The Transformation of Athens: Painted Pottery and the Creation of Classical Greece

Description

How remarkable changes in ancient Greek pottery reveal the transformation of classical Greek culture Why did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in classical Greek art? The scenes depicted on Athenian pottery of the mid-fifth century BC are very different from those of the late sixth century. Did Gre

Robin Osborne is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Cambridge, where he is also a Fellow of King's College. His books include Archaic and Classical Greek Art; Greece in the Making, 1200-479 BC; Athens and Athenian Democracy; and The History Written on the Classical Greek Body.

"Co-Winner of the 2019 Runciman Award, Anglo-Hellenic League" "Osborne's gifts as an observer of ancient art are beyond dispute. His discussions of the vase scenes he has chosen to explore are filled with the kind of insight that make one inclined to accept any conclusions to which they might lead. His book offers a radically new approach to the Attic vases, one that might even achieve the two grand goals Osborne sets for it: not only to 'rewrite the history of art' but also to 'rewrite history.'"---James Romm, New York Review of Books "Osborne's book is original and important, as is its advocacy of a shift away from questions of technique and influence . . . towards attention to subject and manner of representation." * Times Higher Education * "[The Transfomation of Athens] reinstates Athenian pottery to the place it deserves and acknowledges the enormous potential of painted vases to illuminate many areas of Greek culture. . . . This is a lucid, engaging and persuasive book."---Diana Rodriguez Perez, Burlington Magazine "Beautifully produced."---Paul Watkins, Argo