Fly (?) - The Sealings of Aetolian Kallipolis no. 60 (original) (raw)
Related papers
The religious significance of insects in the Aegean Bronze Age: Three notes
G. Touchais, R. Laffineur, F. Rougemont (eds) Physis. L’environnement naturel et la relation home-milieu dans le monde égéen protohistorique. Actes de la 14e Rencontre égéenne internationale, Paris, Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, 11-14 décembre 2012, Aegaeum 37, Liège/Austin 2014, pp.525-529, 2014
Theater Mask - The Sealings of Aetolian Kallipolis no. 79
Theater Mask The Sealings of Aetolian Kallipolis – no. 79 Pantos A. Pantos Theater mask, to the right: The accentuated features of this form, such as mouth, nose, eyebrows and headdress, make it clear that it is not a human face, but a theatrical mask. Exactly the same or approximately the same hairstyle is observed in a series of ring stones. Among the «νεανίσκοι» of the «κωμικά πρόσωπα τῆς νέας κωμωδίας» according to Pollux (IV 143ff.) probably the «πάγχρηστος» is depicted on the sealing no. 79 of Kallipolis. Such seals depicting comic masks may belong to the «περί τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνίται», to whom the Aetolians had by law given special privileges. (Translation. Initial Publication in "TA ΣΦΡΑΓΙΣΜΑΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΙΤΩΛΙΚΗΣ ΚΑΛΛΙΠΟΛΕΩΣ" (Dissertation, University of Athens, 1984-5, in Greek ).
The Sealings of the Aetolian Kallipolis: The Iconography
The Sealings of the Aetolian Kallipolis: The Iconography. The text "The Sealings of the Aetolian Kallipolis: The Iconography" is a translation of chapter 8 of my doctoral dissertation "The sealings of the Aetolian Kallipolis" (University of Athens, 1984-5). This chapter is divided into three parts: Part A refers to the importance of the sealings of Kallipolis, that is, they are a closed dated group of sealings, and that their art is completely Hellenistic. Part B refers to the theme of the representations on the sealings (gods and heroes, male and female figures, animals, mythical beings, various objects). Finally, in Part C, the relationship between coin types and emblems of public seals is examined.
The Greeks called the hornet Βέμβηξ, a word also used in order to indicate the spinning top. This fact probably depended on the rapid and round trajectories of such animals, which evoke the children's toy. Nevertheless a further similarity between the insect and the object existed. Indeed according to the Greeks the spinning top is an instrument that turns after been whipped (see e. g. Suda s. v. Βέμβηξ). Moreover the ancients linked the word πληγεὶς to the hornet as well. For instance Eutecnius writes that he is aware of the medication required for one who has been wounded by a hornet: “the hornet’s bite (πλῆγμα) is very painful, but he immediately dies when you pull out his sting (οἶστρος)”. Consequently, we can thus ask whether these two spheres of meanings – the beat of the whip and the bite of the hornet – were not infact superimposed by the ancients. My analysis therefore investigates this possibility, whilst also considering the fact that insects such as the hornet – and especially their bites – were believed to be typical means of bringing on divine madness. The most famous example of this theme is perhaps the story of the cow Io, tormented by an οἶστρος, Tabanus Bovinus, an insect which infests cattle. It is interesting to note that such holy insanity, provoked by certain insects, had often a Dionysiac imprint. As Io, the daughters of king Proetus were driven mad by Dionysus or Hera. In this state of madness, believing to be cows, they wandered through Peloponnesian mountains as frenzied Maenads until Melampus managed to heal them. It is not explained what the organic cause of such madness was, and yet the theme of the crazy cows recalls the myth of Io driven insane by a hornet. My aim is to demonstrate how the ancients connected such a rich symbolism to the hornet with deep Dionysiac implications therein.
Current Approaches and New Perspectives in Aegean Iconography, 2020
This article discusses the relationship of the bird-demon motif in Aegean Bronze Age iconography to related figures appearing in Egypt and the ancient Near East.1 In Aegean iconography, fantastic figures combine avian and anthropomorphic features, however, only a part of these reflect relatively standardised motifs. Besides the so-called bird-ladies, there are a number of other figures used in different contexts and combined with other elements. These variations change their character and their position among the other religious motifs, which remain largely uncertain. Their appearance in various artistic media and in different periods throughout the whole Aegean Bronze Age clearly testifies to their importance and to their role in a religious belief system. A detailed comparison with their Near Eastern counterparts sheds some light on their creation process and the reasons behind their creation, as well as on their meaning.