DOCSLIB.ORG

Elpenor, Amymone, and the Truth in the Lykaon Painter's Painting

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Elpenor, Amymone, and the Truth in the Lykaon Painter's Painting BaBesch 74 (1999) Elpenor, Amymone, and the Truth in the Lykaon Painter’s Painting Annette L. Giesecke for Emily Vermeule He evidences the awkwardness and imperfection Culture. Here the authors dictate that one ought to of a true primitive. Can he really paint land- investigate “…the importance of the overall icono- scapes? He grasps their character, their color, graphic context of (an) image”, to consider both the their light. He translates their intimacy and their historical context of that image and its context in grandeur, but runs aground in the art of sepa- the oeuvre of the artist4. The authors further urge rating his planes and in giving the illusion of dis- art historians not to ignore the role of the ancient tance. His meager knowledge betrays him 1. viewer and “to think of the viewer as practicing an ideologically charged, socially motivated, intellec- The criticism and misunderstanding which the work tually engaged act of interpretation.”5 This state- of Cézanne incurred is part and parcel of a career in ment of the work’s programmatic and polemical the art world, and were it not for his letters to Émile stance precedes an essay by Lissarague who seeks Bernard, we too, like many of Cézanne’s contem- to illuminate the significance to one another and to porary critics, would be left in the dark regarding the ancient viewer of three images, one in the inte- the truth or truths in and of his painting2. In the case rior and one on either side of the exterior of a cup of Athenian vase painting, however, neither letters by Epiktetos6. This sort of complete analysis of a nor statements of intent written by vase painters given pot and the images which adorn it is a rarity, exist. Accordingly, modern scholarship has been and it is primarily in the case of drinking cups that compelled to attempt to arrive at an understanding all of the images on a pot are considered as part of of Greek vase painting – its methods, its purpose, a signifying whole7. It may be that this is the case and its themes – through an examination of physi- because cups are often decorated with continuous cal remains, the painted pottery itself. Although figured friezes which lead the viewer’s eye around approaches to the criticism of Greek vase painting have evolved over time to yield more comprehen- sive results, the full truth in these paintings has 1 Lecomte 1899. Cézanne has been chosen as the starting point remained elusive due to the way that we continue to of this paper for a reason; it was with Cézanne and the inter- pretation of his own words about his work that Derrida’s The look at Greek vases. Truth in Painting begins. Derrida’s work, in turn, has served as Continued and intensified scholarly interest in the the ideological framework for the argument constructed in this iconography of Greek vase painting, especially the paper. See Derrida 1987. study of the relationship between texts and images, 2 Rewald 1948, 198-205 especially 200. “The truth in painting,” the phrase which appears both in the title and repeatedly in the has advantageously resulted in a number of books body of this paper, alludes both to Cézanne’s letter to Émile which make this subject readily accessible even to Bernard dated to October 23, 1905 (which he concludes with the those who are not students of art and archaeology3. much discussed sentiment: “Je vous dois la vérité en peinture While being enormously useful tools, these and et je vous la dirai…” – for which see Bernard 1926, 66-7) and to the title of Derrida’s work, Derrida 1987. other iconographic studies tend to focus on painters’ 3 These works include: Carpenter 1991; Hedreen 1992; representations or interpretations of certain myths, Rasmussen and Spivey 1991; Shapiro 1994; Woodford 1993; dramatic performances, or major works of art; as well as Schefold 1978 and 1981. therefore, they catalog only a very small portion of 4 Goldhill and Osborne 1994, 2. 5 Goldhill and Osborne 1994, 8. Similar sentiments also appear the overall decorative schema of a given vase. The in M. Beard’s contribution to Rasmussen and Spivey 1991, 12- great disadvantage of this method is the fact that the 35 where it is argued that we must shift our attention from the reader remains unaware of the compositional rich- vase painter to the ancient viewer/consumer if we are to progress ness and hermeneutic challenges of a vase bearing in our understanding not only of iconography but also of the function or role of decorated pottery in antiquity. Only this way a number of images which may or may not be the- can we determine whether pots were items of prestige, were cre- matically related to one another and which may ated for export, were merely tomb offerings with no previous derive from a variety of sources. household life, and so forth. Some of the most overt criticism of the “tradi- 6 Goldhill and Osborne 1994, 12-27. 7 Thus, for instance, Keuls remarks that kylikes have an “A, B, tional” and restricted approaches to Greek vase I” tripartite decorative program, “A” and “B” referring to the painting can be found in Goldhill and Osborne’s images on the sides of the cup and “I” referring to the tondo introduction to Art and Text in Ancient Greek iconography. This program is detailed in Keuls 1984, 256-9. 