SCHOOL OF HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICALSTUDIES

"British Museum B226. Black-

figure Amphora, by the Antimenes

Painter. From Vulci, 520 BCE"

Professor John Oakley

2015 AustralianArchaeological Instituteat Athens (AAIA) VisitingProfessor

Greek painted vases from Athensare our richest and most complexsource of images from ancientGreece. Traditionally, they have beengrouped together as either scenes ofmyth or pictures of daily life withmost of the scholarly attention beingpaid to myth. This lecture willexamine not only the different typesof subjects connected with daily lifethat are illustrated on these vases,but will also note subjects not found,such as scenes of cooking orcleaning, activities probably left toslaves.

Scholars are currently divided as tohow great the documentary value ofvase-paintings is for determining thereality of ancient life in Athens, andthe question of whether the vase-paintings are accurate reflections ofdifferent aspects of ancient life orpure fantasy has not been answereddefinitively. Indeed, often multipleinterpretations for the same type ofscene have been put forth. This

lecture will shed light on thisquestion and attempt to solve thequandary.

John Oakley is the ChancellorProfessor and Forrest D. Murden Jr.Professor, Department of ClassicalStudies, College of William and Maryin Virginia, United States . He is aworld-renowned specialist in Greekvase painting, iconography andRoman sarcophagi, and the author ofnumerous books, including“Athenian Potters and Painters” (in 3volumes, Oxford 1997, 2009, and2014), “The Greek Vase – the Art ofthe Storyteller” (British MuseumPress, 2013), and “Picturing Death inClassical Athens: The Evidence of theWhite Lekythoi” (Cambridge, 2004)

Scenes from Daily Life onAthenian Vases”

“Wednesday, 16 September 2015 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Theatre AElisabeth Murdoch BuildingThe University of MelbournePARKVILLE VIC 3010

Admission is free.Bookings are required.Seating is limited.

To register visit: http://alumni.online.unimelb.edu.au/johnoakley

For further information pleasecontact Brenda Jackson atjacksonb@unimelb.edu.au orphone 8344 1521

PUBLIC LECTURE