CLAR/ARTH 541: Encountering the Gods in Greek Art
Instructor: Kathryn Topper (she/her/hers)
Email: ktopper@uw.edu
Meeting time: M 2:30–5:20
Meeting place: Denny 257 (Classics seminar room)
Office hour: TBD
This course examines the representation of the gods in ancient Greek art. How were gods imagined to look, and why? In what ways do images of the gods correspond with literary representations, and how do they differ? How might images of the gods replicate the experience of epiphany? What effect did scale have on encounters with images of the gods? Were specific materials considered most suitable for images of the divine, and why? What are we to make of aniconism? This course will consider these questions and others. Our focus will be the Greek world, but we will occasionally venture into the Roman world when the evidence demands.
This course is designed for graduate students in Classics and Art History, but it is also open to graduate students in related fields whose training has included coursework in the ancient Greek world.