Narration in Greek Art

Author(s): George M. A. Hanfmann

Source: American Journal of Archaeology , Jan., 1957, Vol. 61, No. 1 (Jan., 1957), pp.
71-78
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America

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 1957] NARRATION IN GREEK ART 71
which are referred to byIt
a is certainly
line significant
"this is the drawing t
amples of real
of it" at the end of the paragraph.57 text
More illustra
elaborate
Hellenistic
illustrations are from the Seleucid period. period: one is a
series of pictures of the signs of the zodiac on an
astronomical tablet,58 the other
ORIENTAL a ritual
INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY text with
OF CHICAGO

a sketch showing how to arrange the cult objects."9

57 e.g., K. 2089 on pl. 14 and K. 1999 on pl. 40. lin fragment probably belonging to the same tablet.
58 F. Thureau-Dangin, Tablettes d'Uruk (Mus&e du Louvre,59 ibid. no. 47 with literature.
Textes Cuniiformes VI, 1922) No. 12 with quotation of a Ber-

Narration in Greek Art

GEORGE M. A. HANFMANN

PLATES 27-29

Since all human acticns unfold in time and are The magnificent burial scenes of a group of
carried out in space, men, time, and space are the
monumental vases from the Dipylon cemetery of
three major challenges which the task of story Athens have become justly famous.2 In some ways
telling presents to a sculptor or painter. How their
an artists were amazingly ambitious. Thus on
artist portrays his actors; how he condenses or the great "Hirschfeld" crater in Athens' we are
extends the time sequence of his story; and whatshown something like twenty people, presumably
he does about the place of action-these decisions
assembled in a large crowd, or perhaps in three
determine the solutions for the task of tellingcrowds.
a We are given a hint of the place and set-
story in visual or plastic terms. ting, for surely the birds we see cannot be perched
The narrative representations of Greek art have
under the funerary couch which is being loaded
been treated by many scholars in relation to the
on a chariot; they are envisaged by the artist as
literary traditions of story telling in Greece, an
being behind the couch in the courtyard. He must
approach which emphasizes the value of works of
have implied either two different locations-if the
art as supplementary sources and illustrative ma-
mourners are in the house and the chariot is on
terials for Greek mythology and Greek literature.'
the road leading to the house-or two different
We shall forego this fascinating and rewarding
moments, if the mourners signify the lament which
field in order to consider briefly some examples
preceded the ekphora, and the chariots in the frieze
from the major periods of Greek art from a differ-
ent angle-as artistic solutions to the common below form the funerary escort which conducts the
dead man to the cemetery.' Could we but be sure
problems which story telling poses to all visual
artists. that the sea battles, burial scenes, and funerary
1 This paper was presented in a slightly different form at prehension of the Greek methods of narration.
the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America 2 F. Matz, Geschichte der griechischen Kunst I (195o) 6off
in December 1955. I gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of figs. If, 10, 13. E. Kunze, Neue Beitrige zur klass. Altertums-
G. Daux, H. Diepolder, E. Kunze, and H. Palmer in helping me wissenschaft, Festschrift B. Schweitzer (1954) 48ff and Ephem-
to secure illustrations. I have profited from the discussion eris
of 1953 (1955) 162ff, with earlier literature.
various aspects of the subject by the students of my seminars3 Bibliography: Kunze, [Link]. n. 2. The burial scene best
on Narration in Greek and in Roman art. in Chr. Zervos, L'art en Grace (1946) fig. 45.
C. Robert's pioneering work is illustrative of the interest 4inFor the ritual and the setting of prothesis and ekphora cf.
W. des
the relation of literature and art. Cf. "Die Entwicklung Zschietzschmann, AM 53 (1928) 19, and M. P. Nilsson,
Geschichte der griechischen Religion (1941) 676f. Zschietzsch-
griechischen Mythos in Kunst und Poesie," Bild und Lied (188I)
mann thought that the dead person was lying in state in a room
3-51. The origin and development of book illustration generally
within
and narrative illustration specifically have been taken up re- the house; the law of Solon quoted by Demosthenes,
cently by E. Bethe, Buch und Bild im Altertum (1945) and
XLIII:62, says that the dead must "protithesthai endon." There
K. Weitzmann, Illustrations in Roll and Codex (I947). is however
Al- much to be said for the notion that the display was
in the inner courtyard of the house which would surely be
though concerned with Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Aegean
arts, H. A. Groenewegen-Frankfort's Arrest and Movement
regarded as being "endon,"' within the house.
(n.d.) contains much that is helpful toward a better com-

