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Narrative in Aegean Art: A Methodology of Identification and Interpretation
Younger, John G.
Younger, John G.
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Abstract
This study continues previous work on identifying narratives and myths that are illustrated in
Aegean Bronze Age art. The study first details its aim and evolution; second, it lays out a general methodology
for identifying narrative; and, third, the parameters for doing so. I take up the parameters that define
Aegean narrative in the following order: In what artistic media will narratives appear ?: all examples
of state/formal art: sealstones, fingerrings, wall paintings. What themes can we expect to appear in these
state/formal media?: in the Minoan, woman-centered culture, narratives focus on the successful childbirth
and survival of the mother; Mycenaean art focuses on the history and the early foundations of the palatial
kingdoms. How do we identify a narrative ?: by identifying “strange and unusual” images with people
and then linking these images with others whose details overlap. And what is the expected chronological
range for Aegean narrative ?: from MM II, when people become central in Aegean art to the end of the
14th century when sealstones and fingerrings are no longer being manufactured. For the above discussions,
I first summarize my articles on “Minoan bull-games” as examples of a successful identification of
narrative. I then append four more examples of Aegean narratives, two Minoan and two Mycenaean, as
departure points for future discussions by future scholars.
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Date
2020-07-01
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Press universitaires de Louvain
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Keywords
Greece, Crete, Minoan, myth, iconography, narrative, art