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[German version] Greek painter from Corinth, whose name is known from two epigrams of praise from Anth. Pal. 9,757 and 13,17. His creative period, which can only be reconstructed from source criticism, is disputed, but presumably lay in the first half of the 5th cent. BC. Nothing is known of his work. Nevertheless, the Corinthian painters' school of this period enjoyed great esteem. Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) Bibliography L. Guerrini, s.v. I., EAA 4, 178 G. Lippold, s.v. I., RE 9, 2023.

(Τιμάνθης/ Timánthēs). [German version] [1] Greek painter from Cythnus, 5th/4th cents. BC Greek painter from the island of Cythnos in the Cyclades, active in the late 5th and early 4t…

(ζωγραφία/ zōgraphía, Latin pictura or ars pingendi). [German version] I. Greek painting The earliest evidence of ancient painting can be found on the high-quality monumental wall frescoes (Wall paintings, Fresco) of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilisation in palaces (Palace) and houses in Crete and Thera [1]. The most recent examples are from the Byzantine period [2]. Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) [German version] A. Sources and history of scholarship Original works are scarcely and poorly preserved, if at all. This is particularly detrimental for the evaluation of and …

(Μνασίτιμος/ Mnasítimos). [German version] [1] Greek painter from Rhodes, later 3rd cent. BC Greek painter from Rhodes (?) of the later 3rd cent. BC (?), mentioned by Plin. HN 35,146 as a rather second-rate painter. Provenance and date can only be inferred by genealogical conclusions from other artists of this name; nothing is known of his work. Hoesch, Nicola (Munich)…

[German version] (Ἀετίων; Aetíōn) Greek painter (also a sculptor?) of the late classical period, exponent of the four-colour painting style ( Colours). There is an elaborate description of A.'s most famous painting, the wedding of Alexander with Roxane, in Lucian. Hdt. 4-6, which prompted many Renaissance and baroque painters to reinterpret the subject. Influences of this or a further wedding painting described by Plin. HN 35,78, which was meant to symbolize Alexander's unification policies, can pe…

(Πολύγνωτος; Polýgnōtos). [German version] [1] Greek painter and bronze sculptor Greek painter from Thasos, also bronze sculptor (P…

[German version] From the Greek ἐγκαίειν ( enkaíein), to burn in, heat up. A painting technique wi…

(Φιλόξενος; Philóxenos). [German version] [1] Name of several officers under Alexander the Great Several officers with the name P. are mentioned in the sources about Alexander  [4] the Great. They cannot always be distinguished with certainty. One P. was appointed by Alexander in 331 BC (incorrect [1]) ' to collect tribute on this side of the Taurus'(i.e. in Asia Minor) (Arr. An. 3,6,4). This cannot be correct. Arrian must, as often, have expressed himself imprecisely, as this duty had already been entrusted to somebody else. It can also hardly be th…

[German version] (‘monochrome paintings’, from the Greek μονόχρως/ monóchrōs or μονοχρώματος/ monochrṓmatos, ‘monochrome’). Pliny (HN 35,15; 35,56) characterises with this expression the use of colour during an early stage in the development of Greek painting which was also still practiced in his day [3]. He m…

[German version] (Παυσίας; Pausías). Greek painter from Sicyon, belonging to the local school, student of Pamphilus [2], worked between 380 and 330 BC. Representative of light, decorative genre painting that was popular at the time and moved away from the historical-mythical themes of the classical period. With the change in subjects came a preference for predominantly small scenes in splendid Encaustic (painting). Sources (Plin. HN. 35,123ff.) emphasize graceful still lifes of flowers, whose effec…

(Δημήτριος; Dēmḗtrios). Well-known personalities: the Macedonian King D. [2] Poliorketes; the politician and writer D. [4] of Phalerum; the Jewish-Hellenistic chronographer D. [29]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] Officer under Alexander the Great Officer under Alexander [4], fought at Gaugamela as commander of a troop ( ile) of  Hetairoi and in India he commanded a hipparchy. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve 2, no. 256. [German version] [2] D. Poliorketes Son of  Antigonus [1], born 337/6 BC (Diod. Sic. 19,96,1). In 320 he married  Phila, who bore him  Antigonus [2]. He took part in the war against  Eumenes [1]. As commander against  Ptolemaeus he was decisively beaten at Gaza. A …