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72 GEORGE M. A. HANFMANN [AlA 61
games of the Dipylon vases
some commemorate
other hero or specific
an Att
individuals, we might call themcentury
eighth the first historical
B.c.
paintings of Greece. These examples of Geom
what
But this is precisely the rub. Greek story
Although telling
Geometric
exposed to urgent
artists are capable of representing influences fr
and elo
Egypt.
quent action, although they can They disclose
hint at certai
or symbol-
ize a courtyard, a raceperpetuate
course, and themselves in l
even the sea,
art: the
their stories remain indefinite asemphasis on genera
to time and space,
the love content.
and general in their narrative of vigorous actio
We know
lack
that a man is dead if he is of interest
lying down. in We
specific
know
space.
from their size and placing that a woman and a
child stand at the foot The creation
of the bier.' of
We recognizab
can read
tion was largely an achievem
the action in generic terms and respond to the
emotional impact of the ing" art of the
repetitive seventh
gestures cent
of th
clear and
mourners, but the elements of intelligible
specificationaccoun
and
the artists had recourse to th
individuation are so slight that we can identify
first is the choice of an un
such a painting as that of the Hirschfeld crater
when the eye of the Cyclop
only as "A Burial Scene."
hot tree vigorously pushed
It is this "generalized" character of Geometric
companions (fig. 2).' The s
narrative which makes it difficult to determine
individuation is the attribu
the first appearance of mythological subjects in
Apollo engage in a tug-of-w
Greek art. For instance, a recently
tripod may be published Geo
understood
metric vase-painting in Munich (fig. i) has been
Apollo and helps identify
interpreted as the shipwreck
Finally, of
withOdysseus after
the introduct
Zeus struck down his ship with the thunderbolt
artist acquired the possibi
and Odysseus' men "were flung
figures overboard
by adscribing and
their
tossed about the black of
hull like sea gulls on the
figures was used by the
waves."' But if we remember the limitations of
sort of magic wand which
Geometric art, we must dignified
admit that all into
men we are shown
Achaean
is "A Shipwreck." We have
laos, or,actually no way of
again, transforms
telling whether the central figure is Odysseus
riors into a heroic combator
5For various opinions on the character
This will not of Geometric as
do--whether nar-
hist
rative cf. B. Snell, Die Entdeckung des Geistes
the chariot (1946);
scenes, sea F. Matz
battles, and
[Link]. I, 98ff. C. H. Whitman's forthcoming
of Attica book on
in the eighth Homer,
century.
Chapter V, "Homer and Geometric Art" is anin
was important up-to-date discus-
the life of Ath
sion.
metric period; of course, they ca
The representations of the Dipylon
the actualvases may be
strength interpreted
of Athenian se
as: historic and individual, if6 the battles Gleichnisse,
R. Hampe, and burial are thos
pls. 4-7
of "an Attic ship's captain of the eighth century" (G. M. A.
r Proto-Argive: P. Courbin, BCH
Richter); historic and generic,
12if their
bis. JHSintent (like 116,
73 (1953) that fig.
of later
5.
grave stelae and of the kalos zation
kagathos offormula)
mountain is to
as show
scale that
patt
the dead led "the good life" of a on
occurs fighting,
the cratersea-faring
painted bymanAr
without intended reference centto anynewspecific events
vase from of hisCour
Eleusis. life
as mytho-historical, if the pictures
(1955) refer
220, not
[Link] [Link]
AIA dead
59 him-
(195
self but to great ancestors of 13,
his 1954.
family (as in Pindaric
Together with theeulogies)
escap
as mythical illustrations of oral
on traditions not necessarily
the "Aegina" jug (Matz known
I, fig
to us; and, finally, as intentional, howeverthat
sive evidence imperfect,
at least illustra-
the Cycl
tions of known works of Greekbecame literature, such as
known in Athens Iliad,
and Arg
Odyssey, the Cyclic poems etc.8 The case for
E. Kunze, mythological
Archaische illus-
Schildbdnd
gen
trations has been argued by R. 2 (1950)
Hampe I15, Beil.
and others. 8:1.
Friihe griechi
sche Sagenbilder (1936) and 9Menelas:
Die Gleichnisse Homers
R. Hampe, und
Friihe die
grie
Bildniskunst seiner Zeit (1952)
70, 22ff. A much
fig. 30. needed
Matz I, critique
pp. 3o6f, fig
of both the "historical" and the
MuZ "mythological" views
3, fig. 117. Pliny, NHwas given
35:15, c
by G. S. Kirk, BSA 44 (1949) and 144ff. Unfortunately,
Telephanes he let
with the "inventio
himself be drawn into a very J. implausible
L. Benson, Diesolution: Attic der
Geschichte vase
painters drew ships because
89f. they liked ships as objets d'art