63 of this means, generally speaking, is that sloppily executed or otherwise seemingly uninteresting B- sides have received and continue to receive unbal- anced and incomplete critical analyses. The ten- dency to ignore one side of a vase has been amplified and promoted by the limitations of pho- tography and other two-dimensional media in accu- rately portraying a three-dimensional object. Recognizing this tendency is of the utmost impor- tance as partial renderings continue to hamper our understanding of the role or purpose of painting on Greek pottery9. Thus when one side of a vase has consistently failed to be reproduced in our texts and critical works, it has tended to fall into Vergessenheit, to sink into oblivion as if it had never existed. This is the fate which has befallen a pur- portedly well-known and understood pelike by the Lykaon Painter in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The vase in question dates to ca. 440 BC and is dec- orated with images linked with contemporary 5th c. theater, literature, and mural painting. PART 1: ELPENOR AND ODYSSEUS The A-side of this pelike depicts Odysseus’ con- frontation with the ghost or spirit, cuxß, of his lost Fig. 1. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 34.79, Attic Red companion Elpenor in the presence of Hermes (Fig. Figure Pelike by the Lykaon Painter, Side A, ca. 440 BC, 1). The figures of Elpenor, Odysseus, and Hermes William Amory Gardner Fund. Photo courtesy Museum are located on different levels in a rocky terrain, and of Fine Arts, Boston. these various levels are indicated by wavy lines painted in a whitish-yellow. The landscape is fur- ther defined by the reeds growing in a clump behind the cups’ exterior. This preconditions the modern the figure of Elpenor rising, or rather heaving him- critic to consider that two seemingly independent self, from a chasm in the earth on the left side of the images on opposite sides of a cup may have an composition. Odysseus himself is seated on a rock underlying connection, a connection which a sym- facing Elpenor and still holds the sword with which posiast might discover as the cup is handled, turned, he has slit the necks of the sheep lying at his feet. and eventually emptied to reveal yet another image, Striding towards Odysseus with his hand out- that in the cup’s interior. Thus, for instance, when stretched as if signaling or eliciting the emergence the iconographic program of an entire vase is dis- of Elpenor is Hermes, whose eyes are firmly fixed cussed in Robertson’s important recent book on red on the spirit. figure vase painting, it is almost exclusively in the Upon its acquisition by the Museum of Fine Arts, case of cups. These cups include the Brygos this vase was described as being of “startling inter- est” not only because of its stylistic excellence but Painter’s Iliupersis, the same painter’s illustration of the content and aftermath of a symposium, and the Foundry Painter’s cup portraying Thetis receiving 8 For these three cups (Louvre G 152, ARV2 369.1; Achilles’ new armor from Hephaistos in its interior Würzburg, Martin von Wagner Museum 479, ARV2 372.32; and mortal metal smiths at work on the exterior8. and Berlin Staatliche Museen 2294 ARV2 400.1 respectively), see Robertson 1992, 94-6 and 108. Robertson’s work is, of course, primarily devoted to 9 The statement that “linear presentation constrains what is actu- the discussion of the evolution or development of ally a circular affair” drives home this point. See Goffman 1974, painting “style” rather than to iconography, and it 11. With respect to this issue, it is a shame that the cyclograph is accordingly infrequent that the so-called B-sides is not commonly used in reproducing vases in our texts in spite of the slight distortion which the decorative scheme of a vase of other types of vases, especially amphorae and undergoes through the use of this device. For further discussion kraters, receive more than a mention unless they of the truth in photographic representation and a refutation of have been deemed stylistically significant.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Greek Mythology at the Service of the Portuguese Inquisition: the Case of Hercules and the Hydra of Lerna
    Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies- Volume 1, Issue 1 – Pages 25-44 Greek Mythology at the Service of the Portuguese Inquisition: The Case of Hercules and the Hydra of Lerna By Milton Dias Pacheco Greek mythology has been along the centuries a fruitful source of inspiration to artists and writers, as it possesses the strength of expressing symbolically the most common circumstances of life. Regarding the threats that in every age put in danger human life the most popular figure was maybe the Hydra that infested the region of the Lake of Lerna, in Argolis. This mythical figure may still have an older origin as it is connected with chthonic dangers. Because of its terrifying aspect, reptilian traits and poisonous breath, it was related to the evil and the domains of Hell. Later the Hydra significance became larger and deeper as it represented the heresies that could affect the Christian orthodoxy. According to this point of view, every defender of the Catholic Faith was immediately compared to Hercules, the Greek hero who succeeded in killing the mythological Hydra monster. In this way, it is easy to understand why this representation was often used in connection with the Iberian Habsburg Kings, as it worked as a political strategy of this dynasty, in which the Spanish Habsburgs were faced as the guardians and defenders of the Church of Rome, mainly in times when the Inquisition developed a determinative role. An illustrative example of this was the decoration of the arch built by the Inquisition in Lisbon, when King Philip II of Portugal visited the Portuguese Empire capital.
