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Key research themes
1. How do Apulian vases depict and integrate mythological narratives to communicate funerary beliefs and social identities?
This research theme explores how iconography on Apulian painted vases, particularly funerary ceramics, conveys mythological narratives that reflect local funerary beliefs, cult practices, and social identities, especially in the context of funerary rituals for elites and women. The theme underscores the significance of myth as a metaphor for death, escape, identity formation, and social status within both Greek and Italic cultural milieus in Magna Graecia.
Key finding: Rodríguez analyzes six fourth-century Apulian vases decorated with the myth of Iphigenia, arguing that the Euripidean version of the myth metaphorically communicates averting death, making it suitable for funerary use. She... Read more
Key finding: Saunders provides evidence from Peucetian and Daunian burials showing how elite funerary assemblages, including monumental Apulian painted vases, expressed wealth, social roles, and adoption of Greek cultural models. The... Read more
Key finding: This study challenges prior assumptions that Apulian underworld scenes reflect Orphic beliefs, proposing instead that these vases present a more generalized Greek mythical conception of the underworld, likely transmitted... Read more
Key finding: The volume reviewed by Herring and others foregrounds local Italic agency in producing and consuming South Italian vases, critiquing traditional Greek-centric interpretations. Case studies illustrate how indigenous elites... Read more
Key finding: Attia’s iconographic analysis of South Italian vases reveals nuanced female participation in the male-dominated symposium game kottabos, challenging textual prohibitions. The varied roles of women as players, spectators, or... Read more
2. What are the artistic and iconographic strategies used in Apulian vases to depict mythological battles and their political or cultural implications?
This theme investigates the representation of epic mythological battles, such as the Gigantomachy, on Apulian vases, examining how compositional complexity, figure arrangement, and iconographic innovations communicate cultural values, reinforce political ideology, or reflect Hellenistic artistic influences. It encompasses studies of specific vases, their reconstruction, and their iconographic contexts within South Italian vase painting.
Key finding: This paper reconstructs two monumental Apulian volute kraters depicting the gigantomachy with unprecedented compositional density—over 30 deities and giants arranged in multiple fighting groups. The study demonstrates that... Read more
Key finding: The study situates the gigantomachy as a foundational myth reflecting cosmic and political order and analyzes depictions integrating Dionysian and satyr iconography in ritual contexts. It discusses how visual representations... Read more
Key finding: The article reevaluates the unique Eurymedon oinochoe, known for its provocative depiction of a Greek dominating a Persian figure, contextualizing it within Athenian jingoism and comedic theater. It highlights how gestures,... Read more
3. How do Apulian vase depictions of musical instruments and social games reflect cultural values and gender dynamics?
This theme analyzes the iconography of musical instruments, especially the Apulian rectangular cithara, and banquet games such as kottabos, as represented on Apulian red-figure pottery. It focuses on interpreting how these visual elements narrate social occasions, gender roles, and symbolic meanings in the cultural sphere of Magna Graecia, reflecting local musical traditions, erotic symbolism, and shifting social practices involving both male and female participants.
Key finding: Based on a corpus of approximately 60 Apulian vases, this study explores the depictions of the rectangular cithara, emphasizing its morphological evolution along with symbolic associations related to funerary rites, love, and... Read more
Key finding: The article investigates the spatial contexts in vase paintings where the Apulian rectangular cithara appears, interpreting its role in representations of love and male gender identity within the erotic social milieu. It... Read more
Key finding: Through the study of South Italian red-figure pottery, this research reconsiders the traditionally male-exclusive game of kottabos, demonstrating the polyvalent representations of women as active players, accomplices, and... Read more