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 1957] NARRATION IN GREEK ART 73
Together with the emergence of
of actors. In their rendering of identifying
time, archaic artists
wentaas monumental
devices, the creation of far as Greek art was to go until figure-styl
the Hel-
during the first half of
lenistic Age. the seventh
This advance is best apprehended century
in
enormously widened thea special category--the sequenceof
possibilities of one-frame
story pic- telling.
A Geometric figure was tures only
which is exemplified by the metopes of the symbo
a short-hand
for reality. The monumental style
Greek temples.12 In the Early enabled
Archaic phase, related th
and unrelated subjects were
artist to elaborate the physical character of the crammed into adjacent
actors, to differentiate metopes;
their but Late Archaic and Early Classical
appearance and func
tion, and to begin the designers brought together the deeds
exploration of of one hero
their emo
tional and mental reactions to one another. Hence in a successive pattern of individual scenes. The
the concentration on that art-type of narrativeoutstanding example of such a sequence is offered
which was to play a major role in Greek art--the by the deeds of Theseus on the Treasury of the
so-called "mono-scenic" or "dramatic" picture Athenians in Delphi.'3 They trace the bios of the
which summarizes the story in one scene and con- hero in chronological order. First Athena commis-
fines itself to the protagonists. sions him to serve mankind. Then he performs his
Near Eastern influence introduced a new dimen- deeds on the mainland and journeys to Crete to
sion into this kind of "concentrated" narrative fight the Minotaur. Finally he becomes King of
Athens and defends his country against the Ama-
scene. Dignified, solemn action and quiet, enduring
zons. In this way was evolved the characteristic
existence were aspects of reality practically ignored
by Greek Geometric art. On an Orientalizing Greek form of the so-called cycle.1' The "cyclic"
method which divides the life of a hero into a
vase,x1 when Hermes brings a message to a woman,
we are given to understand that the communica- sequence of uniform, isolated deeds curiously paral-
tion is one of dignity and importance (fig. 5).lels
Its the contemporary philosophic attempt to define
time as a sequence of separate, static units (as re-
impact is almost like that of an Annunciation. Here
the choice of the moment and the psychological flected in the paradoxes of Zeno).
effect of the weighty encounter are modeled on In their portrayal of place and setting archaic
such Near Eastern groups as the encounter of king artists undertook a number of equally interesting
and courtier often seen in Assyrian paintingsventures and in which they profited by some of the
reliefs."' devices of Near Eastern and Egyptian arts. The
Thus the Orientalizing period was the time of famous funerary games for Patroklos drawn by
pioneers who established the formal types and Sophilos"5 (fig. 6), some pictures of the Frangois
defined the major directions of Greek narrative vase,'6 and many other vase paintings display
art. Their archaic successors delighted in exuberant architectural elements which are not only explana-
outpouring of storied representations and experi- tory symbols of location but visually convincing
mented with various solutions for the major prob- components of the place of action.17
lems of time-sequence, spatial setting, and portrayal The picture by Sophilos (fig. 6) presents another

10 Pfuhl, MuZ 3, fig. Io09. 56f.

11 The reverential mood of an "Annunciation" was implicit
14 In my definition, a "cycle" is the representation of a story
in the Near Eastern design-type, which was used to portray
through a sequence of several consecutive events each of which
the encounters of God and King, Lord and Liege, King and
is portrayed as a separate visual unit. For a Phoenician example
Courtier. Cf. e.g., H. Schaefer and W. Andrae, Die Kunst ofdes
this kind, cf. H. G. Giiterbock, p. 69, supra; and for the
alten Orients (1925) fig. 532, pl. 32. H. Frankfort, Artlater
anddevelopment of this method in ancient illustration, K.
Weitzmann, p. 83, infra. This form may be used for "stories"
Architecture of the Ancient Orient (1954) figs. 88, 95. Assyrian
which are fundamentally not "one story" but an aggregate of
paintings and textiles of the time of Sargon and his successors
were probably the sources for Greek designs of this kind. assorted subjects linked only by the person of the hero, as in
12 Cf. J. Fr6ber, Die Komposition der archaischen und friih-the lives and deeds of Theseus, Herakles, and later Telephos
klassischen Metopenbilder (1933). H. Kiihler, Das griechische and Christ; or as a form in which to tell one story which has
Metopenbild (1949). Archaic bronze bands with metopal divi- unity of action. Cf. Aristotle's remarks on the unity of action
sions are relevant to a comprehension of the [Link] Cf. epics, Poetics 8.
E. Kunze, Archaische Schildbdnder, passim. I have profited from 15 G. M. A. Richter, Archaic Greek Art (1949) 70, fig. 108.
the discussion of archaic metopal compositions by Sheila [Link], ABV (1956) 39, no. 16.
J. D.
McNally. 16 Beazley, ABV (1956) 76.
13 E. Buschor in Furtwiingler-Reichold, GV 3, pp. 117ff. P. 17 An advanced attempt to render a continuous background
De La Coste-Messeliere, BCH 47 (1923) 396ff, pls. 16-18. This and a definite building is found in the "Olive Pediment" of the
is apparently the only attempt to present a visual reconstruc- Acropolis. Cf. Buschor's reconstruction, AM 47 (1922) 81ff.
tion. For the Herakles cycle cf. F. Brommer, Herakles (1953) Ch. Picard, Manuel de la sculpture grecque 1 (1935) 6oif.

