Art in the era of Alexander the Great : paradigms of manhood and their cultural traditions /
Ada Cohen.
- New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- xxiii, 398 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction: themes and issues -- Figural mosaics in the House of the Abduction of Helen at Pella: three themes -- Master of lions (and other animals) -- War as hunt, hunt as war -- Rape as hunt, hunt as rape? -- Rape as war, war as rape? -- Abduction and femininity -- Hunt and masculinity -- Epilogue: fixing the pose.
"In this book, Ada Cohen focuses on art produced in Macedonia during the late Classical and early Hellenistic period, which coincides with the reigns of Philip II, his famous son Alexander the Great, and their immediate successors. Although inspired by traditional Greek themes and ideals, this body of artwork articulated specifically Macedonian aspirations. Cohen focuses on three key "masculine" themes - warfare, hunting, and abduction of women - exploring their visual and conceptual interconnections. She demonstrates their preoccupation with the visual celebration of violence and studies the analogies they draw among the ideological categories of "enemy," "animal," and "woman." Simultaneously historical and thematic, Cohen's text is structured around select paintings and mosaics from northern Greek sites, such as Pella and Vergina, and from both secular and funerary contexts. She also examines monuments from other ancient contexts and in other media to illuminate specific questions of style, theme, and meaning"--Provided by publisher. "Simultaneously historical and thematic, this book studies an important period in Greek art, the late Classical and earely Hellenistic, especially the reigns of Philip II, his famous son Alexander the Great, and their successors. It focuses on the three traditionally "masculine" themes of warfare, hunting, and the abduction of women. All three show a preoccupation with the pictorial celebration of violence and draw analogies among the ideological categories "enemy," "animal," and "women." The book explores the ways in which masculine and feminine identities were usually constructed and communicated"--Provided by publisher.
9781107614871 (hardback) 0521769043 (hardback)
2010009546
Art, Greek--Themes, motives. Masculinity in art. Femininity in art. Identity (Psychology) in art.