Laconian pottery

Resent rescue excavations for the construction of the Tramway Extension to Piraeus (2014-2018) revealed several parts of the ancient city, including many wells, which were filled up with waste material after their abandonment. In one of these wells, along with abundant plain and black glazed sherds, a remarkable group of 10 red-figure fragments of a late fifth century BC Attic red-figure large plate(?) has been found. The little that remains of the original vase is enough to show that it probably belongs to the circle of the Pronomos Painter and that it pictured several ‘kalathiskos dancers’ together with at least one of the Dioskouroi and an impressive bearded god who can be probably identified as Zeus.

All these figures are well attested in the artistic repertoire of the last decades of the fifth century. The popularity of the Dioskouroi on Attic vases of this era has been connected to the wall paintings of Polygnotos and Mikon in the Anakeion (mentioned by Pausanias), to the claiming of an Attic origin for their sister Helen and the placing of her birth at Rhamnous and, most important, to a tendency of the Athenians (or at least a number of them) to appropriate Laconian heroes for their own benefit during the Peloponnesian war.

Furthermore, ‘kalathiskos dancers’ are depicted on various artistic media from the late 5th c. BC down to the Roman era and there is an ongoing scholarly discussion about their possible common prototype and their connection with the famous bronze ‘Saltantes Lacenae’ of Kallimachos mentioned by Pliny. Their idiosyncratic dance has been connected with the worship of various deities while their relationship with Sparta has been disputed - and often rejected.

The new Piraeus’ fragments by providing the first iconographic evidence of the relationship between this particular dance and the Dioscouroi support the connection between the ‘kalathiskos dancers’ and Sparta and contribute to the discussion on the tendency of the Athenians to claim their enemy’s heroes during the Peloponnesian war.

The thesis deals with the pottery of two refuse pits of the archaic period, found in ancient Leibethra, Pieria. Starting with an account of existing research, concerning the area of Leibethra, and the information provided by ancient literature, as well as a comprehensive account of the excavation of the pits, the study proceeds to a detailed discussion of the imported and the local fine painted pottery, found in the pits in question. The study furthermore presents the results of the quantitative analysis of the pottery, its chronological variety and composition in vase shapes. The variation of the pottery’s workshops of origin in each chronological period is then compared with the variation of the workshops of origin of the pottery found in other sites in Central Macedonia. The study of the pottery and its context associates the material of the refusal pits with ritual dining and feasting, connected with a sanctuary, an association that is further supported by the examination of the pottery of refuse pits found in shrines of the archaic period in Central Macedonia. This conclusion, when examined together with the presence of pottery originated all over the Greek word and the references in ancient literature about the city, allows for an association of the refuse pits of Leibethra with the sanctuary of Orpheus in Leibethra, attested in ancient written sources.

Η διατριβή πραγματεύεται την κεραμική δύο αποθετών αρχαϊκής περιόδου από τα αρχαία Λείβηθρα Πιερίας. Αρχικά παρουσιάζεται η έρευνα που έχει συντελεστεί μέχρι σήμερα σχετικά με τα Λείβηθρα, όπως επίσης και οι πληροφορίες που παραδίδονται από την αρχαία γραμματεία για την πόλη. Στη συνέχεια, μετά από σύντομη επισκόπηση του ιστορικού της ανασκαφικής έρευνας των αποθετών, γίνεται αναλυτική παρουσίαση της επείσακτης, γραπτής κεραμικής πολυτελείας από τους αποθέτες, ανά εργαστήριο προέλευσης, καθώς επίσης και της εγχώριας γραπτής κεραμικής. Ακολουθεί η ποσοτική ανάλυση της κεραμικής. Εξετάζεται η χρονολογική κατάταξη της επείσακτης κεραμικής, η σύνθεσή της σε σχήματα αγγείων και η διαφοροποίηση της εργαστηριακής προέλευσής της ανά χρονολογική περίοδο, που στη συνέχεια συγκρίνεται με τη διαφοροποίηση της εργαστηριακής προέλευσης της επείσακτης κεραμικής από άλλες θέσεις της Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας. Η μελέτη της κεραμικής των αποθετών, η επίχωσή τους και η σύγκριση με τους αποθέτες από ιερά της κεντρικής Μακεδονίας και με την κεραμική τους, οδηγεί στο συμπέρασμα πως το υλικό των Λειβήθρων προέρχεται από την τέλεση τελετουργικών γευμάτων, που πιθανότατα συνδέονται με κάποιο ιερό. Το συμπέρασμα αυτό, συνεξεταζόμενο με τον «πανελλήνιο» χαρακτήρα της κεραμικής και τις αναφορές της αρχαίας γραμματείας για την πόλη, επιτρέπει τη διατύπωση, με επιφύλαξη βέβαια, της υπόθεσης ότι είναι δεν είναι απίθανο οι αποθέτες των Λειβήθρων να σχετίζονται με το μαρτυρούμενο ιερό του Ορφέα στα Λείβηθρα.