    [Show full text]
  • Big Love by Charles Mee: a Bit of Background
    Big Love by Charles Mee: A Bit of Background About ‘the (re)making project’ All of Chuck Mee’s plays are available online, for free, and in the spirit of his collage style of playwriting, he welcomes artists borrow The Love Trilogy from, steal and transform his scripts into new projects. He also en- courages, possibly even requires, the artists working on his scripts to Big Love is the third play in a thematic trilogy of plays by become creators themselves, completing the work he has laid out Charles Mee. While the plots of the plays do not connect, with their own performance and interpretation. the subject, themes and elements of the plays intersect. The Love Trilogy was written during Mee’s love affair “There is no such thing as an original play. with Laurie Williams that “burst suddenly into flame and None of the classical Greek plays were original: they were all based then, a few years later, was just as suddenly doused.” on earlier plays or poems or myths. And none of Shakespeare's plays are original: they are all taken from earlier work. As You Like It is First Love taken from a novel by Thomas Lodge published just 10 years before Shakespeare put on his play without attribution or acknowledgment. Two people in their seventies fall in love—for the first Chunks of Antony and Cleopatra are taken verbatim, and, to be sure, time in their lives. And, as they work their way toward without apology, from a contemporary translation of Plutarch's one another through the accumulated baggage of their Lives.
    [Show full text]
  • The Χορός of Danaids in Pindar's Pythian 9
    Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics Footrace, Dance, and Desire: The χορός of Danaids in Pindar’s Pythian 9 Version 1.1 December 2007 Micah Y. Myers Stanford University Abstract: This paper offers a new interpretation of Pindar’s Pythian 9.112-16, which relates the story of Danaos marrying off his forty-eight daughters. Previously, these lines have been understood as describing a footrace by the daughter’s suitors to determine which suitor would marry which daughter. By reanalyzing Pindar’s diction I suggest that this passage also depicts Danaos’ daughters in the marked terms of choral performance. This interpretation not only matches the representation of the Danaids as a performing chorus in Phyrnicus’ Danaids and Aeschylus’ Suppliants, but it also further illuminates the way desire permeates and organizes this particular Pindaric ode. 1 Footrace, Dance, and Desire: The χορός of Danaids in Pindar’s Pythian 91 This paper offers a new interpretation of Pindar’s Pythian 9.112-16. These verses have been understood as a description of how Danaos married off his daughters through a footrace he held for their suitors.2 By reanalyzing Pindar’s diction I shall suggest that the text also depicts the Danaids in the marked terms of choral performance. This interpretation not only matches the representation of the Danaids as a performing chorus in Phyrnicus’ Danaids and Aeschylus’ Suppliants, but it also further illuminates the way desire permeates and organizes Pythian 9.3 I shall propose that Pindar portrays the Danaids in this manner in order to represent the connection between athletics, chorality, and marriage.
