Myth and Art from Homer to Late Antiquity

Module Code:

MCLA1520

When taught:

Lent (residential students)

Credit points:

20

Method of Assessment:

1 x 5,000 word essay

Teaching Methods:

Seminars (residential); Module pack (distance)

Availability

Residential and distance students

Lecturers

E. Bissa (co-ordinator), O. Hodkinson, M. Plantinga,

J. Richardson, F. Santangelo

Contact hours (for residential students)

20

Syllabus:    

In this module we study how myth has been explored and exploited in art from the 8th century BC to the fourth century AD.  A wide range of visual material is used as well:  we study vases, friezes, mirrors, funerary urns, catacombs and paintings.  The module starts with an examination of the various uses of mythological material belonging to the Trojan cycle and discusses the relationship between the visual images and their literary counterparts. A similar approach is taken to the myths relating to Theseus. Myths of rape and seduction have been much discussed recently and a study of vases depicting such myths shows us the problems associated with reading myth, the difficulties of interpreting gestures and the use of formulas in myth. Etruscan culture flourished from the late eighth century BC to the first century BC.  The subjects illustrated on Etruscan mirrors and funerary urns give us important insights into Etruscan mythology but also emphasise their links with Greek mythology.  Myth can also be used for propaganda purposes and it is the intertwining of art, myth and propaganda which we study when we examine Augustan iconography. Myth is a common theme on Greek and Roman coins and we shall examine its uses for purposes of propaganda and security of identity.  One of the primary private art forms in the ancient world was that of mosaics, where myth provided many of the common motifs from the Hellenistic to the late Roman era; the module will examine the uses of myths on mosaics and how myth was viewed in an inherently private setting.  In the final unit, we turn to the interaction of texts and art in the form of ekphrasis (the detailed description of works of art within a literary text), focussing on Philostratus' Imagines, a set of short pieces apparently describing the paintings in a private art gallery in the 3rd century CE.

Learning outcomes:  

This module seeks to enable students:

• to develop an understanding of the use of myth in art, within its social and historical context.
• To understand recent critical advances in the study of myth and art.
• To learn how to interpret a range of visual material.
• To encourage students to engage directly with recent scholarship and to assess this scholarship critically.

Transferable and other skills involved:  

Academic writing and oral presentation skills (the latter only for residential students).

Main recommended texts:  

• Carpenter, T.H. (1991), Art and Myth in Ancient Greece, London:  Thames and Hudson.
• Elsner, J. (1998), Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph:  Art of the Roman Empire, AD 100-450, Oxford:  Oxford University Press.
• Jenkins, I. The Parthenon Frieze, London:  British Museum Press.
• Rosenmeyer, P.A. (ed.), Discs of Splendor:  The Relief Mirrors of the Etruscans, Wisconsin:  University of Wisconsin Press.
• Shapiro, H.A. (1994), Myth into Art:  Poet and Painter in Classical Greece, London, Routledge.
• Snodgrass, A. (1998), Homer and the Artists:  Text and Picture in Early Greek Art, Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, ISBN:  0521629810.
• Woodford, S. (2003), Images of Myths in Classical Antiquity, Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press.
• Zanker, P. (1988), The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press

Evaluation (including student evaluation):  

Students will be asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of the module. This will be used by the Department in its annual review of all its teaching to help evaluate the module’s success. The external examiner will also have the opportunity to make comments and results of the questionnaires will be discussed in the SSCC.