(Τιμαγόρας/ Timagóras). [German version] [1] Greek painter and poet from Chalcis, c. 450 BC Greek Classical period painter and poet (?) from Chalcis; known only from Plin. HN 35,58, who gives an account of a painting competition during the Pythian Games in Delphi ( c. 450-440 BC), which T. won against Panaenus. The scale and appearance of his works are unknown. Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) Bibliography N. J. Koch, Techné und Erfindung in der klassischen Malerei, 2000, 229 G. Lippold, s. v. T. (7), RE 6 A, 1074 P. Moreno, s. v. T., EAA 7, 1966, 855. [German version] [2] From Athens, envoy t…

[German version] (Νικοφάνης; Nikophánēs). Painter of the second half of the 4th cent. BC, student of Pausias and therefore belonging to the Sicyonian school of painters (Plin. HN 35,111; 137). He was counted among the decorative genre painters, whose importance increased during this period; assessments of the effect of…

(Σωκράτης; Sōkrátēs). [German version] [1] Sculptor from Thebes, c. 470 BC Sculptor from Thebes. He created a cult statue of Meter Dindymene for Pindar [2] in Thebes (Paus. 9,25,3) and therefore must have worked in the 'Severe Style' around 470 BC. Paus. 1,22,8 attributed a relief of the Charites and a Hermes Propylaios on the Acropolis in Athens to the philosopher S. [2] as the alleged sculptor. The relief of the Charites is identified as the model of a much-copied type. Because it is dated to around 470, it has to be attrib…

[German version] Representations, as realistic as possible, of selected living and non-living objects in an independent composition a…

(Ταυρίσκος/ Taurískos). [German version] [1] Grammarian, 2nd cent. BC Grammarian of the 2nd cent. BC and pupil of Crates [5] from Mallus, to whom his definition of philological scholarship (κριτικὴ τέχνη, kritikḕ téchnē) can be traced [1. 56]. According to Sext. Emp. adv. math. 248-249, T. distinguished three sub-disciplines: grammar (λογικόν, logikón), dialectology and stylistic criticism (τριβικόν, tribikón) and commentary (ἱστορικόν, historikón) on content needing explanation. For T.' position within the classification of the grammatical discourse o…

[German version] These are hand-painted illustrations in manuscripts of cultic, lexical, geographic (and cartographic), or literary content, which explain the text through images, or supplement or ornament it. Painting techniques range from roughly-sketched pen or brush drawings using drawing ink and/or water-colour up to lavishly coloured pictures in tempera. The term ‘miniature’ for book illustrations derives from the cinnabar (Lat. minium) used in the Middle Ages to emphasize margins and initials. Grounds were raffia,  papyrus, and  parchment. From th…

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(Ἰσμηνίας; Ismēnías or Ἱσμηνίας; Ismēnías). [German version] [1] Prominent Theban politician, 5th/4th cent. BC Prominent Theban politician, famous for his wealth (Pl. Men. 90a). After the end of the Peloponnese War (431-404 BC), I., with  Androclidas, came to the fore as leaders of a Hetaeria which opposed the pro-Spartan politics of  Leontiades. The goals were to push back the Leontiades faction and to bring about a new orientation in international politics towards Athens (Hell. Oxy. 12,1f.; 13,1; Xen. Hell. 3,5,1-6) [1]. Under his rule, Thebes concluded an alliance with Athens in 395 BC and (supplied w…

