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Classics - Mr Short > Primary visual sources > Flashcards

Primary visual sources Flashcards

1
Q

What is the origin date of the Basel Dancer’s vase

A

500-490BC

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2
Q

What is the origin date of the Pentheus Cup

A

480BC

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3
Q

What is the origin date of the Oedipus Vase

A

330BC

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4
Q

What is the origin date of the Maenad Vase

A

430-420BC

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5
Q

What is the origin date of the Perseus’ Dance Vase

A

420BC

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6
Q

What is the origin date of the Medea’s escape vase

A

400BC

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7
Q

What is the origin date of the Choregos vase

A
  • 400-380BC
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8
Q

What is the origin date of the Birds wine-jug

A
  • 510-480BC
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9
Q

What is the origin date of the Cheiron vase

A
  • 380BC
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10
Q

Where was the Basel Dancer’s Vase made

A

Athens

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11
Q

Where was the Pentheus Cup made

A

Athens

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12
Q

Where was the Oedipus Vase made

A

Sicily

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13
Q

Where was the Maenad Vase made

A

Athens

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14
Q

Where was the Perseus’ Dance Vase made

A

Athens

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15
Q

Where was the Medea’s Escape Vase made

A

Magna Graecia - Southern Italy

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16
Q

Where was the Choregos Vase made

A

Magna Graecia - Southern Italy

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17
Q

Where was the Birds Wine Jug made

A
  • Athens
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18
Q

Where was the Cheiron Vase made

A
  • Puliga, Italy
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19
Q

What does the Basel Dancer’s vase tell us

A
  • young, energetic chorus in action
  • dancing probably involved the whole body moving
  • could be Aeschylus’ Persians or could be Dionysus
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20
Q

What makes the Basel Dancer’s vase useful as evidence

A
  • it is notable that it dates to the early years of the fifth century, when tragedy was still a new form (and way before the Bacchae)
  • gaping mouths suggest they are singing
  • chorus are identical
  • its a whole image
  • nothing is fragmented
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21
Q

What the limitations of the Basel Dancer’s vase usefulness

A
  • could be wearing masks or military costumes, however they are wearing diadems on their heads instead of helmets, which is unexpected
  • we don’t know the specific play its about
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22
Q

What does the Pentheus Cup tell us

A
  • depicts the moment where Pentheus is torn apart by his mother & aunt
  • a satyr overseas events, reminding us this is all under Dionysus’ watch
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23
Q

What is the Pentheus Cup useful for

A
  • dismembered in grisly detail
  • the vase predates the Bacchae by 75 years, so reminds us Euripides was only one among various artists to be inspired by this myth
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24
Q

What are the limitations of the Pentheus Cup

A

came 75 years before the Bacchae

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25
Q

What does the Oedipus Vase tell us

A
  • one of the very few vases that depicts a performance of a tragedy, as opposed to a myth - most likely a representation of Oedipus Rex
  • skene, with 3 speakers on, wearing masks
  • aristocratic woman (Jocasta pale)
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26
Q

Why is the Oedipus Vase useful as evidence

A
  • displays the skene & positioning of the characters, as realistically as they were in the play
  • the messenger uses theatrical gestures & faces the front as though talking to the audience
  • helps us observe costumes, masks & stage instructions
  • produced after Sophocles play
27
Q

What are the limitations of the Oedipus Vase

A
  • Antigone & Ismene on the vase, but there is nothing to suggest they were present in this scene
  • as with other images of Greek Theatre, we should be careful of tackling the artists’ depiction as a literal presentation of a performance, since emotive detail could be added
28
Q

What does the Maenad Vase tell us

A
  • a portrayal of a Dionysiac ritual
  • women dance around a statue of Dionysus
  • some maenads carry a thyrsus, another a tambourine,& another ladles wine from a drinking vessel & are sat behind a table holding 2 large stamnoi
29
Q

Why is the Maenad Vase useful as evidence

A
  • shows the possible variations in worship & assembly of rituals
  • drinking vessel reminds us that Dionysus’ function as god of wine is central to his rituals
30
Q

What are the limitations of the Maenad Vase

A
  • drinking parties play little role in the Bacchism described in Thebes (not representative)
  • not a real image, likely an artistic depiction of a festival
  • does not depict other forms of Bacchic worship such a dance/art
31
Q

