ A tomb painting in the San Gennaro catacomb in Naples depicts a late antique Christian family, consisting of father, mother and an infant daughter named Nonnosa. Referring to research on intersectionality – especially the multilevel analysis represented by Nina Degele and Gabriele Winker –, this paper aims at investigating Nonnosa’s various social identities. What can be said about Nonnosa’s gender, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion and ontological status? And how do these systems of discrimination intersect in Nonnosa’s case? It will be shown that almost all of these elements help to construct Nonnosa as someone socially superior. The only exceptions from the rule, Nonnosa’s age and gender, are downplayed and even inverted. It has to be said, however, that this highly positive result is only valid on the level of representation. The tomb painting does not provide any information related to the level of structures or to the level of self-perception. The same goes for the level of representation’s relationship to the other levels: Here, too, we are left with more questions than answers.
Abstract ‒ A tomb painting in the San Gennaro catacomb in Naples depicts a late antique Christian family, consisting of father, mother and an infant daughter named Nonnosa. Referring to research on intersectionality – especially the multilevel analysis represented by Nina Degele and Gabriele Winker –, this paper aims at investigating Nonnosa’s various social identities. What can be said about Nonnosa’s gender, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion and ontological status? And how do these systems of discrimination intersect in Nonnosa’s case? It will be shown that almost all of these elements help to construct Nonnosa as someone socially superior. The only exceptions from the rule, Nonnosa’s age and gender, are downplayed and even inverted. It has to be said, however, that this highly positive result is only valid on the level of representation. The tomb painting does not provide any information related to the level of structures or to the level of self-perception. The same goes for the level of representation’s relationship to the other levels: Here, too, we are left with more questions than answers.
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Archäologische Geschlechterforschung untersucht das Geschlechterrollenverständnis vergangener Kulturen mittels der Verknüpfung materieller Hinterlassenschaften (Befunde, Bilder) mit Sozialgruppen. Dazu kommt die Wissenschaftsgeschichte,... more
Archäologische Geschlechterforschung untersucht das Geschlechterrollenverständnis vergangener Kulturen mittels der Verknüpfung materieller Hinterlassenschaften (Befunde, Bilder) mit Sozialgruppen. Dazu kommt die Wissenschaftsgeschichte, d.h. die Forschung zu Archäologinnen. Die Akzeptanz im Fach wächst, nicht zuletzt dank der Arbeit von „FemArc – Netzwerk archäologisch arbeitender Frauen e.V.“.
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From manly combat to ideology of destruction: Scylla and the Sirens between Homer and Herrad of Hohenburg The hero of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus, is twice challenged by female monsters: by the Sirens who lured nearby sailors with... more
From manly combat to ideology of destruction: Scylla and the Sirens between Homer and Herrad of Hohenburg
The hero of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus, is twice challenged by female monsters: by the Sirens who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices into staying on their island forever and dying; and by Scylla, a monster with six long necks equipped with grisly heads that managed to catch six of Odysseus’ men, devouring them alive.
In the visual arts of Ancient Greece and Rome, these texts were taken as a basis for rather free reworkings. During a process that can be described as feminization and sexualizing, artists turned the Homeric monsters into attractive creatures half-woman, half-animal. The original confrontation between human being and monster was reinterpreted as a confrontation between male and female. This process can be observed best in late antique art. There, the battle of the sexes ends in a draw: Odysseus escapes from the Sirens thanks to his being tied tightly to the mast of his ship; from Scylla he escapes, too, but is forced to sacrifice six of his men.
Medieval art will change not only the outcome of these two stories but also the balance of power between the protagonists. Odysseus, assuming the pose of Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, stabs Scylla to death (on a Carolingian fresco in the minster of Corvey). Odysseus’s men, now rendered as medieval knights, hunt down the Sirens and throw their corpses overboard in the same way as Archangels hunt down Lucifer and his demons and throw them down to hell (in Herrad’ Hortus deliciarum). By now, the battle between human(connoted male) and monster (connoted female) is reinterpreted as a confrontation between Good and Evil.
