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This thesis aims to contribute to the study of the role of the civic past in the public discourse of fourth-century Athens. It does so by close examination of the surviving public speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines, arguing that presentation of the city’s history in front of mass audiences held singular persuasive potential for public speakers, allowing them to furnish with a more meaningful ethical context both the discussion of issues addressed in the Assembly and the arguments advanced in public trials. Deploying the past convincingly in such settings redounded to speakers’ personal credibility and authority, and Demosthenes and Aeschines – who offer rare examples of paired opposing speeches from the same trials – are selected as ‘case-study’ orators in order to illustrate: i) the importance of the invoking of Athenian historical models, both distant and recent, to Demosthenes’ self-fashioning as a politician; and ii) the extent to which orators made the very question of how to cite the past in public a stake in their wider struggle for political pre-eminence, seeking to be recognized as the ‘true’ and authoritative mediator of this material. These interests are reflected in the organization of the thesis. After an Introduction which discusses key preliminaries, Chapter One argues for Demosthenes’ early recognition of the potential of historical illustration for wider self-presentation, honed over the course of his Assembly career (Chapter Two) to become essential to his self-casting as Athens’s leading statesman. Chapter Three compares Demosthenic and Aeschinean approaches to citing the past in court, in two prosecutions from the mid-340s, and Chapters Four and Five – focusing on the high-profile Embassy and Crown trials – move to argue the importance of each politician’s contestation of the other’s versions of history to their battle over the reputations arising from their careers to date. The Conclusion summarizes, and reflects on some methodological aspects with a view to further work.

Democracy and tragedy were intrinsically linked during the time of the Athenian city-state. Yet this symbiosis, vital as it was then, is largely forgotten today. The dearth of serious political discussion is all the more puzzling since political scientists and international relations scholars write extensively on tragedy and democracy, often via a return to ancient Athens. However, these efforts have largely neglected the intrinsic links between democracy and tragedy; preferring instead to focus on either democracy or tragedy. Exploration of their essential links has, by and large, become confined to studies in philology and cultural history. The objective of this Thesis is to explore the contemporary political relevance of the ancient symbiosis of democracy and tragedy. It argues that the most politically important insight of this symbiosis today stems from tragedy’s so-called multivocal form: its ability to bring a variety of – otherwise marginalised – stories, characters and voices onto the public stage and into democratic debate. In particular, this Thesis explores two novel lessons that tragedy’s multivocal form can potentially teach contemporary democrats seeking to extend the institutions and procedures of democracy in the age of globalisation. The first is the understanding that the idea and practice of democracy should not be solely concerned with the institution of order in political life. Tragedy teaches us the lesson that while order is necessary for a stable and productive communal existence sites of disorder too provide insights into dilemmas posed by political instability, inequality, exclusion, and flux. A truly democratic order must seek to include and give voice to democratic disorder. Given this, the second lesson that this Thesis highlights from its study of Athenian tragedy’s multivocal form is the need to draw on both factual and fictional sources of knowledge in an effort to negotiate and overcome contemporary democratic dilemmas. Only by broadening the scope of reality, through a resort to fiction, can democrats hope to legitimate a variety of – otherwise marginalised – stories, characters and voices today.