Résumé
Étudier l’histoire de Sparte pose de manière accrue la question des sources. À la faiblesse de la documentation écrite disponible s’ajoute le problème du « Mirage spartiate », c’est-à-dire de la construction d’un discours historiographique empreint de fantasmes, en particulier par des auteurs  anciens le plus souvent non Spartiates. Si ce dernier est patiemment déconstruit depuis le travail fondateur de F. Ollier, on relève cependant qu’il l’a essentiellement été à partir des testimonia littéraires, tandis que les realia archéologiques restaient peu exploitées. Les vases laconiens, figurés ou non, constituent pourtant une source documentaire qu’il est possible d’analyser dans le cadre d’un questionnement historique. Cette étude propose de revenir sur l’un des aspects essentiels du « Mirage », l’austérité spartiate, dont la mise en place est généralement placée au cours du VIe siècle. La production des figures noires laconiennes, qui connaît son pic de production et son déclin au cours de cette période, constitue un terrain d’expérimentation privilégié pour reposer les termes du débat. Le croisement des données avec et les textes d’une part et l’ensemble de la culture matérielle contemporaine de l’autre – vases à vernis noir, bronzes, reliefs, figurines de plomb et ivoires – permet de mener une approche comparative. La recherche de parallèles dans les séries céramiques contemporaines d’Athènes, de Corinthe ou de Béotie offre enfin le moyen de relativiser la spécificité du cas spartiate. Finalement, l’austérité ne s’avère être que l’une des nombreuses chimères du « Mirage spartiate ».

Mots-clés : Grèce antique, Sparte, Laconie, époque archaïque, époque classique, culture matérielle, céramologie, histoire des représentations, historiographie, iconographie


Abstract
Studying the history of Sparta raises the question of the sources. In addition to the weakness of the available written documentation, occurs the problem of the "Spartan Mirage", that is to say the construction of a historiographical discourse characterised by idealization phenomena, in particular by ancient authors who are usually not Spartans. Although the latter has been patiently deconstructed since F. Ollier's work, it is worth noting that it was mainly based on literary testimonia, while archaeological realia remained little exploited. The laconian vases, figured or not, nevertheless constitute a source that can be analysed in the context of a historical frame. This study proposes to return to one of the essential aspects of the "Mirage", the spartan austerity, whose creation is generally placed during the 6th century. The production of laconian black figures, which experienced its peak of production and decline during this period, constitutes a privileged field of experimentation to restate the terms of the debate. The cross-checking of this data with the texts on the one hand and the contemporary material culture on the other – black glazed vases, bronzes, reliefs, lead and ivory figurines – makes it possible to conduct a comparative approach. The search for parallels in the contemporary ceramic series of Athens, Corinth or Boeotia finally offers a way to put in perspective the specificity of the spartan case. Finally, austerity turns out to be only one of the numerous chimeras of the "Spartan Mirage".

Keywords: Ancient Greece, Sparta, Laconia, Archaic period, Classical period, material culture, ceramology, history of representations, historiography, iconography

Significant cultural changes and social transformations took place in Laconia, as in many other regions of Greece, between the end of the Middle Bronze Age and the construction of the Mycenaean palaces. A better understanding of this dynamic situation can be achieved by looking at changes of material culture in a higher resolution, i.e. region by region. In this paper we are going to compare pottery at Ayios Vasileios and the Menelaion on the one hand and Ayios Stephanos on the other from the Middle Helladic (MH) period until the beginning of the palatial period around Late Helladic (LH) IIIA1 and LH IIIA2 Early. Pottery is the most abundant artefact class and a useful tool to explore the relationship between Central and South Laconia, which common styles, functions and techniques they shared, in what ceramic aspects they differed and which interregional contacts they had in times of significant changes in social and political organisation. The analysis will also allow us to investigate the nature of Cretan influence on sumptuary practices in different parts of Laconia. In Central Laconia this influence culminates in the period of most intensive building activity and may imply an influx of population from South Laconia and Kythera.