The hero of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus, is twice challenged by female monsters: by the Sirens who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices into staying on their island forever and dying; and by Scylla, a monster with six long necks equipped with grisly heads that managed to catch six of Odysseus’ men, devouring them alive.
In the visual arts of Ancient Greece and Rome, these texts were taken as a basis for rather free reworkings. During a process that can be described as feminization and sexualizing, artists turned the Homeric monsters into attractive creatures half-woman, half-animal. The original confrontation between human being and monster was reinterpreted as a confrontation between male and female. This process can be observed best in late antique art. There, the battle of the sexes ends in a draw: Odysseus escapes from the Sirens thanks to his being tied tightly to the mast of his ship; from Scylla he escapes, too, but is forced to sacrifice six of his men.
Medieval art will change not only the outcome of these two stories but also the balance of power between the protagonists. Odysseus, assuming the pose of Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, stabs Scylla to death (on a Carolingian fresco in the minster of Corvey). Odysseus’s men, now rendered as medieval knights, hunt down the Sirens and throw their corpses overboard in the same way as Archangels hunt down Lucifer and his demons and throw them down to hell (in Herrad’ Hortus deliciarum). By now, the battle between human(connoted male) and monster (connoted female) is reinterpreted as a confrontation between Good and Evil.
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"A SUFFERING AND DYING GOD? DIONYSOS IN WALTER F. OTTO AND IN ANCIENT ART In his 1933 pioneering book »Dionysos. Mythos und Kultus«, the philologist and historian of religion Walter F. Otto painted a rather sombre picture of Dionysos... more
"A SUFFERING AND DYING GOD? DIONYSOS IN WALTER F. OTTO AND IN ANCIENT ART
In his 1933 pioneering book »Dionysos. Mythos und Kultus«, the philologist and historian of religion Walter F. Otto painted a rather sombre picture of Dionysos as god of extremes, with an emphasis on madness, cruelty, suffering, and death. This picture is partly due to a manipulation of the literary evidence, and mainly to the neglect of the god’s rendering in art.
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In his 1933 pioneering book »Dionysos. Mythos und Kultus«, the philologist and historian of religion Walter F. Otto painted a rather sombre picture of Dionysos as god of extremes, with an emphasis on madness, cruelty, suffering, and death. This picture is partly due to a manipulation of the literary evidence, and mainly to the neglect of the god’s rendering in art.
"
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"The specific nature of Dionysos’ ‘difference’ does not only depend on a given epoch and its intellectual and historical background. What we are told about the god is also a question of genre – the main ones of interest here are... more
"The specific nature of Dionysos’ ‘difference’ does not only depend on a given epoch and its intellectual and historical background. What we are told about the god is also a question of genre – the main ones of interest here are literature, visual arts and performing arts, especially theatre. Even the different subgenres of one and the same genre, e. g. painted vases and sculptured sarcophagi as subgenres of the visual arts, do not present Dionysos in exactly
the same way: factors such as the aims of the customer or the producer as well as the context of the reception of the work in question have to be taken into consideration, too. Several contributions to the Berlin conference dealt with the presentation of Dionysos in art.1 Chronologically, the contributions
ranged from the 6th century B.C. to the 4th century C.E. The media discussed included painted vases, mosaics, luxury items, votive reliefs, cult statues and sculptured altar friezes. The present essay will use some of this material, but will look at it from a different angle. It aims to focus on aspects that seem to be
characteristic of Dionysos, aspects that effectively make him a ‘different god’.
