Intervisuality: New Approaches to Greek Literature PDF
Preview Intervisuality: New Approaches to Greek Literature
Intervisuality MythosEikonPoiesis Herausgegeben von Anton Bierl Wissenschaftlicher Beirat: Gregory Nagy, Richard Martin Band 16 Intervisuality New Approaches to Greek Literature Edited by Andrea Capra and Lucia Floridi ISBN978-3-11-079524-0 e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-079544-8 e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-079552-3 ISSN1868-5080 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2022948719 BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutscheNationalbibliografie; detailedbibliographicdataareavailableontheinternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de. ©2023WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Boston Typesetting:IntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd. Printingandbinding:CPIbooksGmbH,Leck www.degruyter.com Contents AndreaCapraandLuciaFloridi Introduction 1 Part I:In limine AglaePizzone 1 Àrebours:intervisualityfromtheMiddleAgestoclassical antiquity 15 AntonBierl 2 FromimagetotheatricalplayinAeschylus’Oresteia Iconicity,intervisuality,theimageact,andthedramatic performanceact 33 Part II:Archaicandclassicalage GeorgeAlexanderGazis 3 Homerandtheartofcinematicwarfare 81 RiccardoPalmisciano 4 IntervisualityintheGreeksymposium 103 CarmineCatenacci 5 Theprotohistoryofportraitsinwordsandimages (sixth–fifthcenturyBCE):tyrants,poets,andartists 121 CeciliaNobili 6 LookingatAthensthroughthelyriclens 149 LuciaAthanassaki 7 Thepoliticsofintervisuality Euripides’Erechtheus,theWestPedimentoftheParthenon, theErechtheion,andthetempleofAthenaNike 171 VI Contents Part III:Hellenisticandimperialage BenjaminAcosta-Hughes 8 Thegoddessplayingwithgold OnthecultofArsinoe-Aphroditeinimageandtext 197 EwenL.Bowie 9 IntervisualityindeclamationandsungpoetryinimperialGreek cities 213 LuciaFloridi 10 IntervisualallusionsinLucian,DialoguesoftheSeaGods15 235 ÉvelynePrioux 11 WasPhilostratustheElderanadmirerofOvidianenargeia? 255 ReginaHöschele 12 ἐκτῶνπινάκων.Aristaenetus’intervisualallusionstoPhilostratus’ artgallery 283 Part IV:PointingtoRome MatteoCadario 13 Orderingtheresgestae:observationsontherelationshipbetween textsandimagesinRoman‘historical’representations 305 Appendix Listofcontributors 335 Indexnominumetrerumnotabilium 339 Indexlocorum 345 AndreaCapra and LuciaFloridi Introduction Intertextualityisawell-knowntoolinliterarycriticismandhasbeenwidelyap- pliedtoancientliterature,withclassicalscholarshipbeingunusuallyatthefront- line in developing new theoretical approaches.1 By contrast, the twin notion of intervisuality has only recently begun to appear in classical studies, and then onlytodescribetheinteractionbetweenwordandimageingenres,suchascom- edyandepigram,whicharemostobviouslyrelatedtothevisualarts.2Whilestill lackingaconsistentdefinition,intervisualityhasprovedextremelyproductivein fields such as visual culture studies, where it is used to describe ‘the simulta- neousdisplayandinteractionofavarietyofmodesofvisuality’,3andarthistory, whereitisadoptedasa‘visualcounterpart’tointertextuality,inordertodescribe thewebofallusions,quotes,andreworkingsthatmightlinkoneartworktoan- other,basedontheideathat‘allart[...]takespriorworkintoaccount’.4 Through contributions from a diverse team of scholars, this book aims to bring intervisuality into sharper focus and show its potential as a tool to ex- ploretheresearchfieldtraditionallyreferredtoas‘Greekliterature’. Thebibliographyonintertextualityislarge.Sufficeitheretomentionseminalworkssuch asConte(1986)andHinds(1998). Foritsapplicationtocomedy,seePetrides(2014)–perhapsthefirstclassicalscholarto haveseriouslyengagedwithintervisuality;forepigram,Floridi(2018)andNobili(2018). Mirzoeff(20022)3.ThewordfirstappearedinMirzoeff(1999)30.AccordingtoParks(20022) 285,intervisualityis‘thepracticeofthinkingandanalysingacrossandbetweenmediarather thanfocusingupontheuniquepropertiesofeachmedium’. Nelson(1999)85. Notes:Someoftheessaysincludedinthisvolumewereoriginallydeliveredaspapersatthe conference‘IntervisualityandLiteratureinGreeceandRome’(MilanUniversity,February7–8, 2017).Manythankstothespeakersaswellastothosewhojoinedtheprojectatalaterstage. ThanksarealsoduetotheUniversityofMilanforfundingtheconferencebackin2017andto DurhamUniversityforcoveringtheadditionalexpensesassociatedwiththeeditorialprocess (picturesandproofreading).Finally,ourwarmthanksgototheanonymousreadersfortheir encouragementandusefulfeedback. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110795448-001 2 AndreaCapraandLuciaFloridi 1 Why intervisuality is relevant to ‘Greek literature’ IfoneweretomentiontwodistinctivephenomenathatdefineGreekcivilisation, the choice would easily fall on the symposium and on theatre. Whileoriginally importedfromthe east, inthe archaic age the symposium rapidly turnedintoa hallmark of ‘Greekness’, perceived as such by contemporary civilisations. The symposium isa quintessentially synaestheticphenomenon,involving all senses andprovidinganaturalsettingformostarchaicpoetry.Asiswellknown,thein- teractionbetweenpoetryandimages,especiallyasdepictedonpottery,isintegral tothesymposiumandtomostofwhatwemodernsrefertoaslyricpoetry,deliv- eredassongaccompaniedbymusic.Accordingly,suchpoetryisintrinsically‘in- tervisual’ and connected with the specific occasions in which the songs were performed. Archaic poetry could also be performed outdoors, in which case it oftenreferredto–andwasinformedby–thetopographyoftherelevantsettings, suchasmonumentsandperformancespaces,thusprovidingfurtheropportunity for intervisual interplay. This book explores both strands, whichultimately rest onwhat many scholars, in the wakeof BrunoGentili’sseminalwork, refer toas the‘pragmatic’natureofarchaicGreekpoetry.5Bothstrandswereofcourseinflu- encedbytheexceptionallyvividqualityofHomericpoetry,whichiswhyachap- teronHomerprecedesourdiscussionoflyricpoetry. A quintessential example of Homeric vividness, the heroic duels found in theIliadintriguinglyresonatewithimagesknownfromBronzeAgesealswhile atthe sametimeactivating anequallyvivid formof‘flashbulb’ memoryin the minds of the audience, as argued in George Gazis’ chapter. Whereas the rela- tionshipbetweentheimagespaintedonsympoticvasesandthepoetrysungat symposiaisthespecificfocusofRiccardoPalmisciano’sessay,CeciliaNobiliin- vestigates the intervisual allusions to Athenian public spaces in the works of lyric poets. Carmine Catenacci instead examines how the visual experience of thefirstindividualportraits,whichfilledpublicspacesintheIonianandAthe- nianareabetweenthesixthandthefifthcenturyBCE,affectedthewordofthe poets(andviceversa). Asonewouldexpect,thisbookalsoincludesAttictheatreanditssubsequent ramifications.Evenmorethanthesymposium,theatreimpliesa‘spectatorship’no lessthananaudience;atthesametime,withthespreadofliteracy,bothsympotic and theatrical poetry end up acquiring a readership and inform later forms of Seee.g.Gentili(1984). Introduction 3 literature.6Oneofthemostinfluentiallegaciesof‘Greekliterature’,theatresome- how superseded the symposium as it rapidly turned from a one-city institution intoahallmark ofGraeco-Romancivilisation.Intheprocess,theatre, avisualno lessthanaverbalartform,triggeredaseriesofrelatedimagesinallsortsofmedia throughouttheancientworld,andthisextraordinarydisseminationhasbeengain- ing traction in scholarship over the last few decades. Well beyond the narrow boundariesoftext-focusedapproaches,newinterpretativeparadigmsaretryingto pin down such complex and heterogeneous material. This shift, as well as the pragmaticnatureofGreekpoetry,cannotbutaffectourunderstandingofintertex- tuality,whichcanhardlybegraspedinfullwithoutits(inter)visualcounterpart. As noted by Antonis Petrides, ancient theatre is ‘a form of performance in whichallusionwasnotnecessarilyachievedbyvirtueofverbalmarkers,butalso bythe ability of the visual element, too,to make referencestovarious semiotic systemscollaboratinginthecreationoftheatricalmeaning.Intertextuality,inthe case of Menander, encompassed intervisuality as well’.7 However, this volume shows – we hope – that the relevance of intervisuality for Greek theatre is not limitedtoMenander,norsolelytobeunderstoodintherelativelynarrowmean- ingadoptedbyPetrides.Theintervisualentanglementsoftheatricalperformance