(Διονύσιος; Dionýsios). Famous personalities: D. [1], the tyrant of Syracuse; the historian D. [18] of Halicarnassus. Dionysios (month),  Months, names of the. The chronicle of Ps.-D. by Tell Maḥre see D. [23]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] D. I. Notorious tyrant in Syracuse c. 400 BC of Syracuse, son of Hermocritus, born in c. 430 BC, died in 367 BC. Founder of the ‘greatest and longest tyrannical rule in history’ (Diod. Sic. 13,96,4; appearance: Timaeus FGrH 566 F 29). Possessing a sophist education (Cic. Tusc. 5,63), D. had enormous ambitions and a will to power (Isoc. Or. 5,65). He supported the (unsuccessful) coup d'état by Hermocrates in 408/7 and, in 406/5, as a secretary of the assembly of strategoi, he accused the commanders who failed to stop Carthage from capturing Acragas of treason in front of the assembly. The resulting fine that was imposed on the ‘troublemaker’ was pa…

(Καλλικλῆς; Kalliklês). [German version] [1] Collocutor in Plato's Gorgias Collocutor in Plato's ‘ Gorgias; taking it as his premise that nature ranks above the law, he advocates the right of the stronger (Pl. Grg. 483 c-d). This is the lesson of the  Gorgias (Gorg. Encomium Helenae 6), understood by Aristotle (Aristot. Soph. el. 12,173a 8-16) as the conflict between truth and the opinion of the majority. C. is, however, no Sophist: on the contrary, he distances …

[German version] (Πάναινος/ Pánainos). Painter and sculptor from Athens, brother or more likely nephew (Str. 8,3,30) of the sculptor Phidias, with whom he worked, possibly in the same workshop. His active period was the second third of the 5th cent. BC. Paus. 5,11,4-6 reports that he painted the fence in the temple of Zeus in Olympia with a programmatic cycle of myths. As can be inferred from remains and dowel holes, this fence was made of individual stone slabs, which were set up between the front…

[German version] From Italian fresco, affresco intonaco, ‘on the fresh plaster’. Wall and ceiling paintings, in which the  pigments are applied to a damp base either in pure form or with the aid of a special binder such as diluted glue, casein, or marble powder. The composition of the covering varies; usually, it is a whitewash mortar mixed with different additives which are applied one after the other in several layers. Basically, the fresco technique lies in the fact that during the drying process o…

[German version] Monumental floor mosaic (5.82 × 3.13 m) representing a battle between the Macedonians and Persians, who were led by Alexander the Great and Darius respectively. Discovered in October 1831 in the ‘Casa del Fauno’ in Pompeii (Regio VI,12; now Naples, MN). The work in opus vermiculatum ( Mosaic), preserved in part only, consists of more than 1.5 million small stones coloured with mineral dye. Large, missing sections filled with stucco, m…

(Κτησικλῆς; Ktēsiklês). [German version] [1] Author of Chroniká in at least 3 vols. in the Hellenistic period Author of Chroniká in at least 3 vols. in the Hellenistic period, quoted only by Athenaeus (6, 272c: census in Athens under Demetrius [4] of Phalerum 317/6 BC; 10, 445c-d: death of Eumenes [2] I. in 241). wilamowitz [1] and jacoby (comm. on FGrH 245) argue for his identification with Stesicleides of Athens, author of an Anagraphḕ tōn archóntōn kai Olympioníkōn (‘Listing of officials and Olympic winners’) quoted in Diogenes Laertius (2,56). Meister, Klaus (Berlin) Bibliography…

(Πάμφιλος; Pámphilos). [German version] [1] Athenian soldier, 4th cent. BC Athenian hípparchos and stratēgós. In 389 BC, he erected a permanent emplacement on Aegina and besieged the island, but had to be relieved after five months, himself besieged by the Spartan Gorgopas. Convicted of embezzlement and fined heavily at Athens, P. still owed the city five talents at his death after having sold his estates (Lys. 15,5; Xen. Hell. 5,1,2; Aristoph. Plut. 174; 385; Plat. fr. 14 PCG; Dem. Or. 39,2; 40,20 and 22). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) Volkmann, Hans (Cologne) …