The paper deals with Dionysos as god of women and god of epiphany; with the inclusion of mortals in his retinue; with the promise of a blessed afterlife that is projected onto him; with Dionysos as fighter; and with Dionysos as the most human god."
the same way: factors such as the aims of the customer or the producer as well as the context of the reception of the work in question have to be taken into consideration, too. Several contributions to the Berlin conference dealt with the presentation of Dionysos in art.1 Chronologically, the contributions
ranged from the 6th century B.C. to the 4th century C.E. The media discussed included painted vases, mosaics, luxury items, votive reliefs, cult statues and sculptured altar friezes. The present essay will use some of this material, but will look at it from a different angle. It aims to focus on aspects that seem to be
characteristic of Dionysos, aspects that effectively make him a ‘different god’.
The paper deals with Dionysos as god of women and god of epiphany; with the inclusion of mortals in his retinue; with the promise of a blessed afterlife that is projected onto him; with Dionysos as fighter; and with Dionysos as the most human god."
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"The Beauty and the Beast. Female hybrids in Late Antiquity "In late antiquity two well-known female monsters from Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens and Scylla, were usually imagined as hybrid creatures consisting of a beautiful woman and... more
"The Beauty and the Beast. Female hybrids in Late Antiquity
"In late antiquity two well-known female monsters from Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens and Scylla, were usually imagined as hybrid creatures consisting of a beautiful woman and parts of diverse animals, i. e. birds and dogs or fish respectively. This appears from both textual and visual evidence. As a result of a long lasting process of feminization applied to these mythical creatures, the original Homeric confrontation of man and monster is transformed
into a confrontation of male and female. The animal components underline this message. The Sirens’ talons visualize the disastrous aspect of their erotic seduction, while their seductive character finds its expression in the sweetness of their voices that are compared to the singing of a nightingale etc. The man-devouring dogs that protrude from Scylla’s abdomen emblematize her sexual shamelessness. The male hero facing these monsters mustn’t yield to that temptation. Just as if he were to confront a real animal, for him it is „eating oder being eaten“, a question of life and death. The images of Scylla or the Sirens thus can be interpreted as male phantasies, expressing late antique male anxities about women and sexuality. Sexual desire is not accepted as a part of the (male) conditio humana but projected onto women. The border that seperates civilisation from disorder, man from animal, is localized in the woman.""
"In late antiquity two well-known female monsters from Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens and Scylla, were usually imagined as hybrid creatures consisting of a beautiful woman and parts of diverse animals, i. e. birds and dogs or fish respectively. This appears from both textual and visual evidence. As a result of a long lasting process of feminization applied to these mythical creatures, the original Homeric confrontation of man and monster is transformed
into a confrontation of male and female. The animal components underline this message. The Sirens’ talons visualize the disastrous aspect of their erotic seduction, while their seductive character finds its expression in the sweetness of their voices that are compared to the singing of a nightingale etc. The man-devouring dogs that protrude from Scylla’s abdomen emblematize her sexual shamelessness. The male hero facing these monsters mustn’t yield to that temptation. Just as if he were to confront a real animal, for him it is „eating oder being eaten“, a question of life and death. The images of Scylla or the Sirens thus can be interpreted as male phantasies, expressing late antique male anxities about women and sexuality. Sexual desire is not accepted as a part of the (male) conditio humana but projected onto women. The border that seperates civilisation from disorder, man from animal, is localized in the woman.""
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Doubtful Figure or Personification of virtus and sapientia? Ulisses in Latin Late Antiquity Starting from the well known story about Ulisses and the Cyclops Polyphemus, as formulated by Homer in the Odyssey, the paper asks the following... more
Doubtful Figure or Personification of virtus and sapientia? Ulisses in Latin Late Antiquity
Starting from the well known story about Ulisses and the Cyclops Polyphemus, as formulated by Homer in the Odyssey, the paper asks the following question: What did late antique art and literature do with that controversial Homeric hero?
