Museum Tour: Of Gods and Men

The practice of dedicating monumental sculptures to the gods underwent a revolution in the mid–seventh century in Greece. This tour will explore how the changes in artistic style and of custom can be read alongside the other developing political, social, economic and cultural trajectories of the Archaic period — did they represent ‘experimentation’ towards a Classical ideal, or a world all of their own? We will think in particular about what religious sculpture can tell us about the gods and men of Archaic Greece: about the elite competitions and fragile political networks which were played off one another within religious sanctuaries. Case studies will include both free–standing and architectural sculpture, and also a sample of dedicatory inscriptions from these statues.

Students preparing to answer tripos questions on ‘Art and Archaeology of Early Greece, 800-500 BC’ (Part IB) or ‘Constructing the worlds of Archaic Greece’ (Part II) will find this tour especially interesting, especially the chance to pick up a few extra case studies.

No need to book.