    [Show full text]
  • FAVORITE GREEK MYTHS VARVAKEION STATUETTE Antique Copy of the Athena of Phidias National Museum, Athens FAVORITE GREEK MYTHS
    FAVORITE GREEK MYTHS VARVAKEION STATUETTE Antique copy of the Athena of Phidias National Museum, Athens FAVORITE GREEK MYTHS BY LILIAN STOUGHTON HYDE YESTERDAY’S CLASSICS CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA Cover and arrangement © 2008 Yesterday’s Classics, LLC. Th is edition, fi rst published in 2008 by Yesterday’s Classics, an imprint of Yesterday’s Classics, LLC, is an unabridged republication of the work originally published by D. C. Heath and Company in 1904. For the complete listing of the books that are published by Yesterday’s Classics, please visit www.yesterdaysclassics.com. Yesterday’s Classics is the publishing arm of the Baldwin Online Children’s Literature Project which presents the complete text of hundreds of classic books for children at www.mainlesson.com. ISBN-10: 1-59915-261-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-59915-261-5 Yesterday’s Classics, LLC PO Box 3418 Chapel Hill, NC 27515 PREFACE In the preparation of this book, the aim has been to present in a manner suited to young readers the Greek myths that have been world favorites through the centuries, and that have in some measure exercised a formative infl uence on literature and the fi ne arts in many countries. While a knowledge of these myths is undoubtedly necessary to a clear understanding of much in literature and the arts, yet it is not for this reason alone that they have been selected; the myths that have appealed to the poets, the painters, and the sculptors for so many ages are the very ones that have the greatest depth of meaning, and that are the most beautiful and the best worth telling.
    [Show full text]
  • Aeschylus' Supplices Introduction and Commentary on Vv. 1–523
    Aeschylus’ Supplices Introduction and Commentary on vv. 1–523 Aeschylus’ Supplices Introduction and Commentary on vv. 1–523 B by Pär Sandin Corrected edition SYMMACHUS C LUND 2005 Aeschylus’ Supplices: Introduction and Commentary on vv. 1–523 / Pär Sandin. Corrected edition: Lund, Symmachus publishing 2005 First edition: Gothenburg, Göteborg University 2003 (doctoral dissertation) © Pär Sandin 2003, 2005 Printed in Sweden by CO-print Professional, Nässjö 2005 ISBN 91-628-6401-7 Symmachus publishing Karl XII-gatan 14c SE-22220 Lund Sweden Aeschylus’ (525–456 B.C.) drama the Suppliant women (Greek Hikétides, Lat. Supplices) is certain to be the first in a trilogy of tragedies with an appurtenant comic epilogue, ‘satyr-play’. The other two tragedies and the satyr-play have been lost except for a few lines preserved in quotations and, possibly, papyri. The dissertation contains an introduction to the entire drama, a translation and commentary on the first half of the text (verses 1–523), and an excursus. The Introduction deals with the date of the theatrical production, the literary theme, the mythological background, the hypothetical reconstruction of the trilogy, and the contemporary Athenian theatre. The Commentary constitutes the major part of the work, being primarily philological, but also literary and historical, dealing with matters of scenic production and the nature of the chorus, where some new hypotheses are proposed, and with Greek mythology, religion, politics, and history in general as these become issues of particular passages of the text. The constitution of the text is a major concern. The Supplices is based on virtually only one manuscript: the Florentine Laurentianus graecus 32.9 (‘Codex Mediceus’) from the 10th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulfinch's Mythology
    Bulfinch's Mythology Thomas Bulfinch Bulfinch's Mythology Table of Contents Bulfinch's Mythology..........................................................................................................................................1 Thomas Bulfinch......................................................................................................................................1 PUBLISHERS' PREFACE......................................................................................................................3 AUTHOR'S PREFACE...........................................................................................................................4 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES..................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................7 CHAPTER II. PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA...............................................................................13 CHAPTER III. APOLLO AND DAPHNEPYRAMUS AND THISBE CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS7 CHAPTER IV. JUNO AND HER RIVALS, IO AND CALLISTODIANA AND ACTAEONLATONA2 AND THE RUSTICS CHAPTER V. PHAETON.....................................................................................................................27 CHAPTER VI. MIDASBAUCIS AND PHILEMON........................................................................31 CHAPTER VII. PROSERPINEGLAUCUS AND SCYLLA............................................................34