It will be shown that in art, Ulisses was not fully conceived as a positively connoted figure, or as someone a late antique viewer could identify. Instead, he was ridiculed and problematized. The most heroic instant of the Polyphemus story, the giant’s blinding, is almost never rendered in late antique art. A rather different picture, however, emerges if one looks at late antique Latin literature. Here, Ulisses is portrayed as a wise and brave hero, fighting for justice and punishing the monster’s cruelty and hubris. In allegorical reading, Ulisses is seen as an exemplum virtutis.
This allegorical understanding of Ulissis is what will be passed on to the Renaissance while the iconographic tradition ceases with the end of the late antique world.
Starting from the well known story about Ulisses and the Cyclops Polyphemus, as formulated by Homer in the Odyssey, the paper asks the following question: What did late antique art and literature do with that controversial Homeric hero?
It will be shown that in art, Ulisses was not fully conceived as a positively connoted figure, or as someone a late antique viewer could identify. Instead, he was ridiculed and problematized. The most heroic instant of the Polyphemus story, the giant’s blinding, is almost never rendered in late antique art. A rather different picture, however, emerges if one looks at late antique Latin literature. Here, Ulisses is portrayed as a wise and brave hero, fighting for justice and punishing the monster’s cruelty and hubris. In allegorical reading, Ulisses is seen as an exemplum virtutis.
This allegorical understanding of Ulissis is what will be passed on to the Renaissance while the iconographic tradition ceases with the end of the late antique world.
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In der bildenden Kunst der Spätantike unterscheidet sich die Darstellung nackter Frauen deutlich von derjenigen nackter Männer: Thematisiert werden bei ersteren fast ausschließlich Schönheit und Sexualität. Diese sexuelle Anziehungskraft... more
In der bildenden Kunst der Spätantike unterscheidet sich die Darstellung nackter Frauen deutlich von derjenigen nackter Männer: Thematisiert werden bei ersteren fast ausschließlich Schönheit und Sexualität. Diese sexuelle Anziehungskraft kann positiv konnotiert sein, wie bei Venus; sie kann aber auch zerstörerische Aspekte aufweisen, wie im Fall der Sirenen, oder theologisch mit Scham und Sünde verbunden werden, wie bei Eva. Schließlich kann die eigene Attraktivität für eine Frau verheerende
Folgen haben, so bei Daphne.
Bei der Darstellung nackter Männer spielen Schönheit und Attraktivität auch eine Rolle. Ebenso aber gibt es den gegenteiligen Fall, in dem Nacktheit als Chiffre für einen Opferstatus steht, etwa bei der Darstellung von Gefangenen oder Besiegten. Zusätzlich gibt es jedoch eine Reihe von weiteren, stets mit positiven Vorstellungen verknüpften Bedeutungsmöglichkeiten:
Der schöne nackte Männerkörper kann Tapferkeit und physische Leistungsfähigkeit visualisieren, wie bei Herakles, göttlichen Status, wie bei Apollon, die Unschuld des Menschen vor dem Sündenfall, wie bei Adam, einen von Gott auserwählten Propheten, siehe Jonas oder Daniel; er kann selbst in der Darstellung der Kreuzigung den Triumph Christi zum Ausdruck bringen.
Die antike Bildformel des idealschönen Körpers, die zu dem Zweck geschaffen worden war, etwas Rühmendes über den Dargestellten auszusagen, behält ihre Geltung auch in einer Zeit, in der die
dominanten literarischen Diskurse eine Verächtlichmachung des Körpers propagieren. Der nackte Körper eines Märtyrers oder des Gottessohnes wird nicht in seinem Leiden und in seiner Schwäche
dargestellt, sondern in der antiken Formel des heldenhaften, positiv konnotierten Körpers. Hier gilt weiterhin die Konvention, dass eine Person, über deren Wesen etwas Positives ausgesagt werden soll, zwangsläufig auch äußerlich schön sein muss.
Folgen haben, so bei Daphne.