L’alabastre attique est une forme de vase à parfum en céramique produite à Athènes entre le milieu du VIe s. av. J.-C. et le début du IVe s. av. J.-C. L’objet de cette thèse est de présenter une étude globale, inexistante à ce jour, sur l’alabastre attique. En plus d’un examen typologique de la forme, généralement mené dans le cadre de ce type de recherche, nous avons voulu proposer une lecture économique, culturelle et sociale de l’alabastre. La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à l’identification de l’origine de l’alabastre et à sa diffusion en Méditerranée orientale. L’alabastre est originaire d’Egypte, où les premiers exemplaires en albâtre se développent à partir du VIIIe s. av. J.-C. Après avoir tracé son évolution morphologique, la thèse met en évidence les diverses régions de la Méditerranée orientale telles que le Levant, la Mésopotamie ou la Perse, où la forme est exportée et copiée, le plus souvent par des ateliers qui produisent des vases en pierre. Cette première partie met également l’accent sur le statut particulier de l’alabastre en pierre en Orient et en Égypte, où il restera longtemps associé au pouvoir royal ou aristocratique. Elle traite enfin de l’apparition de l’alabastre et de son statut dans le monde grec oriental. Ces importations déclenchent une réaction presque immédiate chez les artisans de ces régions qui produisent des alabastres en argent, en verre, en faïence, en ivoire, en bois et en céramique. La seconde partie de cette étude aborde la production de l’alabastre attique en céramique qui s’étend du VIe s. av. J.-C. au début du IVe s. av. J.-C. Un premier chapitre est consacré à l’étude de son introduction dans le répertoire formel au milieu du VIe s. av. J.-C. par l’atelier d’Amasis et aux inspirations probables de cet artisan. Cette section s’est également penchée sur le difficile problème des phases de la production et de l’organisation interne des différents ateliers. Pour ce faire, nous avons élaboré une méthode d’analyse basée à la fois sur l’examen minutieux du travail du potier grâce aux variations dans les profils des vases et sur les données obtenues par les études ethno-archéologiques pour tenter de différencier les alabastres produits au sein d’ateliers différents et d’identifier, quand cela s’avérait possible, différents potiers au sein d’un même atelier. Cette étude formelle a distingué trois phases différentes de production qui présentent des caractéristiques typologiques distinctes. L’examen de l’organisation interne des ateliers a également mis en évidence les caractéristiques morphologiques des vases et a identifié les potiers les plus importants. L’examen attentif des pièces céramiques a permis de regrouper au sein d’un même atelier des artisans dont les liens étaient jusqu’alors insoupçonnés. Enfin, la deuxième partie se clôture par une analyse de la carte de distribution des alabastres attiques La troisième partie de ce travail porte sur la fonction et les différents usages de l’alabastre sur base des sources littéraires, épigraphiques, iconographiques et archéologiques. Cette section se penche plus particulièrement sur l’identification des utilisateurs privilégiés des alabastres. En effet, de nombreuses études lient, de manière presque systématique, l’alabastre au monde féminin. Ce propos mérite d’être nuancé car, si le vase apparaît à maintes reprises dans des contextes féminins tels que ceux de la toilette et de la parure, il ne constitue pas exclusivement un symbole du monde des femmes. Cette troisième partie met en évidence le fait que l’alabastre est également utilisé dans un grand nombre d’autres contextes, notamment rituels, et représente souvent un symbole de luxe et de raffinement à l’orientale.

In this study, I show that the figure of Minos, the mythic ruler of Bronze-Age Crete, functioned in Greek literature of the Archaic Age to the fifth century BCE as a mythical conduit elucidating three notions central to the interests of Greek thought: epic kingship, tyranny, and thalassocracy. A destructive-minded individual and judge in epic, Minos resonates with the portrayal of Homeric monarchs, who display destructive behavior toward their subjects, yet bestow upon them the benefits of adjudication. Further, Minos is deliberately exploited as a precedent by Odysseus, as the hero resolves to use self-help against the suitors rather than a settlement in court. As a result, the epic representation of Minos is far from being marginal to the Homeric poems, as usually assumed. In fifth-century Athenian literature the character is demonstrably portrayed as a tyrant. The shift in the portrayal of Minos is only apparently inconsequent. Artistic and literary evidence is mustered to suggest that the Athenians perceived Minos’ epic role of judge as incompatible with their administration and conception of justice, and that adjudication could serve as a springboard for the achievement of tyranny. In his trajectory from judge to tyrant, Minos thus illustrated the fine line separating justice from tyranny. Again in the fifth century, Minos is envisaged as a thalassocrat. I contend that his thalassocracy is a construct developed by fifth-century historians and based upon earlier traditions that associated Minos’ sea power with the attainment of the status of supreme monarch. Minos’ thalassocracy instead had the quite different implication that its holder would incline toward tyranny. Minos’ thalassocracy, thus, is relevant to Athens maritime empire, also thought of as a tyrannical rule. An ominous model for Athens, Minos’ thalassocracy is both denied and accorded primacy among the sea powers by the historians. Whether accepted or denied, Minos constituted a reference point for the current Athenian archē. / text

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Theatre, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-47).