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction and Notes by Alan H
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-05833-0 — Aeschylus: Suppliants Edited with Introduction and Notes by Alan H. Sommerstein Excerpt More Information INTRODUCTION 1 AESCHyLuS Aeschylus was born, probably at Eleusis, in or about 525/4 bc;1 his father Euphorion is said to have been a member of Athens’ ancient aristocracy, the Eupatridae (A. T 1.2 TrGF). He made his debut as a tragic dramatist between 499 and 496 (T 52), but he did not win irst prize until 484 (T 54a); in 490 he had taken part in the battle of Marathon (T 1.10; 2.2–3; 11–13; 54; 162.3–4), where his brother Cynegeirus met a heroic end (Hdt. 6.114 = T 16), and a decade later he fought at Salamis and Plataea (T 1.11–12, partly conirmed by his younger contemporary Ion of Chios, FGrH 392 F7 = T 14). From 484 to the end of his career A. won irst prize 13 times in all; par- ticularly after the death of his great rival Phrynichus about 473,2 he must have been victorious almost every time he competed, though he is said to have been defeated by the young Sophocles in 468.3 Probably in 4704 he was invited to visit Sicily by Hieron, tyrant of Syracuse; on this visit he restaged Persians (T 56) and produced a specially composed play, Aitnaiai 1 This was clearly the preponderant ancient tradition, as evidenced by statements that he put on his irst production at the age of 25 (A. T 2.4 TrGF) in the 70th Olympiad (500/499–497/6) (T52), that he was 35 when he fought at Marathon in 490 (T 11), and that he died in 456/5 at the age of 69 (T 3) – though some sources (T 1.50, 2.9, 5.3) imply various later birth dates.
    [Show full text]
  • Amymone Is Sent out to Find Water, As Poseidon Has Dried up All the Rivers
    The fourth play in the tetralogy was a satyr- play, containing farcical elements thematically related to the first three plays. One of the Danaids, Amymone is sent out to find water, as Poseidon has dried up all the rivers. She falls asleep and is molested by satyrs. Poseidon hurls his trident, which scares them off. She sleeps with him, and he creates a spring for her which will never run dry. AMYMONE A re-imagining of Aeschylus’ lost play By Andrew Wilson For Juliet 1 THE DANAID TETRALOGY IV AMYMONE A Satyr Play This tale appears in the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus (1st or 2nd century AD) Since the land [of Argos] was waterless, because Poseidon had dried up the springs in anger with Inachos because he had testified that the land belonged to Hera. [Danaos] sent out his daughters to fetch water. One of them, Amymone, while searching for water, threw a javelin at a deer and hit a sleeping satyr, and the satyr rose and was eager to have intercourse with her. She appealed for the help of Poseidon, and when Poseidon appeared the satyr took to flight and Amymone lay with Poseidon and Poseidon revealed to her the springs at Lerna. 2 The Characters AMYMONE CHORUS OF SATYRS SILENUS, Leader of the Chorus POSEIDON Text in red is by Aeschylus, fragments 13, 14, 15 3 Scene: The Argolid. Somewhere. Not far from the sea. Enter Amymone, carrying a pitcher Amymone Phew! I’m exhausted. What a task! What is my task, I hear you ask? My task, my job, my occupation? It doesn’t need much education! This is my pot, my ewer, jug Which I’ve been told I have to lug Around this country till I find – No one asked me if I mind – A stream of water or a brook: Alas, I don’t know where to look! - Because I’m ordered, seems I must - The river-beds are dry as dust.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulfinch's Mythology the Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch
    1 BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY THE AGE OF FABLE BY THOMAS BULFINCH Table of Contents PUBLISHERS' PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... 3 AUTHOR'S PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. 4 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 7 ROMAN DIVINITIES ............................................................................................................................ 16 PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA ............................................................................................................ 18 APOLLO AND DAPHNE--PYRAMUS AND THISBE CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS ............................ 24 JUNO AND HER RIVALS, IO AND CALLISTO--DIANA AND ACTAEON--LATONA AND THE RUSTICS .................................................................................................................................................... 32 PHAETON .................................................................................................................................................. 41 MIDAS--BAUCIS AND PHILEMON ....................................................................................................... 48 PROSERPINE--GLAUCUS AND SCYLLA ............................................................................................. 53 PYGMALION--DRYOPE-VENUS