Bei der Darstellung nackter Männer spielen Schönheit und Attraktivität auch eine Rolle. Ebenso aber gibt es den gegenteiligen Fall, in dem Nacktheit als Chiffre für einen Opferstatus steht, etwa bei der Darstellung von Gefangenen oder Besiegten. Zusätzlich gibt es jedoch eine Reihe von weiteren, stets mit positiven Vorstellungen verknüpften Bedeutungsmöglichkeiten:
Der schöne nackte Männerkörper kann Tapferkeit und physische Leistungsfähigkeit visualisieren, wie bei Herakles, göttlichen Status, wie bei Apollon, die Unschuld des Menschen vor dem Sündenfall, wie bei Adam, einen von Gott auserwählten Propheten, siehe Jonas oder Daniel; er kann selbst in der Darstellung der Kreuzigung den Triumph Christi zum Ausdruck bringen.
Die antike Bildformel des idealschönen Körpers, die zu dem Zweck geschaffen worden war, etwas Rühmendes über den Dargestellten auszusagen, behält ihre Geltung auch in einer Zeit, in der die
dominanten literarischen Diskurse eine Verächtlichmachung des Körpers propagieren. Der nackte Körper eines Märtyrers oder des Gottessohnes wird nicht in seinem Leiden und in seiner Schwäche
dargestellt, sondern in der antiken Formel des heldenhaften, positiv konnotierten Körpers. Hier gilt weiterhin die Konvention, dass eine Person, über deren Wesen etwas Positives ausgesagt werden soll, zwangsläufig auch äußerlich schön sein muss.
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"According to modern philosphical and psychological thougt, suffering constitutes a condition humaine. As a so-called anthropological constant, it concerns all humans. However, people deal with suffering in ways which are culturally (and... more
"According to modern philosphical and psychological thougt, suffering constitutes a condition humaine. As a so-called anthropological constant, it concerns all humans. However, people deal with suffering in ways which are culturally (and individually) determined. With respect to antiquity, it was the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) who formulated the concept of "Greek pessimism", or the idea that the ancient Greeks were subject to more suffering than was generally believed.
In order to evaluate the extent of this suffering, I will interpret the sculpture of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, built between 470 and 457 BC. The pediments show a battle between centaurs and Lapiths on one side, and the fatal chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos on the other. The metopes deal with the twelve labours of Heracles.
In addition to conventional iconographical analysis, two further methods borrowed from other scientific fields will we used. Firstly, by applying Michel Foucault's analytics of power relations, "genealogy", to the architectural sculpture in question, one can consider the relationsship between social status, place in society, and a given individual's suffering. Secondly, using the "generative principle" as formulated in Lacanian psychoanalysis one is able more precisely to define the meaning that suffering holds for a given subject or society. Furthermore, it can be shown that Nietzsche anticipated the idea of the generative principle in his concept of "Greek pessimism" as the actual impulse for Greek art and culture.
The aforementioned postulate that suffering is part of the condition humaine can be discerned in the sculptures of the temple of Zeus. It can also be argued that suffering was even the real cause or the generative principle of the heyday of classical sculpture. However, there are subtle differences in the nature and degree of this suffering which are causally related to the social status of the person in question. Only gods were above suffering. Thus the ancient viewer was able to compare different social roles and consider the personal costs connected to them."
In order to evaluate the extent of this suffering, I will interpret the sculpture of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, built between 470 and 457 BC. The pediments show a battle between centaurs and Lapiths on one side, and the fatal chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos on the other. The metopes deal with the twelve labours of Heracles.
In addition to conventional iconographical analysis, two further methods borrowed from other scientific fields will we used. Firstly, by applying Michel Foucault's analytics of power relations, "genealogy", to the architectural sculpture in question, one can consider the relationsship between social status, place in society, and a given individual's suffering. Secondly, using the "generative principle" as formulated in Lacanian psychoanalysis one is able more precisely to define the meaning that suffering holds for a given subject or society. Furthermore, it can be shown that Nietzsche anticipated the idea of the generative principle in his concept of "Greek pessimism" as the actual impulse for Greek art and culture.
