Prayers in Stone : Greek Archi- tectural Sculpture Ca. 600-100 title: B.C.E. Sather Classical Lectures ; V. 63 author: Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo. publisher: University of California Press isbn10 | asin: 0520215567 print isbn13: 9780520215566 ebook isbn13: 9780585321585 language: English Sculpture, Greek--Themes, motives, Sculpture, Hellenistic-- Themes, motives, Relief (Sculp- ture), Greek--Themes, motives, subject Relief (Sculpture), Hellenistic-- Themes, motives, Decoration and ornament, Architectural-- Greece--Themes, motives. publication date: 1999 lcc: NA3350.R53 1999eb ddc: 733/.3 Sculpture, Greek--Themes, motives, Sculpture, Hellenistic-- Themes, motives, Relief (Sculp- ture), Greek--Themes, motives, subject: Relief (Sculpture), Hellenistic-- Themes, motives, Decoration and ornament, Architectural-- Greece--Themes, motives. Page i Prayers in Stone Page ii Sather Classical Lectures Volume Sixty-Three Page iii Prayers in Stone Greek Architectural Sculpture Ca. 600-100 B.C.E. Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway The Sather Classical Lectures 1996 Page iv University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 1999 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo, 1929 Prayers in stone : Greek architectural sculpture ca. 600100 B.C.E. / by Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway. p. cm.(Sather classical lectures : v. 63) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-520-21556-7 (alk. paper) 1. Sculpture, GreekThemes, motives. 2. Sculpture, Hellenistic Themes, motives. 3. Relief (Sculpture), GreekThemes, motives. 4. Relief (Sculpture), HellentisticThemes, motives. 5. Decoration and ornament, ArchitecturalGreeceThemes, motives. I. Title. II. Series. NA3350.R53 1999 733'.3dc21 98-3583 CIP Manufactured in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum require- ments of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481984. Page v Contents Preface vii Glossary xi 1. Why: The Advantages and Limitations of Studying Greek Architectural Sculpture 1 2. What: The Issue of Definition 36 3. Where: The Issue of Visibility 74 4. How: The Role of Color 103 5. When: The Changing Meaning 143 6. Who: Architect, Sculptor, Patron 184 Conclusions 220 List of Maps and Illustrations 223 List of Figures 227 List of Color Plates 229 Bibliography 231 Index of Places 251 Page vii Preface When, in March 1993, I accepted the honor of delivering the Sather Lectures in 1996 and selec- ted as a topic a discussion of Greek architectural sculpture, I was unaware that the Berkeley Cam- pus offered such a variety of examples of plastic embellishment on its buildingsfrom moldings to various types of capitals, from wall reliefs to ak- roteria and finials. It was therefore my great pleasure to begin each one of my talks with a Berkeley structure, which allowed me to make a specific point in keeping with the topic for that evening. I regret that I cannot include all such references in the written version of my presenta- tion, which is meant for a wider readership, many of whom would beas I wasunfamiliar with the Berkeley environment. I want, however, to acknowledge what a great source of inspiration my stay at the University has been, and what a delight I have derived from its magnificent grounds and varied buildings. (And, yes, the weather was beautiful almost all the time!) A person who pointed me in the direction of per- tinent examples and was of great help in produ- cing slides that illustrated them is Kathryn Bothos, head curator of the visual resources col- lection for the Art History Department at Berke- ley. She and her staffJan Eklund, Gloria Gara- venta, Laura Gobbi, and the photographer Julie Wolfwere invaluable in their unstinting assist- ance. The success of my verbal presentations was almost totally dependent on their good of- fices, since I use images as mnemonic devices and can only "speak to the slides" as I show them. Page viii My Berkeley colleagues in the Classics and Art History Departments were equally generous in supplying me with their own slides, helping me with the mechanics of the illustrated presenta- tions, or making scholarly suggestions related to my topics. Here I must single out Crawford Greenewalt, Stephen Miller, and especially Andrew Stewart, who not only attended my Wednesday lectures but also came to all my Monday seminars, providing stimulating discus- sion and helpful references. Specific comments have been acknowledged in my notes, but here I want to thank also William Anderson, Michael Clark, Erich Gruen, Robert Knapp, Leslie Kurke, Anthony Long, Kathleen McCarthy, Donald Mastronarde, and Charles Murgia, who made me feel so welcome and made my stay in Berkeley both profitable and very enjoyable. Mark Grif- fith, the current Chair of the Classics Depart- ment, deserves a special mention for his constant help in all facets of my appointment and for his humorous and generous introductions at each Sather talk. My "Sather Assistants" were Kate