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The Art of Libation in Classical Athens- Yale University Press- Hardcover- New - Picture 1 of 1

The Art of Libation in Classical Athens by Milette Gaifman (Hardcover, 2018)

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A libation involved pouring liquid—such as water, wine, milk, oil, or honey—from a vessel onto the ground, an altar, or another surface.

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This handsome volume presents an innovative look at the imagery of libations, the most commonly depicted ritual in ancient Greece, and how it engaged viewers in religious performance. In a libation, liquid-water, wine, milk, oil, or honey-was poured from a vessel such as a jug or a bowl onto the ground, an altar, or another surface. Libations were made on occasions like banquets, sacrifices, oath-taking, departures to war, and visitations to tombs, and their iconography provides essential insight into religious and social life in 5th-century BC Athens. Scenes depicting the ritual often involved beholders directly-a statue's gaze might establish the onlooker as a fellow participant, or painted vases could draw parallels between human practices and acts of gods or heroes. Beautifully illustrated with a broad range of examples, including the Caryatids at the Acropolis, the Parthenon Frieze, Attic red-figure pottery, and funerary sculpture, this important book demonstrates the power of Greek art to transcend the boundaries between visual representation and everyday experience.