The aforementioned postulate that suffering is part of the condition humaine can be discerned in the sculptures of the temple of Zeus. It can also be argued that suffering was even the real cause or the generative principle of the heyday of classical sculpture. However, there are subtle differences in the nature and degree of this suffering which are causally related to the social status of the person in question. Only gods were above suffering. Thus the ancient viewer was able to compare different social roles and consider the personal costs connected to them."
Research Interests:
"Beauty and Sophrosyne: female nakedness in relation to civic status This is an iconographic analysis of attic vases from the 6th-4th centuries B.C., under a twofold question: How did the artists render, in a given period, an ideal... more
"Beauty and Sophrosyne: female nakedness in relation to civic status
This is an iconographic analysis of attic vases from the 6th-4th centuries B.C., under a twofold question: How did the artists render, in a given period, an ideal woman of civic status? And which was the meaning that was ascribed, in the same period, to the naked female body?
It will be shown that in Greek art, female nakedness/nudity was conceived in a very different way from male nakedness/nudity. In the 6th century B.C., an exemplary, “ideal” woman could not be rendered naked. Instead, rendering a nude woman meant rendering a woman with negative connotations. It was only from about 500 B.C. that female nudity in vase painting could basically connote “beauty”, though the actual legal status of these women was left open to the viewer. Finally, from about 430 B.C. even a woman of unambiguously civic status (most often a bride) could be shown naked.
Nevertheless, the phenomenon remained a problematic one: Naked women of civic status appeared only in the rather “private” genre of vase painting – not in more public genres like grave reliefs or votive statues. Even in vase painting, their nakedness had to be legitimated by their action depicted (e.g. bathing). Presentation of the female genitalia was – very unlike the presentation of the male genitalia –out of bounds. Furthermore, the earlier negative connotations of female nakedness continued to exist and could be reactivated at the next opportunity. And, last not least: in striking contrast to the concept of kalokagathia (the combination of the beautiful and the good) applied to the male body, there was nothing like that for the female body. For the Greeks, the female body was only able to connote beauty, not virtue.
"
This is an iconographic analysis of attic vases from the 6th-4th centuries B.C., under a twofold question: How did the artists render, in a given period, an ideal woman of civic status? And which was the meaning that was ascribed, in the same period, to the naked female body?
It will be shown that in Greek art, female nakedness/nudity was conceived in a very different way from male nakedness/nudity. In the 6th century B.C., an exemplary, “ideal” woman could not be rendered naked. Instead, rendering a nude woman meant rendering a woman with negative connotations. It was only from about 500 B.C. that female nudity in vase painting could basically connote “beauty”, though the actual legal status of these women was left open to the viewer. Finally, from about 430 B.C. even a woman of unambiguously civic status (most often a bride) could be shown naked.
Nevertheless, the phenomenon remained a problematic one: Naked women of civic status appeared only in the rather “private” genre of vase painting – not in more public genres like grave reliefs or votive statues. Even in vase painting, their nakedness had to be legitimated by their action depicted (e.g. bathing). Presentation of the female genitalia was – very unlike the presentation of the male genitalia –out of bounds. Furthermore, the earlier negative connotations of female nakedness continued to exist and could be reactivated at the next opportunity. And, last not least: in striking contrast to the concept of kalokagathia (the combination of the beautiful and the good) applied to the male body, there was nothing like that for the female body. For the Greeks, the female body was only able to connote beauty, not virtue.