Keywords

Ayios Vasileios, Early Mycenaean, pottery, consumption, Cretan influence

Les satyres, joyeux compagnons enivrés de Dionysos, ne font a priori pas bon ménage avec l'austère Sparte. Ce postulat a conduit à les ignorer considérablement dans les études relatives à l'art laconien. Les satyres ont principalement été étudiés au sein de l'iconographie attique, parfois corinthienne, mais très peu au sein de l'imagerie laconienne, et pour cause : ils y sont rares.

Pottery in ancient Sparta was used for storage, shipping, communicating moral lessons, and more. Dr Adrien Delahaye, French School at Athens, joins the show to explore what scholars know about Spartan pottery in the Archaic and Classical periods.

https://ithacabound.com/podcast/pottery-in-archaic-classical-sparta-w-dr-adrien-delahaye/
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/pottery-in-archaic-classical-sparta-w-dr-adrien-delahaye/id1559088835?i=1000541624624

Résumé
Cet article présente une coupe grecque du type "de Droop" ainsi que deux fragments - dont l'un a peut-être été attribué à tort à de la "Droop" - conservés dans les collections du musée d'Archéologie nationale (St-Germain-en-Laye). La coupe est importante par la rareté de son décor, tandis que les deux autres se distinguent par leur lieu de découverte, en dehors de la sphère habituelle des autres coupes de cette classe, importés en France au VIe s. av. J.-C.

Abstract
This article présents a greek cup called 'Droop cups' and two fragments - on of them has been probably attributed wrongly to Droop cups - held in the collections of the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale (St-Germain-en-Laye). The cup is important because of the rarity of its subject, while the two others distinguish themselves by their place of discovery, outside the habitual area of the others Droop cups belonging to this class, imported in France in the sixth century BC.

Analisi contestuale delle ceramiche greche rinvenute nei santuari urbani di Marzabotto (tempio di Tinia, di recente scoperta e il santuario per il culto delle acque, indagato negli anni sessanta del secolo scorso) e di Bologna etrusca (acropoli). La cronologia di questi materiali, soprattutto di produzione attica, ma anche ionica e laconica, copre un arco cronologico che va dal VI al IV sec. a.C. Il contributo si sofferma sugli esemplari più significativi e sui contesti specifici di ritrovamento, mettendo in evidenza, anche attraverso il confronto della documentazione nei diversi santuari, le motivazioni della presenza di forme e iconografie. In taluni casi è possibile individuare gli esiti di scelte di forme e produzioni specificamente connesse e adeguate al contesto sacro urbano e alle esigenze rituali ad esso connesse, mostrando significative differenze rispetto al quadro di riferimento delle importazioni note dalle necropoli e dall'abitato.

The iconography and composition of the Arcesilas Cup are widely acknowledged to have been modelled on weighing scenes found in Egyptian funerary art. However, less attention has been given to how the Arcesilas Painter came to experiment with a composition found in Egyptian funerary art, and why he would want to do so. This paper revises previous studies of the Arcesilas Cup’s subject and its similarities to Egyptian illustrations of the weighing of the heart spell. Next, it explores how exchange and consumption in the sixth-century Mediterranean can be used to make sense of the cup’s unique subject. Finally, it proposes contexts for the transmission of designs between Egyptian and Laconian artists.