[German version] Wooden tablets with painted heads or busts of women, men and children. As the topmost, visible layer they were integrated into the casing of a mummy (Mummies ) at the level of the face, where a gap was left for them. Many of the c. 900 known pieces, dating from the birth of Christ to the 3rd cent. AD, come from necropoleis of Fayum, an oasis south-west of Cairo, but they were also found elsewhere along the Nile. MP were discovered by chance at the end of the 19th cent. and soon became desirable objects in the international art trade, due to their special aesthetic value. Today they are found in large number…

(Ἀριστοφῶν; Aristophôn). [German version] [1] Athenian politician (end of the 5th cent. BC) Member of the Athenian regime of 400 oligarchs in 411 BC. Sent by them as an emissary to Sparta, he was abducted to Samos by Athenian democrats and Argives (Thuc. 8,86,9; PA, 2102; Traill PAA, 175995. Meier, Mischa (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Athenian politician (end of the 5th-middle of the 4th cent. BC) Athens. Politician, who was honoured in 403 BC for his resistance against the 30 Tyrants ( Triakonta) by   ateleia…

(Ἑλένη; Helénē, Lat. Helena). [German version] [1] Beautiful wife of Menelaus ('Helen of Troy') Goddess who was worshipped at various cult sites in and around Sparta, especially in the Menelaion in  Therapne (Hdt. 6,61; Paus. 3,15,3; Hsch. s.v. Ἑλένεια, [1]). In  Rhodes she had a cult as H. Dendritis (Paus. 3,19,10), in  Cenchreae and  Chios she is attested as a deity of springs (Paus. 2,2,3; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἑλένη). There is no completely reliable etymology for her name [2. 63-80]. For evidence of her cult i…

[German version] (Πρωτογένης; Prōtogénēs). Hellenistic painter and sculptor of bronze statues of athletes and warriors (Plin. HN 34,91; 35,101-106) from Caunus, famous together with other leading masters of the Alexander period as consummate painters (Cic. Brut. 18,70). His creative period, about 330‒290 BC, can only be inferred by combining historical dates and persons from written sources that are often coloured by anecdote ( e.g. Plut. Demetrius 22). Reportedly he only turned to panel painting in advanced age and hence produced only a small oeuvre, havin…

(Ἑρμογένης; Hermogénēs). [German version] [1] Companion of Socrates Athenian, son of Hipponicus, brother of Callias, appears on many occasions in the Socratic writings of Plato and Xenophon as the companion of  Socrates. Together with the eponymous character, H. is the dialogue partner of Socrates in Plato's Cratylus. Döring, Klaus (Bamberg) Bibliography 1 SSR VI B 71-77 2 Davies, 269-270. [German version] [2] From Aspendus,…

(Μελάνθιος/ Melánthios). [German version] [1] Treacherous goatherd of Odysseus (also Μελανθεύς/ Melantheús). Son of Dolius [2], brother of Melantho [2], treacherous goatherd of Odysseus, negative counterpart to the swineherd Eumaeus and the cowherd Philoetius (Hom. Od. 17,212-22,479). Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) Bibliography G. Ramming, Die Dienerschaft in der Odyssee, 1973, 15-17; 74-77; 142-145. [German version] [2] Athenian strategos, 499/8 BC Athenian strategos who led the troops sent in support of the Ionians when they revol…

(Ἔκφαντος; Ékphantos). [German version] [1] Greek painter from Corinth, active probably in the mid 7th cent. BC Greek painter from Corinth, active probably in the mid 7th cent. BC. According to Pliny (HN 35,16), he was the founder of the secunda pictura, a style of painting which completely covered all surfaces with paint; an example of this style are the wooden plates handed down from Pitsa. The monochromata mentioned by Pliny in this context may refer to the unbroken and precious mineral pigments that were used. …

[German version] [2] Roman wall painter, late 4th cent. AD Roman wall painter of late antiquity from the end of the 4th cent. AD. He decorated the house of the aristocratic orator and philosopher Q. Aurelius Symmachus, which the latter mentioned with praise in various letters (Symmachus, Ep. 2,2; 8,21; 9,50b). The nature and appearance of this painting may have resembled that of contemporary catacombs or mosaics from late Imperial villas. Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) Bibliography L. Guerrini, s.v. L., EAA 4, 721 S. R…

