Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World

Picón, Carlos A. and Seán Hemingway (2016)

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AAMC Awards for Excellence, Winner (2017)

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Description

The Hellenistic period—the nearly three centuries between the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C., and the suicide of the Egyptian queen Kleopatra VII (the famous "Cleopatra"), in 30 B.C.—is one of the most complex and exciting epochs of ancient Greek art. The unprecedented geographic sweep of Alexander's conquests changed the face of the ancient world forever, forging diverse cultural connections and exposing Greek artists to a host of new influences and artistic styles. This beautifully illustrated volume examines the rich diversity of art forms that arose through the patronage of the royal courts of the Hellenistic kingdoms, placing special emphasis on Pergamon, capital of the Attalid dynasty, which ruled over large parts of Asia Minor. With its long history of German-led excavations, Pergamon provides a superb paradigm of a Hellenistic capital, appointed with important civic institutions—a great library, theater, gymnasium, temples, and healing center—that we recognize today as central features of modern urban life.

The military triumphs of Alexander and his successors led to the expansion of Greek culture out from the traditional Greek heartland to the Indus River Valley in the east and as far west as the Strait of Gibraltar. These newly established Hellenistic kingdoms concentrated wealth and power, resulting in an unparalleled burst of creativity in all the arts, from architecture and sculpture to seal engraving and glass production. Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World brings together the insights of a team of internationally renowned scholars, who reveal how the art of Classical Greece was transformed during this period, melding with predominantly Eastern cultural traditions to yield new standards and conventions in taste and style.

Table of contents

Director's Foreword
Pergamon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Historic Collaboration
Sponsor's Statement
Acknowledgments
Lender's to the Exhibition
Contributors to the Catalogue
Chronology
Maps

Introduction
Carlos A. Picón

I. Alexander the Great and His World

Art in the Age of Alexander
Ariel Herrmann

Symbols of Power: Kings, Hetairoi, and Common People in the Kingdom of Macedonia
Polyxeni Adam-Veleni

II. The Kingdom of Pergamon

The German Excavations at Pergamon: A Chronology
Ursula Kästner

Pergamon and the Attalids
Volker Kästner

Commemorations of Victory: Attalid Monuments to the Defeat of the Galatians
Massimiliano Papini

The Pergamon Altar: Architecture, Sculpture, and Meaning
Andreas Scholl

III. Arts of the Hellenistic Age

Earthy Arts: Vases, Terracottas, and Small Bronzes
Joan R. Mertens

Trends in Hellenistic Sculpture
Kiki Karoglou

Hellenistic Royal Portraiture on Coins
George Kakavas

Royal Patronage and the Luxury Arts
Christopher S. Lightfoot

IV. The Hellenistic Kingdoms and Rome

Seafaring, Shipwrecks, and the Art Market in the Hellenistic Age
Seán Hemingway

Greek Art in Rome: A New Center in the First Century B.C.
Paul Zanker

Catalogue

Notes to the Essays
Bibliography
Index
Photograph Credits

About the authors

Carlos A. Picón is Curator in Charge in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Seán Hemingway is Curator in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (21)

Essays (19)

Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art

Ancient Greek Dress

Architecture in Ancient Greece

The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.)

Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition

Athenian Vase Painting: Black- and Red-Figure Techniques

Athletics in Ancient Greece

Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece

Greek Gods and Religious Practices

Hellenistic Jewelry

Intellectual Pursuits of the Hellenistic Age

Retrospective Styles in Greek and Roman Sculpture

The Rise of Macedonia and the Conquests of Alexander the Great

The Roman Banquet

The Roman Republic

The Symposium in Ancient Greece

The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece

Warfare in Ancient Greece

Women in Classical Greece

Timelines (2)

Ancient Greece, 1–500 A.D.

Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.

Exhibition

Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World

April 18–July 17, 2016

The conquests of Alexander the Great transformed the ancient world, making trade and cultural exchange possible across great distances. Alexander's retinue of court artists and extensive artistic patronage provided a model for his successors, the Hellenistic kings, who came to rule over much of his empire. For the first time in the United States, a major international loan exhibition will focus on the astonishing wealth, outstanding artistry, and technical achievements of the Hellenistic period—the three centuries between Alexander's death, in 323 B.C., and the establishment of the Roman Empire, in the first century B.C.

This exhibition will bring together some 264 artworks that were created through the patronage of the royal courts of the Hellenistic kingdoms, with an emphasis on the ancient city of Pergamon. Examples in diverse media—from marble, bronze, and terracotta sculptures to gold jewelry, vessels of glass and engraved gems, and precious metals and coins—reveal the enduring legacy of Hellenistic artists and their profound influence on Roman art. The ancient city of Pergamon (now known as Bergama, in present-day Turkey) was the capital of the Attalid Dynasty that ruled over large parts of Asia Minor.

The exhibition represents a historic collaboration between The Met and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, whose celebrated sculptures will comprise approximately one-third of the works on view. Numerous prominent museums in Greece, the Republic of Italy, other European countries, Morocco, Tunisia, and the United States will also be represented, often through objects that have never before left their museum collections.

Plan Ahead

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