Читать книгу Greek Tragedy in the Light of Vase Paintings онлайн

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The first class of paintings of the latter sort are based on Homer and the Cyclic poets. After the epic literature, the tragic drama became the chief formative force in Greek legend and its representation in art. Yet here again, as in the case of the Cyclic poets, one is compelled to interpret paintings inspired by works that have come down to us either as mere names or in a few wretched fragments. The relation of these monuments to the lost literature is of paramount importance, but the investigation is beset with many obstacles and will continue to be largely a field for the specialist. Extant tragedy and vase paintings, however, come together at so many points, and the former is so illumined by the latter, that every student of the classics should become acquainted with at least this part of Greek ceramics.

The present work represents an attempt to bring this material together in a convenient and accessible form. The first chapter, which deals with the influence of tragedy on other classes of monuments, is meant to be suggestive, not exhaustive; if I shall have succeeded here in setting the student to think along some new lines that in the end will place him in more direct touch with antiquity, and help him to a better understanding of Greek tragic poetry and the part it played in the artistic life of the Greeks and Romans, my aim will have been achieved. The foot-notes all the way through are intended to contain somewhat full references to the literature of the different topics, and to be a sort of guide to one who desires to prosecute this study further.