[German version] (Μίκων/ Míkōn). Greek painter and sculptor (Plin. HN 34,88) from Athens, active between 475 and 440 BC. He and Polygnotus belonged to the first important generation of the Attic painting school in the early classical period, which broke ground for the development of the great Greek painting. None of the wall paintings in Athens known from numerous written sources of various periods survives, but frequent mention does allow us to infer his great significance. His main patron was Cim…

[German version] A typically Roman genre, common from the middle of the 3rd cent. BC until the Imperial period, today entirely lost and recorded only in written sources. During the triumphal procession (Triumph) of a victorious general, panel paintings or canvas banners were carried past the crowds and were afterwards publicly exhibited (e.g. Plin. HN 35,22-28; Pol. 6,15,8; Jos. BI 7,3-7; other sources in [4]). Rudiments of the content, appearance and intended effect of such pictures can be reconstructed from literary sources and Roman historical reliefs. According to these, in the Republican period they were veduta-like representations of decisive battles and actions in a scenic ambience, the conquest of enemy settlements or surrender negotiations. The victorious protagonists, topographical and geographical details and peculiarities of flora and fauna were presumably explained by annotations. The freschi in the tomb of Q. Fabius on the Esquiline (Rome, MC) are sometimes associated with TP. The depiction of history, made as authentic and at the same time as propaganda-e…

(Κίμων; Kímōn). [German version] [1] Known as Koálemos, born c. 585 BC, achieved three Olympic victories C., known as Koálemos (‘the Stupid’), son of Stesagoras of Athens, born about 585 BC, had to leave Athens during the tyranny of  Peisistratus. During his exile he achieved two Olympic victories with the four-horse chariot (536 and 532 BC). Since C. had the 2nd victory proclaimed for Peisistratus, he was permitted to return. C.'s high prestige after his third Olympic victory (528) resulted in a conflict between …

(Νικίας; Nikías). [German version] [1] Important commander in the Peloponnesian War, c.470-413 BC Son of Niceratus of Athens, born c.470 BC, died 413; one of the most important commanders in the Peloponnesian War. After the death of Pericles, N. competed with Cleon [1] for influence in the popular assembly and the assignment of military commands. His policy was directed towards ending the aggressive Athenian politics of expansion and towards reconciliation with Sparta. From 427, N. was regularly elected stratēgós . He led expeditions against Minoa [4…

[German version] Greek painter from Samos, worked in Athens in the 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC. Ancient sources link A. with chronologically divergent historical events. Vitr. De arch. 7 …

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(Ἡρακλείδης; Hērakleídēs). Famous persons: the politician and writer H. [19] Lembus, the philosopher H. [16] Ponticus the Younger, the doctor H. [27] of Tarentum. I. Political figures [German version] [1] Spokesman on behalf of Athens at the Persian court, end of 5th cent. BC H. of Clazomenae (cf. Pl. Ion 541d) was in the service of the Persians and probably called basileús for that reason. Thus, he was able to perform valuable services for Athens at the Persian court in 423 BC for which he received Attic citizenship soon after moving there (after 400, Syll.3 118). To move the Athenians to stronger participation in the ekklesia, he had the payment to each participant increased from one obol to two (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 41,3), which was in Aristotle's opinion a (radical) democratic measure (Aristot. Pol. 1297a 35-38). Högemann, Peter (Tübingen) Bibliography …

[German version] In Greek and Roman painting, stone, and especially marble, was a popular surface for paintings, as it lent itself to representations with varied functions. Images for the funerary cult, which are mostly badly preserved, existed on marble tombstones in many regions of the Mediterranean area from archaic times into the Hellenistic period. Like the relief stelae which were also painted with colours ( Polychromy), they were erected in necropoleis. Reliefs and painting were also combined either by painting details and attributes on sculpted and smoothed surfaces, or by adding a small painted ‘predella picture’ under a relief. Although the topics of grave paintings were dictated by the genre and they were therefore often only of craftsmanly level, even famous painters, such as e.g. Nicias of Athens, are historically attested (Paus. 7,22,6; Plin. HN 35,132). A similar practice can be inferred for votive images and votive reliefs in Greek sanctuaries. Painted marble metopes in architectural contexts are known from a variety of epochs. Tools and furniture, like e.g. the back of a marble throne from a grave in Vergina, or sarcophagi were also used as surfaces…

