Dynastic Deeds: Hunt scenes in the funerary imagery of the Achaemenid Eastern Mediterranean

by: Poggio, A.

Description
This study adopts a transregional approach that focuses on connectivity dynamics in order to present a wider picture of artistic, cultural and political phenomena in the Mediterranean. It examines dynastic funerary art at the end of the fifth century and in the fourth century BC by focusing - through a wide range of evidence - on what funerary images can reveal about the societies that produced them. It analyses renowned dynastic tombs from south-western Anatolia (present-day Turkey) such as the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Nereid Monument of Xanthos, but also from Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon). A common element among the similarities displayed by these tombs is the nearly constant presence of the multiple-quarry hunt iconography, which consists of prey from different species depicted in one figurative programme. The Eastern Mediterranean under Persian Achaemenid rule is portrayed as an interconnected cultural and political area with specific features instead of merely being an area between the Greek and Persian worlds.

AUTHOR
Alessandro Poggio is Assistant Professor in Classical Archaeology at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca. He studied archaeology and ancient art history at the University of Pisa and the Scuola Normale Superiore. He received his PhD from the Scuola Normale Superiore. He has conducted research in Italy and abroad as a fellow at numerous institutions, such as the École Normale Supérieure (Paris), the American Academy in Rome, Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (Istanbul), Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi (Istanbul), the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa), The Warburg Institute (London), and the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles).

REVIEW
?Poggio?s work contributes a radically different, eastern Mediterranean perspective to the interpretation of the material, arguing that Persian Art was the main source of inspiration for hunting scenes on dynastic monuments in this region.? Professor Clemente Marconi, NYU Institute of Fine Arts

?[It] is a very refreshing use of the art and methodologically this will be a great contribution to Achaemenid history and to Classical and Near Eastern art history.? Dr Catherine Draycott, Durham University

?I would anticipate this monograph having a broad international appeal. It will be relevant to researchers whose interests lie in the iconography and visual arts of geographical region and time period under consideration, as well as to historians interested in the dynasts, whose tombs form the focus of this monograph.? Dr Jessica Doyle, University College Dublin

List of llustrations............................................................................................................................................................... ix
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................ 1
1. Historical and artistic background............................................................................................................................... 9
1.1. The Eastern Mediterranean under Persian rule ........................................................................................................ 9
1.2. The Eastern Mediterranean as an interconnected area............................................................................................. 9
1.3. “Graeco-Persian” art and culture ........................................................................................................................... 13
2. Dynastic tombs and artistic phenomena.................................................................................................................... 21
2.1. A regional survey.................................................................................................................................................... 21
2.1.1. Caria ............................................................................................................................................................... 21
2.1.2. Lycia ............................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.1.3. Phoenicia ........................................................................................................................................................ 26
2.2. A comparative analysis of dynastic tombs............................................................................................................. 31
2.2.1. Topography and display ................................................................................................................................. 31
2.2.2. The figurative programmes ............................................................................................................................ 34
2.3. Artistic phenomena under the dynasts.................................................................................................................... 38
2.3.1. Circulation and mobility................................................................................................................................. 38
2.3.2. Workshop practices ........................................................................................................................................ 40
2.4. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................................. 44
3. The multiple-quarry hunt: history of an iconography ............................................................................................. 47
3.1. The Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East before the Persian Empire ............................................................ 47
3.1.1. The Syro-Anatolian area ................................................................................................................................ 47
3.1.2. The Assyrians................................................................................................................................................. 51
3.1.3. The Levant and Cyprus .................................................................................................................................. 55
3.2. The multiple-quarry hunt in Persia ........................................................................................................................ 58
3.3. The multiple-quarry hunt in the Greek world ........................................................................................................ 62
3.4. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................................. 63
4. Images of multiple-quarry hunts in the Eastern Mediterranean ............................................................................ 69
4.1. The hunt and dynastic ideology in the Eastern Mediterranean .............................................................................. 69
4.2. The iconography of the multiple-quarry hunt ........................................................................................................ 70
4.2.1. Dynastic funerary monuments........................................................................................................................ 70
4.2.2. Further sculptural evidence from western Anatolia ....................................................................................... 77
4.2.3. A typological appraisal................................................................................................................................... 80
4.2.4. The contribution of glyptic: the Graeco-Persian tabloid seals....................................................................... 81
4.3. The iconology of multiple-quarry hunts ............................................................................................................... 83
4.3.1. Sequence of prey ........................................................................................................................................... 83
4.3.2. Hunting techniques ........................................................................................................................................ 85
4.3.3. The bear hunt ................................................................................................................................................. 87
4.3.4. Mythological hunts......................................................................................................................................... 88
4.3.5. Geography ..................................................................................................................................................... 89
4.3.6. Timeframe ...................................................................................................................................................... 90
4.4. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................................. 91
5. The hunt as mirror of social structure ....................................................................................................................... 93
5.1. Number of participants........................................................................................................................................... 93
5.1.1. Hunting scenes ............................................................................................................................................... 93
5.1.2. Preparation and return scenes......................................................................................................................... 93
5.2. Main hunters........................................................................................................................................................... 94
5.2.1. The dynast ...................................................................................................................................................... 94
Table of contents
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viii
Dynastic Deeds
5.2.2. The dynast?s family ........................................................................................................................................ 95
5.3. Hunting and hierarchies: the dynast?s retinue ........................................................................................................ 96
5.3.1. Friends and dignitaries................................................................................................................................... 96
5.3.2. Servants.......................................................................................................................................................... 97
5.4. Horses................................................................................................................................................................... 100
5.5. Hunt participants in action: accidents.................................................................................................................. 101
5.6. Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................ 109
6. Conclusion: hunting, politics, and tradition.............................................................................................................115
6.1. Competition..................................................................................................................................................... 115
6.2. Spread.............................................................................................................................................................. 117
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 121
Index of Passages............................................................................................................................................................. 151
General Index................................................................................................................................................................... 154

Dynastic Deeds: Hunt scenes in the funerary imagery of the Achaemenid Eastern Mediterranean

by: Poggio, A.

• ISBN-13: 9781407356389 / 978-1-4073-5638-9
• ISBN-03: 1407356380 / 1-4073-5638-0
• Bar Publishing, Oxford, 2020