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 74 GEORGE M. A. HANFMANN [AJA 61

on the story, somewhat

innovation. Here the subsidiary after the manner
figures, of the spec
the
chorus in the
tators, are small in violation of Greek
the drama. They create principl
normal an emo-
of Greek art which tional demands
foil to the physicalequal size
exertions of the of al
protago-
grown-up persons. It nists, a sort of human landscape.22
is tempting to believe tha
In their
Sophilos was inspired by monumentalportrayal of the protagonists, archaic
paintings i
which the first steps artists
toward a continuous
begin to struggle and en
with the problem of render-
larged setting were ingbeing made,
the emotional meaning of and inSome-
their stories. whic
times they
many small figures were attain striking
used in the success-witness
telling the of
story.18 psychological impact of the suicide of Ajax as
Perhaps the most striking advance in the por- interpreted by Exekias,23 who shows the hero alone
trayal of the place of action is seen in the seascapes with his inexorable fate in the dramatic moment
before the deed. The new emphasis on emotional
of the Tomba della Caccia e Pesca in Tarquinii."9
significance becomes very evident if we compare
Here the landscape elements are no longer isolated
an early archaic formulation of the same subject
props; they form a continuous rendering of rocks
and sea. There can be little doubt that these in which the hero is neatly impaling himself on
Etruscan paintings are closely fashioned upon his nar-
sword,24 an account which lacks nothing in
rative wall paintings of Eastern Greece. clarity but fails to create suspense.
The "automatic" character of the archaic figures
Interesting as these archaic ventures in the order-
ing of time and depiction of space may be, theywas a great obstacle, as the archaic artist strove to
were yet only marginal to the main purpose of the emotional potential of the stories he
realize
archaic narration. This purpose was thewished vivid,to tell. No matter how animated and agile
imaginative elaboration of a story in termsarchaic
of itsheroes may be, they do not appear to move
human actors. Diversity and richness are soughtby their own will. Their gestures are explanatory
in various ways. Sometimes the number offormulaeactors imposed upon the actors from without
is enlarged, sometimes the number of actions in order to explain what sort of action is going on.
which
Another crucial obstacle to the convincing por-
make up a scene. It is this method of presenting
many simultaneous episodes of a major actiontrayal
thatof inner life was the curiously detached
Aristotle20 thought a distinctive trait of character
"epic" of the archaic eye. It shows that a person
is alive
poetry. Furthermore, the archaic artist wanted tobut it cannot adjust itself to the demands
show not only that many people took part of ina the
specific situation. Even where an archaic artist
succeeds
story but that they took part in different ways and in denoting a humorous (fig. 7) or tragic
to different degrees. In "The Arrival of Theseus
(fig. 8) mood, these factors of externalized gesture
on Delos," for instance, Klitias eagerly describes
and detached glance recall the exaggerated anima-
tion of a puppet play.25
the varied reactions of the sailors who yell, gesticu-
late, and dive off the boat to show their enthusiasm
When Classical sculptors and painters discovered
about the happy landing.21 a convincing method of representing the motion of
Dramatization of narrative art is enhanced inthe human body, they set up a chain reaction which
transformed the character of Greek narration. The
a different way when archaic artists introduce the
artists could now delineate human figures which
novel device of showing "spectators," figures that
move by their own will. Gradually the sculptors
do not physically participate in the major action but
provide a responsive framework and a commentaryand painters also learned how to render facial ex-

contain some keen comments on time and place in archaic

Some useful material for archaic representations of architecture
is found in B. Dunkley, BSA 36 (1935-6) 153ff (fountain narrative representations. An outstanding example of participat-
buildings). ing spectators is the Siphnian frieze. Ch. Picard, Manuel I
18 The appearance of small figures and architectural repre- (1935) 384f, fig. io6. P. De La Coste-Messeliere, Delphes
sentations in the wall paintings found at Gordion enhances the (1943) 323, pls. 76f.
probability that such paintings existed in archaic Eastern 23 J. D. Beazley, ABV, 145, no. I8. W. Technau, Exekias
Greece. Cf. R. S. Young, AJA 60 (1956) 256, pi. 85:I8. (1936) pl. 24.
19 P. Romanelli, Monumenti della Pittura Antica, Tarquinii, 24 Met. Museum, inscribed. G. M. A. Richter, Ancient Gems
1:2 (1938), "Le Pitture della Tomba della Caccia e Pesca." from the Evans and Beatty Collections (1942) no. 14.
20 Poetics, 24:4. 25 Humorous: Cerberus Painter, Beazley, ARV (1942) 55,
21 J. D. Beazley, ABV (1956) 76, no. i. ABS (1928) pl. [Link]. 6. Tragic: Lydos, L. D. Caskey, Attic Vase Paintings, Boston
22 C. Robert, Bild und Lied (1881) 23f. His analyses also
1 (1931) If, pl. i:i.

