Robert SturmAmazonen in der antiken Vasenmalerei

About this book deutschenglish

The warrior woman occurring within the scope of the amazon myth crystallized out as a superior topic in the picture arts of ancient times. Besides sculpture mainly vase painting extensively grappled with the portrait of the amazon. Based upon a comprehensive statistical analysis of numerous amazon vases, it could be found out that red-figure and black-figure painting attended to the sujet of the warrior woman with similar intensity. The time span between 550 BC and 450 BC as well as the second half of the fourth century BC may be regarded as flowering periods of the amazon portrait. Preferred vase types carrying various amazon motifs include the amphora, the lekythos, the krater, the hydria, the kylix, and the oinochoe. With the help of the statistical investigations a classification of the pictorial motifs in six main categories with a total of thirteen subtypes could be conducted. Main categories comprise the portrait of the amazon head, the single amazon carrying arms, the single combat between amazon and Greek hero, the amazonomachy, the army of amazons, and the separate amazon picture differing significantly from the other categories (Achilles supports the dying Penthesilea, an amazon taming her horse and so on). Highest statistical frequencies could be detected for the amazonomachy, the single combat motif, and the image of the single amazon. Besides a detailed description and illustration of numerous examples of amazon vases being attributable to the determined categories the monography attempts to provide an interpretation with regard to the picturial language communicated by the ceramic objects.