| Unit name | Art in the Ancient World |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CLAS12365 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Hales |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Traditionally, the history of ancient art is a history of rise and decline, a story of stylistic development that culminates in the achievements of the Classical age, declines in the Hellenistic age and reaches its nadir at the end of the Roman period, only to be revived in the Renaissance. Using the Parthenon sculptures as a key example, this unit will ask why we think about classical art in these terms but its real focus will be on how art works in practice. We will think about how the audiences of the Classical and Hellenistic world engaged with the art around them. Why did classical Greece produce such naturalistic art and why/how did later audiences continue to use the style in new contexts? And why did new styles and themes, that appear to challenge the values of classical art, come into existence?