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 1957] NARRATION IN GREEK ART 75
pressions credibly and thus
and very little with acquired anThe
its specific time and place. entir
new language for interpreting the
Greek habit of projecting traditional
the major thoughts, emo- sto
in terms of emotional character,
tions, and events of their age ethos, and re
into time-remote
or even
tive thought, dianoia,"6 timeless sphere
rather thanof the myth-manifests
physicala agil
In the meantime, the bias great painters
against the concrete, ofofthe
historic experience the Ea
Classical Age were revolutionizing
march of time through detailed,the concept
individual events
space and setting underor uniformthe chronological
powerful units. When influenc
Aristotle
Greek science. For the (Poetics 9) remarks that tragedy
scientists and isgeometric
nobler and
of that age had perceived that
more philosophic certain
than history phenom
because it deals with
known before to artiststhe general,
from universal,isolated,
and typical happenings, he
empiric
servations (convergence of sighting
simply rationalizes and codifies thelines in ar
essential atti-
tecture, diminution of tude offigures and
the Classical Age-the same objects
attitude which in
distance, overlappingis ofexpressed in the detachment
figures andofobjectsso much of w
are "behind" one another from
Classical sculpture the
from specific timepoint
and place. of v
These remarks are intended of
of a spectator, and foreshortening to make clear the
receding pa
in an individual figure)
precarious and were all ofparts
unique situation the Classical of
comprehensive phenomenon capable
artist. In his approach to of herati
the traditional stories
faced a totally
investigation, the "visual" new situation,
or "optic" and each solution as p
space
ceived by the humanbecame
eye. in some
By measure a compromise
posing the betweenquest
"How does the human eye see?", they drew
the traditions of the pre-Classical world and the t
interest of the artists to the construction of an new rational and man-centered Classic world. Some
optically convincing, continuous, and definite place of the attractions of Classical art, its detachment
of action.27 Reflections of the experimental progressfrom time and concrete circumstance and its
in the rendering of "optic" space are found in vase-power of symbolization, are a legacy of the pre-
painting throughout the Classical Period; and the Greek and Greek Geometric arts; but in the Classi-
extraordinary reliefs of Gjilbashi-Trysa indicate cal formulation these "proto-rational," "abstract"
that architectural backgrounds were surprisingly features acquire an entirely new function and
developed in this direction.28 meaning when they serve as foil to the new organic
Rationalization and systematization of time was portrayal of the autonomous, self-aware, and self-
another scientific advance which might have affect-
willing man.
ed Greek narration. Yet here the resistance of The newly won ability of Classical art to portray
Greek art against the specifically "real" was eveninner life can best be illustrated by comparing
greater than its resistance against the specifically Archaic and Classical accounts of famous legends
real, or, as we should say, "realistic" depiction ofsuch as the story of Amphiaraos. In the Archaic
space and setting. It is a truism that Greek tragedy version29 we see vigorous and diversified action.
is very much concerned with human experienceFull of fury the hero stamps on his chariot as he
26 Ethos and dianoia are to Aristotle the two essential char- G. M. A. Richter, "Perspective Ancient, Medieval, and Renais-
acteristics of tragic personality. Poetics 6:4. They are equally sance," Scritti B. Nogara (i937) 38Iff, and for the scientific
essential to the portrayal of man as it was developed by Clas- development in general B. L. Van der Waerden, Science Awak-
sical art.
ening (P. Noordhoff, Groningen, 1954) 124ff, esp. i36f, on
27 The starting point for this development was the insight solid geometry and perspective.
that space is a continuum which can be made intelligible in What matters for our purpose is that the Classical artists
Geometric terms. Application of geometry to the problem of knew that the setting of an action was a continuous, visible space
space as seen by the eye resulted in various theorems embodiedand that it could be represented in three dimensions, whereas
in the work of Euclid. In art, objects of "Geometric" nature the archaic artist thought of it primarily as something to
such as architectural representations lent themselves most readily
stand his figure against or, if need be, to serve as an explanatory
to the application of these scientific results. It is, by now, well
map with identifying signs of location (buildings, trees etc.).
known that the Greeks never achieved a consistent mode of 28 The development of "landscape" elements has been fre-
representing three-dimensional space in "optic" form (perspec- quently surveyed, cf. Pfuhl, MuZ 2, 618ff. An interesting new
tive). It is perhaps not so well understood that a number of "Polygnotan" vase from Spina, London Times, Friday, April 27,
optic phenomena observed in connection with living, organic1956, p. 20. Gj6lbashi-Trysa: Ch. Picard, Manuel de la sculp-
objects (foreshortenings, light and shade) were not sufficiently ture 2:2 (1939) 882f, figs. 357f. H. Kenner, Die Reliefs von
correlated with the geometric theory of space to permit theirGj'lbashi Trysa (1950) 22ff, fig. 8, pls. 18-21.
convincing integration even with the imperfect "axial" per- 29F. Hauser in Furtwdingler-Reichold, GV (19Io) Iff, pls.
spective developed by the Greeks in the Classical period. Cf. 121f.

