Greek Architectural Terracottas

Summarizing publications on the architectural terracotta and palmette antefixes in particular already exist for four of the well known Greek colonies in the Black Sea – Sinope, Mesambria, Olbia, and Istros. Recent archaeological investigations in Apollonia Pontica, both on the peninsula and in the temenos on the offshore island of Sts. Kirik and Julita, uncovered new evidence that enriches the information about the types, the chronology, and the distribution of palmette antefixes in the Black Sea area from Late Archaic to Hellenistic times. The paper presents these new finds and complements them with related evidence of eaves tiles from Apollonia Pontica, when available. In addition, it offers an overview of the distribution, the types, and the production of palmette antefixes in the Black Sea, as well as of the use of palmette types on other elements of the roofing construction.

The quest for the location of Ancient Helike has taxed Greek Archaeology for a long time. After the inconclusive investigations conducted between 1949/50-1973 by the late archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos, the problem was eventually resolved thanks to the long-term interdisciplinary research within the frame of the Helike Project, which commenced in 1988.
By implementing state-of-the-art methods of geoscience combined with on-going excavations since 2000, the Helike Project has brought to light an abundance of ancient sites and finds spanning a long chronological period, from the 3rd millennium BC to the Late Antiquity (5th-6th centuries AD), and stretching across the coastal plain to the southeast of Aigion, between the rivers Selinous and Kerynites. The mapping of all these sites is a visual aid in assessing the fruitful outcome of the systematic research.
Among the rich finds from the major area of Ancient Helike, particularly significant are architectural elements and mobile finds, which differentiate - if not overturn - our knowledge so far, as concerns the fate of the ancient Achaean capital city over the years that followed the famous earthquake of 373 BC. Apparently the earthquake did not mark the end of Helike but a turning point, instead. The archaeological finds attest to a dynamic recovery on one hand, following clearing operations and the management of ruins, and continuity on the other, in every aspect of life (productive, public, cultic, infrastructure) - all the more so, in prosperity rather than feebleness. In addition, our interpretation of the physical remains is corroborated by ancient written sources regarding the geographical position and the role of Helike in the new era, with the Achaean League’s reconstitution in 280/79 BC.

Great playwrights, whose names are associated with the “golden age” of the ancient Greek theater, often put on tragedies on the same subjects and even with the same names. Turning to the existing interpretations or creating new ones, they tried to teach a lesson to the city and instruct its audience-students on a certain interpretation of the current events. The polemic between the authors of the ancient Greek tragedies gave an additional flavor to the theatre agons, and the polemic between the modern researchers studying it has created a space for an interdisciplinary dialogue on the features of the ancient visual culture, amongst other things. In the article, a comparative analysis of three versions of the mythological plot about Orestes and Electra, presented in the tragedy by Aeschylus “The Libation Bearers” and the tragedies of the same name “Electra” by Euripides and Sophocles, is carried out. These ancient Greek playwrights represent a hierarchy of the significance of the main characters – the brother and the sister, who are carrying out a plan of vengeance for the death of their father Agamemnon, through the hierarchy of their virtues and life principles. The comparison of the three tragedies is carried out according to a scheme that allows you to see these hierarchies: 1) at the beginning of the tragedy, where the first meeting of Orestes and Electra, during which they begin to try to assert their right to instruct themselves and others, takes place; 2) at the moments when the heroes come into conflict in point of who has the right to instruct under the supervision of the gods as the supreme instructors, and in what subjects; 3) at the end of the tragedy, when the heroes see the results of their instructions. The city, in which the tragic action unfolds, is either narrowing down to the particular family, where everyone thinks of himself as a mentor to the others, or expanding to the intellectual and political community
of citizens who can be instructed by the example of their rulers. Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles offer the reader / spectator different “formats” of visual instructions in which the divine will and human desires are combined. In addition to the ancient Greek literary tradition, the mythological subjects about Orestes and Electra were reflected in the material culture (ancient Greek vases, relief images and bronze artifacts), which is another level of visualization of the instructions, this visualization being primary to the theater in some cases, and secondary in others. The tradition of depicting the mythological scenes about Orestes and Electra on the artifacts had taken shape long before the theatrical productions of Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles, partly predetermining their “discourse of the word’ and “discourse of the image”, and being partly transformed under their influence.