Είναι ευρέως γνωστό ότι η εικονογραφία και η σύνθεση του Κυπέλλου Arcesilas έχουν δομηθεί με βάση το πρότυπο ‘σκηνών ζυγίσματος’ που βρέθηκαν σε αιγυπτιακά ταφικά μνημεία. Ωστόσο, λιγότερη προσοχή έχει δοθεί στο πώς και το γιατί o Arcesilas Ζωγράφος επέλεξε να πειραματιστεί με μια τέτοια σύνθεση. Το άρθρο αυτό αναθεωρεί προηγούμενες μελέτες για το Κύπελλο Arcesilas, αλλά και τις ομοιότητές του με αιγυπτιακές εικόνες, όπως ‘το ζύγισμα για το ξόρκι της καρδιάς’. Στη συνέχεια, διερευνά το πώς οι ενέργειες ανταλλαγής και κατανάλωσης στη Μεσόγειο του 6ου αιώνα μπορούν να αξιοποιηθούν, προκειμένου να δώσουν νόημα στη μοναδική θεματική του κυπέλλου. Τέλος, προτείνονται ενδεχόμενα πλαίσια, στα οποία μεταδόθηκαν σχέδια-μοτίβα ανάμεσα σε καλλιτέχνες της Αιγύπτου και της Λακωνίας.

ICS Postgraduate WIP
Senate House, 9th Decemeber 2016

Music was a key part of Spartan identity; a sound that their enemies learnt to fear (Thuc. 5.69.2- 5.70 & Plut. Inst.Lac. 16). Music was not just a tool to be utilised in war, however. Archaic Sparta fostered a welcoming environment for musicians. Terpander was the first to organise mousikoi agones in Sparta for example (Ps.Plut., De Musica, 1134c). The issue with such literary accounts is, to what extent are they part of the Spartan mirage?

This paper seeks to explore the material evidence in order gain a different perspective from the literary sources, so much of which was written by authors who had their own agendas when discussing Sparta (Herrmann-Otto, 1998, for Aristotle & Powell, 1994, for Plato). In doing so, I am aware nonetheless that I am replacing one particular methodological difficulty for a whole set of others.

The main material I will assess in this paper is a collection of thirty Laconian black figure vases, all of which depict some form of instrumental musicking. These vases show three clearly differentiated types of performance, showing how music was key to the socially divided Spartan community, and as such, how it could be used to help enforce such social divisions as ‘them’ and ‘us’. In order to draw further meaning from these vases, they will be studied in relation to other Spartan material culture, such as the lead figurines. Additionally, it is important to assess how these vases differ to Athenian scenes of music (a more thoroughly contextualised body of material), and what these differences might suggest about the wider differences between the two states in the Archaic period.

Le sujet d'etude part d'un constat simple : les coupes a boire a la fin de l'epoque archaique (580-480) sont omnipresentes. La forme est produite, dans le courant du VIe siecle, dans tous les centres majeurs de production et d'exportation de vases, Corinthe, la Laconie et l'Attique : elle y connait de maniere remarquable a peu pres partout la meme evolution. Elles sont egalement tres largement diffusees en Mediterranee et bien au-dela. L'objectif est donc de suivre un produit d'artisanat de la chaine de production jusqu'a son utilisation, en passant par sa mise en vente et sa distribution : la coupe commence sa vie entre les mains du potier pour arriver aux levres du consommateur. C'est la vision generale et comparative qui permet d'une part d'eclairer les mecanismes qui regissent la production et le commerce des coupes, d'autre part de mettre en relation les differentes productions pour y deceler les eventuelles influences de l'un...

In 1983-89 the Department of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Amsterdam, in collaboration with the British School at Athens, conducted a program of intensive field walking east of Sparta in Laconia on the Peloponnese. The Laconia Survey led to the identification of over 400 sites (including villages, farmyards and villas, as well as graves and shrines) from the Late Neolithic to recent times. The first of two volumes presenting the results has recently appeared. As a sequel, the Amsterdam Department began work in 1995 at Geraki (ancient Geronthai), southeast of Sparta and outside the Laconia Survey area. Previous investigations of the imposing acropolis with its fortification wall indicated occupation from the Early Bronze Age onwards. The new Geraki project aims at revealing the long history of human occupation in more detail. In the two campaigns thus far (1995-96) the wall and other standing remains have been mapped out and described with the help of modem geodetical and other technology. An intensive survey has yielded numerous artifacts, ranging from the Late Neolithic to recent times (excepting notably the Mycenaean period). Geophysical work has also been carried out, and spolia, built into various local Byzantine churches, are being examined. Plans for future campaigns include a geomorphological study and a series of test trenches, which may be followed by full-scale excavations in selected areas.