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 76 GEORGE M. A. HANFMANN [AlA 61

casts a last glance at the woman

action we turn who
again to the Parthenon. Each of is
the sending
him to his death and pediments
at the ostensiblyson
portrays who will
one great scene, an aveng
him. Horses prance, women
array of simultaneous wave,
events whichand
encompassEriphyle
a
diversity of actions,
hides. The oversized fatal yet the way in which these sign o
necklace-large
treason-the rearing snakes, and
events are arranged thethat
subtly suggests despairing
the actions se
are all vital to the story,
taking placeyet
toward thethe manner
wings are consecutive to of the
display almost makes the themcentral event.
into The introduction
detached of the Sunexplan
tory signs. God and Moon Goddess evinces an interest in the
In the Classical version by the Chicago Painter,so passing of time, in a concise allusion to a specific
everything hinges on the interplay between two moment, the dawn.
nearly quiescent figures. There are no loud protesta- The metopes of the Parthenon32 break away
tions, no vigorous gestures, just subdued hints at from the traditional array of separate scenes in
thoughts and emotions. The necklace is natural which each metope represented a self-contained
enough in size yet it becomes a symbol of highest unit. Here Phidias seems to have worked toward
power as Polyneikes holds it out to Eriphyle. With the concept of one visually unified scene in which
it the fate of Eriphyle, of Polyneikes, of Amphia- the metopes act not as individual pictures but as
raos, of their children, their cities, and kingdoms windows opening on one continuous frieze of
hangs in the balance. This concentrated realization simultaneous actions.
of the emotional, intellectual, and ethical meaning The frieze of the Parthenon calls upon the spec-
of a story is the unique achievement of Classical tator to experience the time-sequence of the various
narrative art. By its very nature it was most effec- episodes in a "mimetic" fashion, as the spectator
tively expressed in large, "monoscenic" designs advances along a path parallel to that of the Pana-
which included only the protagonists. However, thenaic procession. One might be tempted to see
the traditional types of many-figured compositions in this compositional device a new awareness for
(pediments, friezes) were also transformed by the unfolding of consecutive events in time, but a
magnificent use of physical and psychological gra- glance at the composition of "The Feast" on the
dation. The Parthenon pediments with their cre- Royal Standard of Ur (cf. p. 57 supra) shows that
scendo of participation and response from dream- here Phidias was following a pre-Classical, timeless,
like, pensive unawareness, through sympathetic "expository" mode of telling a story: "This is the
awareness, to the volcanic outburst of action among feast and the procession and preparations that go
the protagonists remained unrivalled in antiquity."' with the feast."
Despite the new complexity of physical, emo- Indeed, the frieze of the Parthenon seems to
tional, and intellectual relationships the Classic have been designed as a conscious counterpart to
narration in art is rendered in a form in which the the processional friezes of the Royal palaces of
unity of action is readily perceived. It is, in Aris- Persia in order to point up the difference between
totle's term, eusynoptos. This is the Greek achieve- the free people of Athens, who approach even their
ment par excellence; it is a quality which Egyptian gods as friends and equals and the enslaved tribute-
and Assyrian narrative composition conspicuously bearers of Asia, who come to do abject obeisance
lack.
to the King of Kings.38 In both instances, the actual
For an authoritative statement of the attitudes processions would pass beside their own image
of the Classical artist toward time and place of in stone. There is, however, an interesting point
30E. Buschor, Griechische Vasenmalerei (1925) 92f, 194, given over to the Council of Gods and visually cannot be part
figs. 67, 142, has drawn the comparison. of the same location as the actual capture of Troy, are com-
31 The "Classic" method of combining gradations of time pletely unified. On the other hand Praschniker points out that
and action is discussed with reference to Parthenon and Raphael the use of Sun and Moon to enframe the north series (and the
by A. von Salis, Concinnitas, Beitraege zum Problem des Klas- east pediment) must be taken as an attempt to indicate a defi-
sischen, H. Woeliflin zum 8o. Geburtstage (I944) 177ff. nite time of action, such as dawn.
32Picard, Manuel 2:1 (1939) 397ff. C. Praschniker, Parthe- 38 For the Parthenon frieze cf. Ch. Picard, Manuel I (1935)
nonstudien (1928) 87ff, 96ff, 224ff, has an interesting discussion 390ff; 2:1 (I939) 437ff. The intentional counterpoint to the
of the ways in which Phidias was approaching the concept of Royal friezes at Persepolis has been noted by A. W. Lawrence,
unity of time, space, and action. Neither the south side, where JHS 71 (I951) 118. For the reliefs of the staircases and plat-
the enigmatic central metopes disrupt the battle of Greeks and forms at Persepolis cf. H. Frankfort, Art and Architecture of
centaurs, nor the north side, where the first three metopes are the Orient (1954) 230f, pls. I8Iff.