are at the core of both Anton Bierl’s and Lucia Athanassaki’s chapters: while Bierl focuses on the complex and multifaceted visual aspects of the text of Ae- schylus’Oresteiaandontheirdramaticapplication,Athanassakiexploresthepo- litical significance of Euripides’ dialogue in Erechtheus with three important Athenian temples – the West Pediment of the Parthenon,the temple of Athena Nike,andtheErechtheion. Intervisualityisrelevantto‘Greekliterature’bothbeforeandafterthegolden ageof Attic theatre(fifth–fourth centuryBCE). Not only istheatrelessaninven- tionexnihilothanthedevelopmentof(highlyspectacular)epicandlyricperform- ancesaddressingbothlocalandpan-Hellenicaudiences;evenmoreimportantly, whatwecallGreek‘literature’,awordthathasnoequivalentinclassicalGreek,is byand large a formof verbalart inextricably linked with performative contexts, whetherimaginaryorreal.Thesecontexts,inturn,workasarepositoryofmental imagessharedbybothauthorsandaudiences.Asaconsequence,theimportance ofvisualcomponentsisintegraltotheveryprocessofproducingandconsuming ‘Greekliterature’.8 Onspectatorship,seePeponi(2016). Petrides(2014)90–91. Indeed,‘ancientGreekculture,whichhadbeendeeplyrootedinatraditionalsocietybased onorality,wasmoredeeplygroundediniconicitythanmodernlanguagesandliteratures’ (Bierl,thisvolume,34). 4 AndreaCapraandLuciaFloridi Whenitcomestotherelationshipbetween‘images’and‘texts’,archaeologists rightlyemphasisethattheformershouldneverbeviewedasamereillustrationof the latter. However, the very conventionality of classical iconography makes it closertoverballanguageproper:muchcloser,say,thanmodernorcontemporary visual arts, which are intrinsically polysemous. Ancient Greek iconography is basedonmeaningfulpatterns(schemata)9surfacingintheatreproductions,statu- ary, paintings, etc. These patterns form a visual code, whereby fairly stable meanings are encoded into images: as an extreme and late example, it is worth mentioning pantomimes, which were expected to ‘translate’ into im- ages every single word of a given myth. Accordingly, intervisuality can help us grasp the somewhat parallel codes of images and texts, because a highly codified use of iconography means that the interchangeability of words and imagesisespeciallystrong.10 This close and complex interaction between words and images persisted evenwhenthe‘pragmatic’natureofGreekliteraturegraduallydeclinedandgave way to a more bookish production. After the classical age, virtually all genres continuedtorefertothequintessentiallyvisualpoetryofHomer–apointthatis of course integral to George Gazis’ essay – as well as to the intervisual poems andplaysconnectedwiththesymposiumandwiththeatre.Atthesametime,the ubiquitousdisseminationofekphrasis meant thatsuch referencestothe (inter)- visual past of Greek poetry were in constant dialogue with a vast repository of contemporaryimages.Thisiswhyintervisualityremainsapowerfultooltomake senseof sucha complex phenomenon well into the Hellenisticage. In thisvol- ume,BenjaminAcosta-Hughesprovidesan‘intervisualreading’ofthesurviving poeticpassagesonArsinoe-AphroditeinconjunctionwithimagesofArsinoe. Ifanything,therelevanceofintervisualitybecomesevenstrongerintheim- perialagewhen,asalreadymentioned,verbalandfigurativecodescometobe conceived of as strictly parallel forms of expression. Such a pervasive comple- mentarity takes different forms, which this book explores in depth, if selec- tively. Ewen Bowie focuses on modes of intervisuality in display speeches, in sungpoetryperformances,andinthesingingofceremonialhymnsinGreekcit- iesofthesecondcenturyCE,suggestingthattheimpactofallsuchperforman- ces on the audience was modulated by visual features of the performance Catoni(20082). Theideathattherearemanyinterconnectionsbetweenartandliterature,ortextsandim- ages,inGraeco-Romanantiquity,whichtoasignificantextentshapethecharacterofGreek andRomanculture,ishardlyarevolutionarythoughttoday:ithasservedasthebasisforsev- eralseminaldiscussionsoverthelastfewdecades.Thebibliographyislarge.Sufficeithereto mentionOnians(1979)andSquire(2009).
The list of books you might like
