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.

Product Description: Proceedings of an International Conference celebrating 2,500 years since the birth of democracy in Greece, held at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1992. Officials, heroes, iconography, festivals, politics and demes are just some of the subjects explored.