Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Κλασική ΑρχαιολογίαLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Supervisors info:
Ευρυδίκη Κεφαλίδου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α., Επιβλέπων καθηγητής
Δημήτρης Πλάντζος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Στυλιανός Κατάκης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Original Title:
Αναπηρία και δυσμορφία στην αρχαία ελληνική αγγειογραφία
Translated title:
Disability and malformation in ancient Greek vase painting
Summary:
Vitruvius, in his attempt to explain why the architect of a temple must follow the laws of symmetry and proportionality, refers to the human body, whose head and limps follow a corresponding system of order of magnitude. These principles and proportions in the formation of the human body are often associated with the ideal of “kalokagathia”, the ideal human character that combines body beauty with moral perfection. The reflection of this traditional thinking is the dominance of beautiful athletic bodies in ancient Greek art, especially in sculpture as well as the social perception as echoed from the ancient written sources, where the ugly man is described as ugly or stupid. Literary tradition and iconography reflect this ambiguous interpretation of the human image.
What is the role of disabled and disfigured people in this world? It becomes clear from the definition of the World Health Organization that disability is not a simple health problem. It is a complex phenomenon that reflects the interaction between the characteristics of a person's body and the social characteristics of the community in which he lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers. However, applying the modern definition to the ancient world is a major challenge for the study of disabilities.
The scope of this research is the detection of the iconographic motifs associated with disability and malformation in ancient Greek vase painting and the interpretation of the role and operation of these individuals in the society. Since the beginning of the ancient greek vase painting, such iconographic motifs have been identified reflecting various myths of the Greek mythology, while at the same time presenting important medical features of specific diseases or malformations. Through a catalog of approximately 300 vases, covering the chronological range of Greek vase painting, the current research separates its findings from the physical and aesthetic limitations with the corresponding iconographic subcategories.
The multitude of iconographic motifs confirms the initial assumption that the degree of disability in the ancient world was high, as evidenced by the various literal, epigraphic, archaeological and skeletal elements. However, there are no safe indications that people with physical or mental disabilities in the ancient Greek world were recognized as a separate social category, as is the case today. That's why the recognition of such human forms in ancient greek vase painting, a major category of art that reflects the social phenomena of the time, was quite difficult and in some places not clear enough.
Main subject category:
Archaeology
Keywords:
iconography, ancient greek vase painting, disability, malformation, blindness, lameness, mutism, gigantism, antiquity
Number of references:
568