What does Perseus’ Dance Vase tell us

A
  • shows a stage & theatre
  • audience notably not wearing shoes
  • comic actor seems to be Perseus, who carries a sickle, with which he has cut off the head of Medusa, & he seems to be dancing or pretending to fly as Perseus does in the myth
  • costumes are evident e.g naked boy-suit
32
Q

Why is Perseus’ Dance Vase useful as evidence
-actors & on stage action

A
  • The only attic vase to show a stage & the stage made of wood as it seems
  • costume of a phallus & padding , insinutates that the actor can be hit, creating realism, great for slapstick
  • It was found in Attica, so likely the artist saw this comedy being performed, especiallly as it was made in 420BC, the time of popularity of Aristophanes & drama
  • the actor not wearing shoes would be for movement, an aspect of Tragedy
33
Q

Why is Perseus’ Dance Vase useful as evidence
-theatre audience

A
  • Only ancient Greek painting to display a theatre audience
  • they sit on elegant wooden chairs called klismos, which formed the model for the seating in the Prohedria, in the Lycurgan theatre, so it is thought they are sitting on the front row
  • 2 represented intended to show the whole audience, they are both wreathes, insinuating aristocrats? one is clearly older & bearded one is younger
34
Q

What are the limitations of Perseus’ Dance Vase

A
  • image displayed shows some reconstructed features - vase is damaged
  • unclear if the younger audience member is a younger man or woman
  • AMBIGUITY: some say its 2 judges, the priest of Dionysus & another priest, Dionysus & his consort Ariadne, or perhaps even the Choregos & the playwright
  • we don’t know if the play exists - cannot compare its context
35
Q

What does Medea’s escape vase tells us

A
  • focus is on Medea, who flies above the human scene on a chariot drawn by dragons, which is circled by a figure of the sun (final scene)
  • 2 hideous winged figures (furies maybe) look down on the scene, where the murdered sons are slumped on what seems to be the wheel platform decked out to be an altar
  • far right - tutor & nurse, identifiable as an old woman by her white hair, mourn
36
Q

Why is Medea’s escape vase useful as evidence

A
  • Made in Southern Italy displaying the spread of Athenian culture
  • Intensity of the scene by having Jason & Medea locks eyes with one another, depicting hatred & an intense form of emotion
  • Stage craft - suggests that the mechane (crane) & tombs of the boys uses the eccyclema
  • Structure is a krater, utilized for mixing wine & water, unmixed wine is a halfway to madness
37
Q

What are the limitations of Medea’s Escape Vase

A
  • It is unclear if it is on top of a stage
  • Jason is on the left bare chested like a hero, in contrast to the conventions of Tragic costume
  • Medea was performed in 431BC, a few decades prior
38
Q

What are the limitations of Medea’s Escape Vase
-Differs from the play

A
  • there are no furies or dragons in the play,
  • also Medea takes her sons with her so she can deprive Jason of the chance to bury them, so not factually accurate
39
Q

What are the limitations of Medea’s Escape Vase
-explanations for 4 actors on stage

A
  • we can speculate for the reasons for these differences:
  • either the artist’s own developed interpretation of Euripides’ play,
  • or perhaps he knew a different version of the myth or play,
  • which reminds us that we should not assume parallel scenes of the Athenian stage are not a truly accurate representation, as it usually offers a more enriching description, for clientele
40
Q

What does the Choregos vase tell us

A
  • the scene is of a comedy, depiction of a comedic competition between Aegisthus & Pyrrhus
  • 4 figures on a low stage
  • Aegisthus is depicted, a major character in the myth of Clytemnestra & Agamemnon
  • 3 other figures wearing grotesque masks
  • 1 member of choregos clearly much older
41
Q

What makes the Choregos Vase useful as evidence
-chorus & choregos

A
  • suggests the choregos would be apart of the chorus,
  • which was perhaps divided into 2,
  • with older semi-chorus supporting tragedy, & young semi-chorus supporting comedy
42
Q

What makes the Choregos Vase useful as evidence
-costume

A
  • depiction of a tragic actor with ornate or stylized clothing
  • good representation of Tragedy regardless of interpretation: allows for a direct comparison between the costumes of tragic & comic actors
43
Q

