Art/Archaeology

Plato's klinai

To follow up on my last post, which concerned the great variety of couch styles represented on Athenian vases: If there were so many different types of klinai in the repertoire of Athenian vase painters, why did Plato choose to use the kline as a paradigm in his… Read more

Who killed the Kritios Boy

The Kritios Boy, an underlifesize marble sculpture of the early fifth century B.C., has long been considered a touchstone of Greek art.  It features prominently in textbooks, travels to major international exhibitions, and currently appears, elegantly spotlit, in the lavish new Acropolis Museum in Athens.  Much scholarly ink has been… Read more

Couch styles . . . and meanings?

This week I have been looking at representations of klinai (couches) on Greek vases . . . lots of klinai on lots of Greek vases, thanks to the miraculous Beazley Archive Pottery Database. I am intrigued by the variety of ways Greek vase-painters depicted the couches on which their… Read more