"
Research Interests:
Homer’s Odyssey is one of the most fascinating and popular texts of all time, inspiring not only artists and poets but also generating a massive amount of research. This book focuses for the first time on the Odyssey’s reception in late... more
Homer’s Odyssey is one of the most fascinating and popular texts of all time, inspiring not only artists and poets but also generating a massive amount of research. This book focuses for the first time on the Odyssey’s reception in late antiquity, the period that witnesses the transformation of classical culture into the world of the middle ages. The epic’s late antique pictorial reception was a selective one. Artists represented but a small canon of topics: Odysseus’ encounter with the terrifying one-eyed Cyclops, with the dangerous sorceress Circe, with the bewitching song of the Sirens, and with Scylla the man-eater; a handful of iconographically diverse depictions can be related to the hero’s return to Ithaca that never attracted as much attention as Odysseus’ adventures in the course of the wandering. In all cases, the book stresses the close relation between viewer, or context of reception, and specific form of artistic rendering. Depending on context and intended viewer, Odysseus e.g. can be characterized as a person with whom the man in the street can identify, as a problematic and ridiculous figure, or as an example of virtue. Almost all late antique depictions of Odysseus’ wanderings have been found – and produced – in the Western provinces of the Roman Empire. In the course of Roman antiquity, the Greek hero and his wanderings had become what they are still: a part of Western cultural identity.
The Odyssey’s late antique literary reception was much more multifaceted than the artistic one, as regards topics and geography. In this book, though, the focus will be on those topics that were dealt with in the visual arts, too. Contrasting the late antique pictorial reception with the literary one, and contrasting both with the Homeric epic, reveals the originality of late antiquity’s artists and writers. Both employ the classical heritage with means and ends of their own (or of their patrons), and both are nevertheless deeply embedded in and influenced by late antique discourse, be it on religion, philosophy, slavery, heroism, or gender relations.
The Odyssey’s late antique literary reception was much more multifaceted than the artistic one, as regards topics and geography. In this book, though, the focus will be on those topics that were dealt with in the visual arts, too. Contrasting the late antique pictorial reception with the literary one, and contrasting both with the Homeric epic, reveals the originality of late antiquity’s artists and writers. Both employ the classical heritage with means and ends of their own (or of their patrons), and both are nevertheless deeply embedded in and influenced by late antique discourse, be it on religion, philosophy, slavery, heroism, or gender relations.
Research Interests:
The volume adresses the long neglected topic of girls – i.e. female individuals that have not yet undergone certain rites de passage neccessary to become a »woman« – in various ancient societies. 26 papers deal with Bronze Age Europe,... more
The volume adresses the long neglected topic of girls – i.e. female individuals that have not yet undergone certain rites de passage neccessary to become a »woman« – in various ancient societies. 26 papers deal with Bronze Age Europe, Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Bronze Age Greece, Greece and Rome, Late Antiquity, and the Early Middle Ages. The papers are either written in German or in English, with an abstract in both languages.
Contributors are: Claudia-Maria Behling, Katrin Bernhardt, Olympia Bobou, Susanne Brather-Walter, Stephanie L. Budin, Eve D’Ambra, Peter Emberger, Susanna E. Fischer, Caitlin C. Gillespie, Jochen Griesbach, Ute Günkel-Maschek, Doris Gutsmiedl-Schümann, Kerstin P. Hofmann, Kathrin Kleibl, Julia K. Koch, Claudia Merthen, Marion Meyer, Cecilia Nobili, Viktoria Räuchle, Kathrin Schade, Günther Schörner, Michaela Stark, Wolf-Rüdiger Teegen, Helga Vogel, Manuella Wangert, and Anne Weis. With an English introduction by Susanne Moraw.
Contributors are: Claudia-Maria Behling, Katrin Bernhardt, Olympia Bobou, Susanne Brather-Walter, Stephanie L. Budin, Eve D’Ambra, Peter Emberger, Susanna E. Fischer, Caitlin C. Gillespie, Jochen Griesbach, Ute Günkel-Maschek, Doris Gutsmiedl-Schümann, Kerstin P. Hofmann, Kathrin Kleibl, Julia K. Koch, Claudia Merthen, Marion Meyer, Cecilia Nobili, Viktoria Räuchle, Kathrin Schade, Günther Schörner, Michaela Stark, Wolf-Rüdiger Teegen, Helga Vogel, Manuella Wangert, and Anne Weis. With an English introduction by Susanne Moraw.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Dark Side of Classical Greece: violence in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE In this volume, archeologists, historians and philologists scrutinize the different shapes that violence took in the culture of Classical Greece. How is this... more
The Dark Side of Classical Greece: violence in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE
In this volume, archeologists, historians and philologists scrutinize the different shapes that violence took in the culture of Classical Greece. How is this “dark side” of Classical Greece rendered in art? How was violence practiced, experienced and valuated in a given social context? It will be shown that – in stark contrast to modern assumptions – the ancient Greeks conceived violence not as something basically immoral, but rather as an acceptable means to an end.
