Robin Osborne, Professor of Ancient History, Corpus Christi College, Oxford

This fascinating new account of what happened in Greece from c.800 to 323 bc shows how sculptors and painters responded to the challenges they faced in the extremely formidable and ambitious world of the Greek city-state. The numerous symbols and images employed by their eastern Mediterranean neighbours on the one hand, and the explorations of what it was to be human embodied in the narratives with which Greek poets worked on the other, helped produce the rich diversity of forms apparent in Greek art. The drawings and sculptures of this period referred so intimately to the human form as to lead both ancient and modern theorists to talk in terms of the 'mimetic' role of art. The importance of what occurred still affects the way we see today.

Ranging widely over the fields of sculpture, vase painting and the minor arts, this book provides a clear introduction to the art of archaic and classical Greece. By looking closely at the context in which and for which sculptures and paintings were produced, Robin Osborne demonstrates how artistic developments were both a product of, and contributed to, the intensely competitive life of the Greek city.

Introduction

Chapter 1: A history of art without artists

Chapter 2: From praying to playing: the art of the eighth century BC

Chapter 3: Reflections in an eastern mirror

Chapter 4: Myth as measure

Chapter 5: Life enlarged

Chapter 6: Marketing an image

Chapter 7: Enter politics

Chapter 8: Gay abandon

Chapter 9: Cult, politics, and imperialism

Chapter 10: The claims of the dead

Chapter 11. Individuals within and without the city

Chapter 12: The sensation of art

Chapter 13: Looking Backwards

List of Illustrations, Bibliographic essay, Timeline, Index