What are the limitations of the Choregos Vase

A
  • uncertain what is happening in this scene
  • the divided chorus only holds weight as evidence is the painter has used artistic license to place the 2 chorus members on stage
  • 2 chorus members on stage is unconventional
44
Q

What does the Bird-Wine Jug tell us

A
  • 2 dancing bearded figures dressed as birds, purple crests on their heads & feathers attached to their kness
  • wings are clearly visible on their arms & tails
  • vine branches in the background are suggestive of Dionysus
  • animalistic chorus
45
Q

What makes the Bird-Wine Jug useful as evidence
-chorus scale

A
  • displays that animal choruses, possibly musicals were pertinent in the Early fifth century Athens, chorus has bigger role at the start of Greek drama, being very musical, considering he is holding a flute
  • this motif is commonly used by painters to indicate a theatrical or choral scene
46
Q

What makes the Bird-Wine Jug useful as evidence
-chorus origins

A
  • orgins of comedic choruses, as Aristophanes famously presented some comedies with animal choruses e.g Birds (414BC),
  • which indicates that the idea of animal choruses, birds in particular, predates Aristophanes by many decades at least
47
Q

What are the limitations of the Bird-Wine Jug

A
  • cannot ascertain as it is about the chorus not actors, so we cannot identify wwhat it was about, just presumably that birds were in it
48
Q

What does the Cheiron Vase tell us
-less significant features

A
  • On the left is a theatre set up, steps to a stage, representing the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi
  • top right, a separate scene shows 2 nymphs conversing
49
Q

What does the Cheiron Vase tell us

A
  • Parody of the myth of the Centaur Cheiron, who has been hurt by Heracles, who is then hurt by Apollo
  • Xanthias is at the top of the stage, & he helps Cheiron, wise teacher & healer
  • behind him is an actor playing the rear of a centaur
  • to the right of him is a young man, maybe Achilles, who was tutored by Cheiron
50
Q

What makes the Cheiron Vase useful as evidence
-comedy

A
  • it illustrates the role that slapstick played -in the myth, Cheiron was terribly wounded by the arrows of Heracles & this is perhaps a feature of the plot in the play
51
Q

What makes the Cheiron Vase useful as evidence
-costume

A
  • pot clearly depicts comedy through costume → Xanthias wears a clealy visible phallus & heavily padded midruff
  • his mask is indicated by the snub nose & large mouth, suggesting the importance of expressions on masks
  • Cheiron’s costume & mask is similar but with different features, white hair & closed eyes (blindness)
52
Q

What makes the Cheiron Vase useful as evidence
-nymphs

A
  • the presence of the nympths perhaps reflects that Cheiron bathed in a stream sacred to a group of Nympths after his wounding
53
Q

What are the limitations of the Cheiron Vase

A
  • unknown comedy - artist interpretation of different characters you may meet in Greek theatre
54
Q

When was the Pronomos Vase made

A

400 BC

55
Q

When was the Tragic Actors dressing made

A

450 BC

56
Q

Where was the Pronomos Vase made

A

Athens

57
Q

Where was the tragic actors dressing made

A

Athens

58
Q

What does the pronomos vase tell us

A
  • Shows a depiction of actors preparing for a satyr-play
  • There is an aulus player in the centre of the scene
59
Q

What does the tragic actors dressing tell us

A
  • You can see two tragic actors or chorus members who are getting into costume, including his masks which is indicated by the gasping mouth
  • The actor on the right puts on his high boots, while his life-like mask lies on the floor beside him
60
Q

Why is the Pronomos Vase useful

A
  • Shows chorus members offstage but still in costume
  • Shows the masks
  • Many of the actors have their real life names inscribed beside them
  • Shows how there were females in roles in the play (but men in masks)
  • Picture of Dionysus – shows how gods were in the play
61
Q

What are the limitations of the Pronomos Vase

A
  • Only a vase – does not show very much colour (not as much as there would have been)
62
Q

Why is the tragic actors dressing useful

A
  • The boots of tragic actors had thin soles and turned up toes that allowed them to move around easily
  • Show what happened backstage
63
Q

What are the limitations of the tragic actors dressing

A
  • Only shows two actors/chorus members

Classics - Mr Short (7 decks)

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