Le sanctuaire d'Apollon à Délos accueillit en son sein, dès la fin du IVe s., un Pythion, bâtiment consacré à l'Apollon de Delphes, désigné dans les comptes des hiéropes sous le nom de Pythion, ou de « naos aux trois statues ». Les mentions répétées de ce nom dans l'épigraphie délienne, ainsi que les dépenses engagées dans divers travaux de restauration et d'aménagement, témoignent de l'importance de cet édifice. On sait qu'il possédait un lanterneau et abritait trois statues, un palmier et un foyer qui brûlait en permanence. Sa localisation, liée à celle de l'Autel de cornes, a longtemps fait problème, mais elle semble probable maintenant que le Kératôn est identifié de façon certaine : le Pythion correspondrait à l'édifice ionique construit par les Athéniens au IVe s, dont les vestiges sont visibles au Nord-Ouest de la plaine du Hiéron d'Apollon, entre l'Artémision au Nord et le Kératôn au Sud. L'examen des ruines de l'édifice, fondé sur un raisonnement purement architectural, puis l'analyse des sources épigraphiques concernant le Pythion, de manière à mettre à l'épreuve les apports des textes et ceux de l'étude architecturale, permettent d'établir l'identification de l'édifice ionique et du Pythion et d'apporter une synthèse sur l'architecture et l'histoire du Pythion de Délos. / From the end of the 4th century AC, the sanctuary of Apollo in Delos took in a Pythion, a building consecrated to the Delphian Apollo, known in the account of the Delian hieropes as Pythion, or "naos with the three statues". The repeated mentions of this name in the Delian inscriptions, as well as the expenses involved in various restoration works or alterations, bear witness to the importance of the building. We know that it possessed a lantern and sheltered three statues, a palm tree and an hearth that burned continuously. Its location, linked to the one of the Altar of Horns, was a issue for a long time, but it seems probable now that the Keraton is certainly identified : the Pythion could correspond to the ionic edifice built by the Athenians in the 4th century AC, which remains can be seen North-West of the plain of Apollo's Hieron, between the Artemision to the North and the Keraton to the South. The correspondance between the ionic building and the Pythion is based on the study of the ruins, from a purely architural point of view, then on the exam of the epigraphic sources, in such a way that we put to the test the contributions from the texts and the architectural study, before proposing a synthesis on the architecture and the history of the Pythion.

This dissertation examines the iconographical motif of the Apollonian triad in Attic art of the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Attic vase paintings constitute the chief evidence for this study, but other evidence, such as inscriptions, literary sources, sculptures and coins is considered, as well. My thesis focus on scenes without a clear mythological context, where the triad appears alone or accompanied by other, mostly, divine figures, and on what messages or information these images of the Apollonian triad convey. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion of the iconography and iconology of Attic vases, which enriches our understanding of Athenian socio-political and religious life and of Greek culture, more generally.

This study analyses visible artefacts depicted on Athenian white-ground funerary lekythoi from between 475 to 425 BCE, to investigate what the iconographic information of the artefacts can tell us about the funerary activity and how the information relates to the written sources from antiquity. The purpose of this study is to gain a more in-depth view of the Athenian funerary activities, of which we currently have limited knowledge of. The activates surrounding an Athenian funeral is a complex matter consisting of several stages of preparation and visits to the grave. However, when we are looking at the funerary images, it is difficult to determine what stage of the burial culture we are observing, which is what this study sets out to answer. The study uses a theoretical framework in viewing the vase images as a “scene of an idea” rather than a “scene from reality” where expressions of ideas and notion are what is on display on the white-ground lekythos. The study has analysed the visible artefacts from 252 Athenian white-ground lekythoi and thematically grouped them, then with an iconographical method analysed the meaning and representation of the visible artefacts and how they relate to the written sources.  The study has resulted three main conclusions. Firstly, a possible identification of a funerary activity when observing the number and detailed work of the artefacts illustrated by the painter. Secondly, the importance of maintaining a good relationship between the living and the dead. Thirdly, the contemporary events involving the Athenian administrative changes implanted by Solon and how it could have affected the way the Athenians illustrated their funerary scenes.