the abduction and recovery of helen iconography and emotional vocabulary in attic vase-painting c

256 Pages·2012·5.48 MB·English

THE ABDUCTION AND RECOVERY OF HELEN

ICONOGRAPHY AND EMOTIONAL
VOCABULARY IN ATTIC VASE-PAINTING C. 550-350 BCE

Submitted by Samantha Masters,
To the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Classics, January 2012

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is
hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author
and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF.

This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and
that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement.

I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that
no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or
any other University.

‘We can never understand a picture unless we grasp the ways
in which it shows what cannot be seen.’

Mitchell 1987: 39

‘I have gazed so much on beauty
That my eyes overflow with it.’

Cavafy (trans. A. Sharon)

ABSTRACT

The antics of Helen of Sparta, famous both for her beauty and her adultery, have fascinated
ancient and modern audiences alike. The subjects of her abduction from Sparta and recovery
from Troy are explored in various ancient discourses. This study investigates the iconography
of Attic vase-paintings, c. 550-350 BCE, that show (or have been identified as depicting) these
two events in the life of Helen. My approach seeks to investigate their subtexts or
metanarratives of emotion through a rigorous methodology. This process first involves
engaging in a close reading of the vase scenes in order to identify their visual language,
especially their emotional vocabulary. The second process contextualises the vases in the
society that produced and used them. By reading them in their original context of production
and reception, one can extrapolate a range of meanings these scenes could have had for their
original audience. In doing this, there are two main goals: to establish which emotions are
pertinent to the ancient audience in these two episodes (emotional content), and how
emotions – in essence invisible – are communicated in the vase images (emotional language).

Applying this methodology to the scenes yields significant results. The identification of the
most typically emotional indicators includes the following: gesture; stance; gaze; clothing,
physical attributes and icons; divinities and personifications; and contextual icons or
information. The emotional content that emerges includes, in particular, the emotion of eros –
its potentially destabalising and emasculating consequences – and the appropriateness of orgē
and revenge. Another significant result is in relation to the traditional identification of the
scenes. While most of the traditional identifications of Helen’s recovery stand firm, the
opposite is true for the abduction. My rejection of the majority of images identified as Helen’s
abduction by traditional scholarship is necessary due to a lack of evidence – inscriptional or
iconographic – and the marked incongruity of these depictions with their context. These
results demonstrate the merits of a solid methodology that takes the language of images
seriously, as well as the social, political and ideological context in which the vases were
produced and viewed.

5
6
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
ABBREVIATIONS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
CHAPTER 1: IMAGES CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES ………………………………………….. 19

1 Theoretical framework: ‘Reading’ images on Greek vases …………… 19
1.1 Semiotic and post-structuralist principles ………………..………. 20
1.2 Communication event and Jauss’ ‘horizons’ ……………………… 22
1.3 A contemporary case study: ZUMA ……………………………………. 23
1.4 Images and texts ……………………………………………………………….. 25
1.5 Helen’s ‘abduction’ and ‘recovery’: Terminology ……………….. 26
2 Towards a methodology for reading emotion on Greek vases ………… 27
2.1 The selection of the imagery ………………………………..……………. 28
2.2 How to read a Greek vase ………………………………………………..… 29
2.3 Investigating the vase ………………………………………………………... 25
2.4 Investigating the iconography …………………………………………… 30
2.5 Investigating the context: the horizons of
expectation and experience ……………………………….……………… 33
Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………….… 36

CHAPTER 2: HELEN ABDUCTED OR RECOVERED? BLACK-FIGURE SCENES C. 560-510.. 37

1 Abduction? …………………………………………………………………………………… 37
1.1 Investigating the vases ……………………………………..……………….. 37
1.2 Investigating the iconography ………………………………………..…. 38
1.3 Reading the vases: the literary-narrative context …..………….. 40
2 Recovery ……………………………………………………………………………………… 45
2.1 Investigating the vases ……………………………………………..……….. 45
2.2 Investigating the iconography …………………………………………… 45
2.3 Reading the vases: the literary-narrative context ……………… 46
3 Abduction or recovery? Synopsis …………………………………………………. 47
4 Reading the vases: the cultural-semantic context ………………………… 49
5 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 62
Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………….….. 63

CHAPTER 3: HELEN’S RECOVERY C. 520-480 ……………………………………………………………. 69

1 Investigating the vases …………………………………………………………………. 70
2 Investigating the iconography ……………………………………………………… 72
2.1 Pursuit …………………………………………………………………..………… 72
2.2 Reversal – a unique example ………………………………………….. 80
2.3 Escort …………………………………………………………………………….. 81
Pursuit, reversal and escort: synopsis ……………………………… 82
3 Reading the vases: the literary-narrative context ………………………… 84
4 Reading the vases: the cultural-semantic context ………………………… 89
5 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 98
Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………….….. 99