(Νικόμαχος/ Nikómachos). [German version] [1] Healing hero See Gorgasus and Nicomachus Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Athenian official, 410-404 BC Allegedly the son of a slave and only later accepted as an Athenian citizen. In 410-404 BC, N. led the commission for recording the laws ( anagrapheîs tôn nómōn). Exiled under the Thirty ( triákonta ), he returned in 403 and again became anagrapheús. In 399/8 BC, N. was accused of manipulating th…

(Ἀντίφιλος; Antíphilos). [German version] [1] Athenian strategos of hoplites (323/22 BC) The Athenian A. was elected Athenian strategos of hoplites ( Hoplites) after the death of Leosthenes 323/322 BC, whose successor he became. He took over the command of the land forces of the Hellenic League in the Lamian or Hellenic War and distinguished himself through military skil…

[German version] In Egyptian art, the illustration of historical events constitutes a rare exception; stylized motifs, such as the king slaying enemies, must be understood as timeless and are used as unchanging topoi over the centuries in various pictorial media. The insufficient material remains, art-theoretical texts and literature from ancient Greece relating to the painting of historical subjects do not permit a precise definition of ancient historical painting, in analogy to the modern term for the genre, which is relevant from the Renaissance to the 19th cent. [1. 15-76]. Recent scholarship has discussed in detail the extent to which the numerous and ambiguously interpreted mythological images especially on Attic vases but also on the monumental wall paintings described by Pausanias and others, e.g., in Athens (Stoa Poikile) and Delphi (the Lesche of the Cnidians) had ideological meaning or reflected a concrete political situation. The representation of mythical events and heroic deeds of the distant past, such as the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, which became historical paradigms in the collective memory of the observers, is interpreted as a functional visualization and encoded analogy of current politi…

[German version] A. Greece The lack of material records for ancient Greek painting also creates difficulties when attempting a definition and evaluation of this genre. However, based on today's knowledge of the monuments, it is fairly safe to assume that it cannot be equated with independent landscape painting (LP), as practised by the Dutch painters or during Romantic…

[German version] (Παρράσιος/ Parrhásios). One of the most important Greek painters, from Ephesus, son of the sculptor (?) Evenor [1], active c. 440-380 BC. This versatile and productive (Plin. HN 35,69-72 alone records 16 paintings) contemporary of the equally famous Zeuxis lived in Athens; his spectacular and expensive works reached many areas of the Greek world and later, as booty, the Roman world. P. belonged to the second generation of artists from the 5th cent. BC, whose technical advances all…

[German version] (Νεάλκης; Neálkēs). Hellenistic representative of the Sicyonian school of painting, which has been famous since the Classical period. In the late 3rd cent. BC he was a respected and influential court painter for his friend Aratus [2]. Plin. HN 35, 141f. refers to pictures of an Aphrodite, of a snorting and foaming horse along with its tamer, as well as one of a naval battle between Persians and Egyptians on the Nile. We have no details of N.'s style, but his craftsmanship is emphasized in an anecdote which is also often told about other artists (Plin. HN 35, 103f.).…

(Κυδίας; Kydías). [German version] [1] Erotic poet Erotic poet, quotes from Pl. Chrm. 155d, mentioned by Plut. Mor. 931e. He was obviously popular in Athens as he is depicted as a komast on a red-figured dish (Munich 2614) and on a psykter (London, BM E767) from c. 500 BC [1. 12-13]. He may perhaps be identical with Cydidas of Hermione referred to by Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 967 [2. 215]. Possibly (rather impr…

[German version] Interior or exterior painting of funerary architecture built from stone or carved into rock existed in antiquity and throughout the entire Mediterranean region, also images on wood and stone steles; sarcophagi rarely bore paintings. Each region and period had its own particular programmes…