    [Show full text]
  • World Civ Week 1
    World Civ Week 1 April 13- 17 2020 Hello students! We miss seeing your smiling faces every day! For Week 1, we are going to be doing our Greek Mythology Project! In this packet we have included 2 gods and goddesses for you to choose from: Athena & Poseidon. You do not need to do both. We have also included all of the websites that would have been used in class to research these gods and goddesses. This project addressed Priority Standard 6.1. Here is the school day that EMS is suggesting students follow. We have included a suggestion of how you can break down this project. Of course, you do not need to follow this schedule exactly if you don’t want to. Monday: Choose which god/goddess you will be researching. Cut & glue the 4 papers for that god/ goddess together (picture example included). Decide which of the research papers included in the packet you will need for your god/goddess. Tuesday: Read your research papers & highlight important information that would pertain to the questions asked on the project paper. There’s an optional note sheet next to the example for you to write down notes as you read. Wednesday: Fill in the blanks for the biography of your chosen god/goddess on the papers. Thursday: Start decorating and coloring your project. Friday: Put all the finishing touches on your project. We are looking for a way for you to share your final projects if you want to, so don’t get rid of them when you are done.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greek Myths 1955, Revised 1960
    Robert Graves – The Greek Myths 1955, revised 1960 Robert Graves was born in 1895 at Wimbledon, son of Alfred Perceval Graves, the Irish writer, and Amalia von Ranke. He went from school to the First World War, where he became a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. His principal calling is poetry, and his Selected Poems have been published in the Penguin Poets. Apart from a year as Professor of English Literature at Cairo University in 1926 he has since earned his living by writing, mostly historical novels which include: I, Claudius; Claudius the God; Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth; Count Belisarius; Wife to Mr Milton (all published as Penguins); Proceed, Sergeant Lamb; The Golden Fleece; They Hanged My Saintly Billy; and The Isles of Unwisdom. He wrote his autobiography, Goodbye to All That (a Penguin Modem Classic), in 1929. His two most discussed non-fiction books are The White Goddess, which presents a new view of the poetic impulse, and The Nazarene Gospel Restored (with Joshua Podro), a re-examination of primitive Christianity. He has translated Apuleius, Lucan, and Svetonius for the Penguin Classics. He was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1962. Contents Foreword Introduction I. The Pelasgian Creation Myth 2. The Homeric And Orphic Creation Myths 3. The Olympian Creation Myth 4. Two Philosophical Creation Myths 5. The Five Ages Of Man 6. The Castration Of Uranus 7. The Dethronement Of Cronus 8. The Birth Of Athene 9. Zeus And Metis 10. The Fates 11. The Birth Of Aphrodite 12. Hera And Her Children 13. Zeus And Hera 14.
    [Show full text]
  • Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics
    Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics Writing Alexandria as the (Common)place Version 1.0 January 2012 Susan Stephens Stanford University Abstract: In 333 BC Alexandria did not exist. The transition from a place devoid of cultural significance (for Greeks) to the first city of the Mediterranean was not just a matter of a few buildings or some Greek immigrants. The making of place is central to the process of identity formation, which is in turn integral to the construction of social order. Place-making requires a sense of shared and evolving history—a past, present, and future that is commonly encoded in genealogies; investment in common myths and rituals; and social hierarchies that both inform and are informed by the specific landscape. For this process of place-making, it follows that poets would play an important role both as repositories for, and as artificers of, cultural memory. This paper discusses how Callimachus helps to create the cultural memory of ancient Alexandria in his poetry. © [email protected] Writing Alexandria as the (Common)place To become a homeland, a place requires topography. To understand how a place becomes a homeland, one must know its topography. By topography I refer to any conceptual map that cites a place. Topographies are the graphe of a topos, the writing of a (common)place. Topographies assign to a place a sequence of symbols readable though the codes of verisimilitude, mapping, description, or narration…. Mapping a homeland is both a process and a product. Topography is a process: it requires the persistent return to history, the systematic unearthing of ruins, the conscientious recovery of traditions, and, generally, the reactivation of an inherited past.
    [Show full text]