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1957] NARRATION IN GREEK ART 77
which sets the Parthenon Complexity frieze apart. rather Unlike than
friezes of the Persian interest
platforms and staircases,
is another importa
long sides of the Parthenon
sical narration. frieze could A revealing not b
viewed simultaneously. painterIf Phidias Nikias had conceive
(ca. 350-3
the north and the south regarded sides as multiplicity
showing two ofd
ferent views of the same dispersal procession, of emotional then he int
w
envisaging the frieze the as having truly "grand" a unifiedsubje spati
position, though assumingbattle: two "Many different figures positi of
for the potential spectator.
others rearing against each
Finally, in the Amazonomachy
ing-and many of the fighting shield m
the Parthenos the settinglins, was others described
falling in down an
vanced, "panoramic"This solution--as
"epeisodic" a continuo
expansio
background of rocks grand and mountain tableaux and must perhahave
even of the city walls ofmental legendary painting; Athens.'4 we can
These designs for the character from reflections on Attic
Parthenon and South
indicate tha
Phidias was well aware of
Italian vasesthe new
of the fourth possibilities
century where this en-
the portrayal of time and
largement of space;
the human scene yetwent hehand indid hand n
pursue them far. Allusive
with enlargement interpretation
of the spatial setting." of t
and subdued description In the ofmonumental
setting portrayalin of Achilles
some sur-desi
are balanced by generality of (fig.
rendering Briseis89 time and
ii) we find a Highspace
Classic
others. In pre-Classical art
three-figure such
group broken apartgenerality
by the divergent
unconscious; now it is used
direction of theconsciously,
glances of the protagonists. asThey a po
tive value, as an indication
are no longer seenthat the isolated
in resplendent stories clarity po
trayed take place inbutaarerealm set against thehigher
background of the and common bet
than that of observable human
throng, daily
a few of whom life.
are reacting to the dramatic
happening
Late Classical art of the in their midst,
fourth while others areB.c.,
century indif- a
ferent. This contrast
particularly Late Classical painting between the went
heroic individualfar b
yond Phidias and Polygnotos
and the common people toward ever m
points to the Hellenistic
concrete and coherent [Link] of generalized
The artist no longer paints three-dime myth;
sional setting. In the what he paints isof
Rescue actual history in mythical dis-
Andromedas5 (
9) the High Classicalguise,interest in the
for surely that lion-maned ethical
Achilles is none
other
intellectual relations of the than protagonists
Alexander the Great, the new is Achilles.
balance
by a concern with the place
The advent of the of action,
Hellenistic whi
Age found the
though given in general
story-telling
terms,
artists of Greece
is optically
faced with three m
convincing than the semi-abstract
major challenges, tackled but notflatness
solved by theirof
lineated rocks in theClassical
Nekyia scene
forerunners. copied
A new feeling for the im-from
wall painting of the High
portance Classical
of specific Age
historic events was impressedby
Lykaon Painter (fig. uponio)."
the artistsAnd the
by the deeds setting
of Alexander and his n
successors. but
merely explains the locale Such myth-rivalling
plays its careerspart
called for in
mood of the scene and thus
detailed reportingbecomes
which could be best an integ
achieved by
unfolding their stories in detailed, "cyclic" se-
component of the narration.
86 Beazley, ARV (1942) 690, no. 2.
84 Ch. Picard, Manuel 2:I (i939) 311, fig. 132 and pp. 378,
395f, with references. Ph. D. Stavropoullos, I Aspis tis Athinas 7 (Demetrios) Peri hermeneias 76. Quoted in a different
Parthenou tou Phidiou (Athens, 1950) 2ff, figs. 1-2. As the context
re- by H. Jucker, [Link]. 25f. He compares Leonardo's in-
liefs of Gj6lbashi Trysa show, such a background was structions
pos- on how to paint an equestrian battle.
sible during the Periklean Age; yet there is a suggestive re- 38 As on Apulian craters and other compositions of high and
semblance to Hellenistic types of background architecturelarge for format, where very curious experiments are attempted in
having the figures arranged in several zones yet linked by
battle scenes, exemplified, for instance, on the jug of Berthou-
ville, K. Lehmann, AIA 42 (1938) 98f, fig. 4, pl. 14. Forground the lines and occasional foreshortenings in such a way as
interest of Hellenistic (and possibly Neo-Attic) sculptors in to
thesuggest that the setting of the entire picture is conceived as
shield of the Parthenos cf. Pausanias, X:I4,6; Timarchidasaand continuous unit. Cf. e.g. Furtwingler-Reichold, GV 2, 145ff,
Timokles (before I5o B.c.) copied the shield for the statue pl.of88; 3, 112f, fig. 55.
Athena at Elateia. 9 Achilles-Briseis: Pfuhl, MuZ 2, 786, 794; 3, fig. 665.
85 Pfuhl, MuZ 2 (1923) 753ff, fig. 647.