Gilhuly, Patricia Slatin, Sarah Stroup and Alan Zeitlin. They took turns in coming to each lec- ture and providing the necessary keys that un- locked the magic of projection technology, often under less than favorable conditions. I wrote most of my text at Bryn Mawr College, so that the various chapters could be made im- mediately available to the Berkeley students who joined my Graduate Seminar on Greek Architec- tural Sculpture at the end of August 1996. Their criticism and comments have been incorporated whenever possible, and I want to acknowledge here the stimulating effect of their own presenta- tions. I therefore extend my thanks to Elizabeth Baughan, Jorge Bravo, Angela Buxton, Kim Codella, Celina Gray, Jeannette Marchand, Kristen Seaman, and Christopher Ulbrich; faith- ful listeners and commentators were also Frank Cope, Barbara Mendoza, and especially Isabel Pafford. I am afraid their input has resulted in a much more extended text than that which I pro- duced for them at the beginning of the semester, but their loss is certainly my gain, for which I am grateful. While writing at Bryn Mawr, I had the usual, in- valuable help of Eileen Markson, Head of the Art and Archaeology Library, and her coworkers, especially Marshall Johnston; their assistance continued even during my Berkeley stay, when they supplied faxes and photocopies at short no- tice for materials locally unavailable. On the conceptual level, I am especially indebted to G. Roger Edwards, whose retirement has increased his generous disposition toward the Bryn Mawr students, to the extent that he now reads everything I write and gives me Page ix the benefit of his vast knowledge, his accumu- lated bibliography, his critique and careful ques- tioning of obscure sentences (and spellings), as well as his cheering encouragement. Another person who read my entire manuscript before I left Bryn Mawr is Pamela A. Webb, whose spe- cific expertise on Hellenistic architectural sculp- ture provided much help and saved me from some errors. Her beautiful book (quite different from her Dissertation) reached me only toward the end of my Berkeley stay, but I have tried to incorporate references to it whenever possible. It is rewarding to see that we often arrive at similar conclusions independently of each other. Finally, Alice A. Donohue read an early version of my chapter 5, which was much improved by her crit- ical acumen and iconographic understanding. After the pleasure of acknowledging all those who, directly or indirectly, have contributed to this book, comes the harder task of trying to ex- plain its guiding principles. As already stated, I gave each lecture with the help of a full comple- ment of slides (approximately seventy-five per talk)yet I mentioned far fewer monuments and examples than those included in my written chapters, where I have the advantage of using extensive notes. These chapters are meant for close reading, not for oral presentation, and therefore those members of my audience who now read the book may find it quite different, in its ordering and presentation, from what they heard. Yet this expanded coverage exacerbates the already-existing problem of illustrating my words. To provide a photograph for each item mentioned would be very difficult and prohibit- ively expensive; to limit my visual commentary to the few monuments for which photographs are readily available would mean to focus on those that are already well known and amply illus- trated elsewhere. Moldings, capitals, and other architectural elements, moreover, are often not particularly photogenic. It seemed therefore best to me to provide line drawings to show the archi- tectural articulations of the standard Greek or- ders, reconstructions of a few monuments most frequently mentioned, and maps clarifying the location of each site of relevance for my text. Some photographs of details are meant to elucid- ate specific points. A few color platesespecially for the Lefkadia Great Tombshould give the reader an idea of the vivid tones that once embel- lished a Greek structure. I have, however, taken care to provide easy reference to an illustration of every item cited, so that students with access to an academic library can check whatever they cannot mentally recall. As usual, I write for studentsasking questions rather than provid- Page x ing answers; making suggestions of my own but only after expressing others' theories; always documenting my statements, perhaps excess- ively, so that my readings can be checked and my sources consulted directly. I hope students will take advantage of the bibliographical leads provided by my text. On the other hand, even in the happy world of the computer and the Inter- net, it is impossible to keep one's information consistently up to date, and I fear important art- icles of recent publication may have escaped me. The topic of architectural sculpture is constantly evolving, and each new excavation season brings to light unexpected and important material for consideration.