7
CHAPTER 4: FROM ANGER TO DESIRE: HELEN’S RECOVERY C. 480-420 …………………. 111

1 Investigating the vases ………………………………………………………………… 111
2 Investigating the iconography ……………………………………………………… 112
2.1 Pursuit ……………………………………………………………………………… 112
2.2 Reversal ……………………………………………..…………………………… 118
2.3 Pursuit and reversal: synopsis ………………………..………………… 126
3 Reading the vases: the literary-narrative context ………………………… 126
4 Reading the vases: the cultural-semantic context ………………………… 128
5 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 134
Figures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 136
CHAPTER 5: MAKRON – THE ABDUCTION AS A WEDDING PROCESSION, C. 500-480..155

1 Investigating the vases ………………………………………………………………… 155
2 Investigating the iconography ……………………………………………………… 156
3 Synopsis ……………………………………………………………………………………… 163
4 Reading the vases: the literary-narrative context ………………………. 164
5 Reading the vases: the cultural-semantic context ………………………… 167
6 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 173
Figures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 174

CHAPTER 6: THE PERSUASION AND SEDUCTION OF HELEN C. 450-350 …………………. 181

1 Investigating the vases …………………………………………………………………. 182
2 Investigating the iconography ………………………………………………………. 183
2.1 The reluctant ‘Helen’ ……………………………………………………….. 184
2.2 ‘Helen’ and a traveller ……………………………………………………... 192
2.3 ‘Helen’ visited by a traveller in a domestic setting……………. 194
2.4 ‘Helen’ courted by ‘Paris’ as a traveller or ephebe …………… 197
2.5 ‘Helen’ courted by ‘Paris’ as an ‘oriental’…………………………. 202
2.6 Abduction, persuasion or seduction: synopsis ………………... 206
3 Reading the vases: The literary-narrative context ………………………… 206
4 Reading the vases: The cultural-semantic context ………………………… 210
5 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 214
Figures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 215

CHAPTER 7: DANGEROUS LIAISONS – RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS …………………….. 233

1 Methodology: Taking the language of images seriously……………….. 233
2 Emotional language ……………………………………………………………………… 234
2.1 Gesture ………………………………………………………………….……….. 234
2.2 Stance ……………………………………………………………………………… 236
2.3 The face and the gaze ……………………………………………………… 236
2.4 Clothing, icons and physical attributes ……………………………. 237
2.5 Divinities and personifications ………………………………………… 238
2.6 Contextual signs ………………………………………………………………. 238
3 The scenes: Recovery …………………………………………………………………… 239
4 The scenes: Abduction …………………………………………………………………. 240
5 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………. 242

BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………………………………………….… 245

8
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my supervisor, Barbara Borg, for the outstanding and stimulating research
experience I have had under her wing. In addition to the academic mentorship, I have also
been enriched by opportunities to meet up with Barbara in far-flung places. The visits to
archives in Heidelberg and in Los Angeles have strengthened, above all, my enthusiasm for this
exciting field of research.

I would also like to thank other members of the Department of Classics and Ancient History at
Exeter who have given of their expertise and knowledge: Richard Seaford, Martin Pitts, and
Chris Gill. Special thanks go to Rowan Fraser for her friendship, help and generosity over the
course of the thesis, and to other postgraduates Valeria, Sharon, Kyle, Steve, Shane, and
Pauline, who all assisted me in various ways.

My colleagues in Stellenbosch at the Department of Ancient Studies have been steadfast in
their support and I am very grateful to be part of such a nurturing environment. Thanks go
especially to Brigitte Cyster, Sakkie Cornelius, who shares my passion for material culture,
Sjarlene Thom for her wise advice on all manner of topics, and in particular to Annemaré
Kotze, whose friendship, care and coffee breaks have kept me sane.

I acknowledge the generous financial support of the National Research Foundation of South
Africa, without which I could not have undertaken this work. I am also grateful to have been a
recipient of the Vogel Scholarship for travel abroad. With this money I was able to undertake
crucial research visits to Europe.

I am grateful to Diamantis Panagiotopoulos for allowing me to conduct research in the Institut
für Klassische Archäologie, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg in 2009 and 2010, and the
curators at the Getty Research Institute, Getty Villa in Los Angeles for allowing me to visit in
2011. In particular, David Saunders gave me access to key vases that were important to this
thesis. I have gained immensely from being able to work at both of these excellent institutions.
Thanks are also due to Andrew Stewart and Rachel Kousser, with whom I had very productive
conversations about my work during my visit to the United States.

On a personal note, there are several extraordinary women that deserve acknowledgement.
Anne Mackay has remained a keen supporter of my work and I am extremely grateful for all
that I learned from her and for her continued encouragement. My friends Tamara, Felicity and
Jayne have been outstanding with motivational strategies and care, and my sister, Jo-Anne,
has not let a day go by without checking in on me and the thesis. I also thank my mother and
late father for encouraging me to attempt great things and believing in my potential. In
particular, Tamaryn has been a stalwart; so generous with friendship and encouragement and
constructive criticism.

Finally, this thesis could never have been achieved without the support and humour of my
husband and boys. Francois, Ben and Sebastian, you are exceptional, and this is for you.

9
10