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 78 PETER H. VON BLANCKENHAGEN [AIA 61
quences. A new feeling for concreteness, variety,
effect of Greek narration lies elsewh
and largeness of the oikoumene upon
called
thefor settings
great treasures of divine and
in which symbolic generality would
which yield
wereto incomparably
a con- rich in va
vincing portrayal of large, recognizable
interest, locations.
from low comedy to high
Finally, the transformation ofGreek artist dedicated
story-telling oral himself to the r
literature into a codified, systematized book litera-
these stories in terms of general and ty
ture posed the new challenge ofexperience.
bringing writing
To represent fully and c
and picture together in the novel medium and
emotional of book
intellectual meaning i
illustration. these great themes he made eloquent
It will not be possible within human
the scope of this
figure, which the Greeks wer
paper to describe how the Classical art forms
conceive of
as a balanced entity of body
narration contended and fused with
mind;the new
and heart
subordinated the de
forms created by Hellenistic art. Rather I should
chronological elaboration of a story a
prefer in ending to remark on the
ness reasons for the
and precision of setting to the unit
extraordinary power and persistent influence
of artistic of
organization. The tempestu
Greek narrative representations of upon later arts.
the Parthenon pediments, the movin
Egyptians and Assyrians40 hadthe devised composi-
Orpheus relief, and the tragic no
tions more ambitious in scale and setting,
Dying and had
Niobid"4 exemplify what they
applied themselves more attentively to the chrono-
logical portrayal of historic events. The UNIVERSITY
HARVARD compelling
40 The difference between the Greek and the Assyrian ap-
Groenewegen-Frankfort, Arrest and Movement (1951) 176ff
proach is well illustrated by a comparison of the Achilles-
who emphasizes "the interest in complicated activities involvin
Briseis picture with the Assyrian rendering of alarge
somewhat
groups of people and their relation to local setting."
similar subject, Sennacherib after the fall of Lachish.
41 Cf. H.
Parthenon pediments, n. 31, supra. Orpheus relief: Ch.
Frankfort, Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient (1954)
Picard, Manuel 2:2 (1939) 827f, fig. 219; Niobid, ibid. 687ff,
pl. iox, and the analysis of Sennacherib's reliefsfig.
by 274,
H. A.
pl. 23.

Narration in Hellenistic and Roman Art

PETER H. voN BLANCKENHAGEN

PLATES 30-32

IN this essay continuous narrativeand

must
Roman be defined
periods, the really interesting problem
in the narrowest possible sense of the term because
of continuous narrative arises only when events
of the large number of examples.? Therefore,
separated in timeI are
shall
represented as occurring si-
exclude the sequence of coherent multaneously
but separate,at the samein-
place in the same setting.
dependent scenes representing oneIn story, tale,
a strict sense leg-
this is the case only when in the
end, or narrative. Such sequence does not confront
same setting one or more identical persons appear
us with the genuine problem of "continuous" nar-setting" may be under-
more than once. By "same
rative since each scene is a unit in itself and must
stood the two following possibilities: a) one unin-
be thus interpreted. A "natural" or "realistic" un- terrupted background scenery that defines the place
derstanding of time and space is possible since each as a particular unit regardless of its actual size or
event occurs in one particular moment at one par-extension; b) a compositionally unified representa-
ticular place. tion of persons to be comprehended as simultane-
In epochs of "realistic" art, such as the Hellenistic ously present in reality and necessarily seen by the
1 The problem of continuous narrative has been discussed so 1947) Chapter I; K. Schefold, Pompeianische Malerei (Basel
widely that only a selection of the latest and most pertinent 1952) 83ff and I86, note to p. 83 with recent literature; J. M.
literature may be cited here: C. M. Dawson, Yale Classical
C. Toynbee, Proceedings of the British Academy 1953, p. 93f,
Studies, Vol. 9 (New Haven I944) I88ff with earlier litera- note ii.

ture; Weitzmann, Illustrations in Roll and Codex (Princeton

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 HANFMANN PLATE 27

FIG. 2. Proto-Argive crater from Argos

(Courtesy Ecole Frangaise d'Athenes)

FIG. I. Attic Geometric jug, Munich

(Courtesy Antikensammlungen Munich)

FIG. 3. Leg of bronze tripod, Olympia

(Courtesy Deutsches Archdiologisches
Institut, Athens) FIG. 4. Rhodian plate. British Museum.
(By Permission of the Trustees
of the British Museum)

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PLATE 28 HANFMANN

FIG. 5. "Melian" amphora, Athens. After Pfuhl

FIG. 8. Black-figure plaque by Lydos,

Vlasto Collection. (Photograph Deutsch
Archiiologisches Institut, Athens)

FIG. 6. Black-figure deinos

by Sophilos, Athens

FIG. 7. Red-figure plate by the Cerberus Painter

(Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

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 HANFMANN PLATE 29

FIG. I I. Pompeian wall painting, Naples

FIG. 9. Pompeian wall painting, Naples

FIG. IO. Red-figure pelike by the Lykaon Painter (Courtesy Museum of Fine

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