In this volume, archeologists, historians and philologists scrutinize the different shapes that violence took in the culture of Classical Greece. How is this “dark side” of Classical Greece rendered in art? How was violence practiced, experienced and valuated in a given social context? It will be shown that – in stark contrast to modern assumptions – the ancient Greeks conceived violence not as something basically immoral, but rather as an acceptable means to an end.
Research Interests:
This is a book on ancient Greek theatre, published in conjunction with a 2002 exhibition at the Deutsches Theatermuseum in Munich, Germany. Chapters deal inter alia with: the historical background of fifth century BC Athens; the origins... more
This is a book on ancient Greek theatre, published in conjunction with a 2002 exhibition at the Deutsches Theatermuseum in Munich, Germany. Chapters deal inter alia with: the historical background of fifth century BC Athens; the origins of tragedy and comedy; architecture; stage; masks and costumes; political institutions related to the theatre; playwrights; actors; audience; further development.
On legal grounds, I post only the chapters wirtten by myself (on playwrights, actors, and audience), and without images.
On legal grounds, I post only the chapters wirtten by myself (on playwrights, actors, and audience), and without images.
Research Interests:
This is a book on maenads in Attic vase-painting, 6th to 5th centuries B.C. Chapters cover the maenads’ attire, the god Dionysos, satyrs, animals, cult, and space. Each chapter is subdivided chronologically: the earlier 6th century B.C.;... more
This is a book on maenads in Attic vase-painting, 6th to 5th centuries B.C. Chapters cover the maenads’ attire, the god Dionysos, satyrs, animals, cult, and space. Each chapter is subdivided chronologically: the earlier 6th century B.C.; attic black-figure 530–470 B.C.; attic red-figure 530–470 B.C.; 470–430 B.C.; 430–400 B.C. Black-figure and red-figure from 530 to 470 B.C. are given separate treatment because of the many differences in iconography, style, shape, quality, etc.
The main argument indicates that these painted female figures are first of all men’s imaginations, originally designed as ornament for drinking vessels used at the symposion. As such, they offer only scant information about real maenads, i.e. women performing a specific kind of Dionysiac cult. Information about real maenads, or real maenadic cult, is mostly to be found on vases that have been designed for and used by women, e.g. perfume vessels. More abundant, however, are maenadic images on symposion vessels. They can tell us about Athenian men’s perceptions, or fears, about women: first of all about their wives or daughters who may have actually performed maenadic rites; but also about other kinds of females, e.g. about hetairas or goddesses.
For reasons of copyright, I did not upload the figures. In case you need the illustrations, please send me a message.
The main argument indicates that these painted female figures are first of all men’s imaginations, originally designed as ornament for drinking vessels used at the symposion. As such, they offer only scant information about real maenads, i.e. women performing a specific kind of Dionysiac cult. Information about real maenads, or real maenadic cult, is mostly to be found on vases that have been designed for and used by women, e.g. perfume vessels. More abundant, however, are maenadic images on symposion vessels. They can tell us about Athenian men’s perceptions, or fears, about women: first of all about their wives or daughters who may have actually performed maenadic rites; but also about other kinds of females, e.g. about hetairas or goddesses.
For reasons of copyright, I did not upload the figures. In case you need the illustrations, please send me a message.