Athenian painted pottery from the late Archaic and early Classical period frequently depicts images of the symposion, a popular ancient Greek drinking banquet which played an important role in ancient Athenian society. Some of these depictions include images of Eastern foreigners alongside Athenian symposiasts, identified by clothing associated with ethnic groups from ancient Mesopotamia and regions around the Black Sea. Traditionally, scholars have accepted these images as literal depictions of Eastern foreigners in the symposion or as representations of a symposiarch's authority. However, a closer look at these images and their role in the symposion suggests a different interpretation of the Eastern figures. This thesis analyzes how images were perceived by viewers at the time in the social context of the symposion and how Athenian iconography of Eastern foreigners overlapped to create a generalized "Otherness" in the Athenian imagination. In this context, the common activities and images of the symposion reinforced a shared identity among the participants, using ancient Greek pottery to present the Eastern Other as an example of poor symposion behavior, thus associating Athenian identity with proper symposion behavior. / Master of Arts / During the 6th and early 5th centuries BCE, painted pottery in ancient Athens frequently depicted images of the symposion, a type of drinking banquet popular in Athens during the period. Some images of this drinking party depict images of Eastern foreigners alongside Greek banqueters, identified by clothing associated with ethnic groups from ancient Mesopotamia and regions around the Black Sea. Traditionally, scholars have accepted these images as literal depictions of Eastern foreigners in the drinking banquet. However, a closer look at these images and how they were understood by Athenian audiences suggests a different interpretation of the Eastern figures. This thesis analyzes how images were perceived by viewers at the time and how other images of Eastern foreigners on Athenian painted pottery created stereotypes of these groups in the Athenian imagination. In this context, the activities of the symposion drinking banquet and the images which depict it associate Eastern foreigners with poor drinking behavior to associate Athenians with proper drinking behavior by contrast.

Ce travail trouve son origine dans l’étude d’une stèle funéraire exposée aujourd’hui au Musée archéologique d’Apollonia d’Illyrie, sous le numéro d’inventaire 5030. Le relief, exceptionnel à plus d’un titre, montre une descente aux Enfers par le biais d’un accessoire qui tient autant de l’échelle et de l’escalier que de la passerelle de bateau, puisqu’il aboutit dans la barque de Charon. Comment le dénommer ? C’est le terme grec klimax qui s’impose. Non seulement il renvoie indistinctement aux trois objets précités, en préservant leur multivalence, mais il est aussi le plus largement et le plus anciennement utilisé dans la littérature et l’épigraphie pour les désigner. Dans notre enquête, il est rapidement apparu que la klimax n’avait pas été étudiée pour elle-même par les archéologues qui s’y sont confrontés. Afin de pallier cette lacune, notre travail se consacre tout d’abord au motif de la klimax dans l’art antique, essentiellement dans le cadre légendaire. Klimakes d’assaut, d’embarquement et de débarquement, ou encore klimakes du théâtre antique, forment autant de thèmes examinés où la klimax joue un rôle clé. Une étude circonstanciée du relief d’Apollonia, centrée sur les problèmes que pose son iconographie, complète l’enquête. Cela se justifiait non seulement par la place particulière qu’occupe, dans l’imagerie antique, la scène figurée, mais aussi, et surtout, parce que le motif de la klimax y trouve un emploi exemplaire. / This work finds its origin in the study of a funerary relief exposed today at the Archaeological Museum of Apollonia in Illyria, under the inventory number 5030. The relief, exceptional in more than one way, shows a descent into the Underworld through an accessory that is both a ladder and a staircase as a gangway, as it ends up in Charon’s boat. How to call it ? This is the greek word klimax who’s imposed. Not only because it refers indistinctly to the three items mentioned above, preserving their polyvalence, but it is also the most widely and longest used in the literature and epigraphy to designate them. In our survey, it soon emerged that the klimax had not been studied for itself by archaeologists who confronted themselves there. To fill this gap, our work focuses first on the klimax in the ancient art, mainly through mythological context. Klimakes of assault, klimakes of boarding and landing, klimakes in relation with the ancient theater, form as many examined topics where the klimax plays a key role. A detailed study of the relief of Apollonia, which focuses on his iconography’s problems, completes the survey. That was justified not only by the particular place which occupies, in the ancient imagery, the sculpted scene, but also, and especially, because the klimax find here an exemplary use.