“How fast does a city recover from destruction? A new view of the creation of the Severe Style”

On April 20th, Dr. Anja Slawisch, a research fellow at University of Cambridge, presented her careful reconsideration of the transition from Archaic period to Classical period in art, especially in sculpture. I will first give some historical background and conventional understanding of this transition, and then elaborate on her argument.

Conventionally, the sack of Athens during the Persian War in 480 BCE spurred the artistic development from austere Archaic style (see statues of Kleobis and Biton below1) to the Severe Style (see Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the tyrannicides2), and hence marks the transition from Archaic period into Classical period in art. The most important feature that sets severe style apart from the Archaic is a more naturalistic depiction of the human anatomy. For statues of the tyrannicides, the human bodies were made as an organic system - their pelves shift according to their stances, as opposed to the awkward posture of Kleobis and Biton. In this widely-accepted narrative, the destruction of Athens, heavily influencing the psyche of Athenians, stimulated these stark changes and inventions in artistic style. As a consequence, 480 BCE became a reference point for archaeologists in dating these statues according to their features.

Statues of Kleobis and Biton Harmodius and Aristogeiton

1 Statues of Kleobis and Biton (identified by inscriptions on the base) dedicated to Delphi by the city of Argos, signed by ​ [Poly?]medes of Argos. Marble, ca. 580 BC. H. 1.97 m (6 ft. 5 ½ in.), after restoration. Archaeological Museum of Delphi, no. 467, 1524. By en:User:Adam Carr - first uploaded as en:Image:Ac.kleobisandbiton.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=783609 2 Roman copy of the 2nd century CE after a Kritios and Nesiotes model of 477—476 BCE. Naples, National Archaeological Museum http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=6029#sel= Slawisch, however, sees problems in this chronology. She focused on a case study of archaeological findings in Miletus and Didyma, which were prominent cultural and economic centers of Ionia before and after the Classical period. During the Classical period, scholars thought that they were hardly as important as Athens, based on Athenian literary dominance and the numerous Roman copies of Athenian sculptures(and hence an Atheno-centric perspective when studying this period). But Slawisch, with rigorous literature review as well as archaeological field studies, proposes that Ionia could be where Severe Style originated and prospered, before 480 BCE in the late 6th century or early 5th century.

This Miletus torso below3 clearly shows features of Severe Style (the contrapposto stance, clear abdominal muscles, downwards shaved pubic hair) while still preserving the front-facing form of the Archaic style. It is generally dated 480 BCE for aforementioned reasons, but according to its similarity with Apollon Didymeus (dated 494 BCE) in Herodotus’ description, the incipience of Severe Style can be brought before the clear-cut line of 480 BCE. Furthermore, together with other sculptures, terracottas and coins found in Miletus and Didyma in a similar style, this torso suggests that Miletus, instead of Athens, could be the birthplace of Severe Style in the late 6th century, and later influenced Athens.

Miletus torso

The other important piece of archaeological evidence is how, even though Miletus was destroyed during the Ionian Revolt in 499-494 BCE, manufacturing activities did not necessarily come to a complete halt. In fact, evidence of buildings in Miletus (indicating revival of urban activities) could again be seen in 479 BCE, and it is logical to deduce that severe style was “developed independently and primarily in Ionia and not, as is conventionally argued, in Athens.” (Slawisch, 2016)

References: Figures in Motion: De-Centring Athens from the Creation of the Severe Style http://anja.slawisch.net/figures-in-motion-de-centring-athens-from-the-creation-of-the-severe-style/ CSTS 119 Notes by Prof. Mulligan

3 https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/male-torso ​