Art and text in ancient Greek culture

These specially commissioned essays offer new and exciting perspectives on the interrelationships between verbal and visual signs in ancient Greek culture. The first section of the book focuses on fifth-century culture, examining the use that painters of pots make of writing, the ways in which images on pots can be read systematically, the ways in which the framing of architectural sculpture determines interpretation, and the exploitation of set-piece descriptions (ecphrases) in the theatre. The second section turns to Hellenistic culture, with essays on the poetic exploitation of riddling images, on the creation of rival worlds in travel literature, and on the imaginary museum, which explore a world self-conscious about the conditions of viewing at that time. Together, these essays offer a radical, fresh look at the ancient culture of viewing . This book will be of interest to a broad spectrum of readers. The issues discussed are of concern to those working in classical art, literature and history, and in literary criticism and theory, and cultural studies.