Milette Gaifman
Biographic Data
| ID | 1095845 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Milette Gaifman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Milette |
| FAMILY NAME | Gaifman |
| SIGNATURE | GAIFMAN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Yale University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 47 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Pheidias
The long-lasting impact of Pheidias, antiquity’s master of religious art, especially his Zeus at Olympia, is considered in the context of the theme of personal religion. The chapter adopts a broad chronological perspective and explores how the great master was perceived during the centuries following his lifetime, with a focus on his chryselephantine masterpiece, which he completed in the later decades of the fifth century BCE. It considers how l…
Personal Religion in the Ancient Greek World
Much is known about the manifold ways in which ancient Greek religious beliefs and practices map onto the social and political structures of the ancient Greek polis. The way in which the individual served as the basic unit of ancient Greek religion, and the personal dimension of ancient Greek religion associated with it, is much less well understood. This book offers the first comprehensive study of ancient Greek personal religion since the major…
The Art of Libation in Classical Athens
Review of The Art of Libation in Classical Athens, Reviewed July 2018 by Courtney Baron, Teaching and Learning Librarian, Oxford College of Emory University, [email protected]
Introduction
The Greek Libation Bowl as Embodied Object
Framing Divine Bodies in Greek Art
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Aniconism
This introductory essay to this thematic issue on aniconism argues for the value of considering various forms of aniconism side by side. It summarizes briefly the historiography of the terms ‘aniconism’ and ‘aniconic,’ noting that they originate in the work of Johannes Adolph Overbeck, who coined the expressions anikonisch and Anikonismus. It considers current definitions and proposes ‘aniconism’ be used to denote divine presence without a figura…
Theologies of statues in Classical Greek art
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Theologies of Ancient Greek Religion
Studied for many years by scholars with Christianising assumptions, Greek religion has often been said to be quite unlike Christianity: a matter of particular actions (orthopraxy), rather than particular beliefs (orthodoxies). This volume dares to think that, both in and through religious practices and in and through religious thought and literature, the ancient Greeks engaged in a sustained conversation about the nature of the gods and how to re…
Timelessness, fluidity, and Apollo's libation
Stones, sacred
In Greek and Roman antiquity numerous stones – rough and shaped, stationary and portable – were held sacred. These varied in size, form, and religious meaning.
Standing Stelai
This chapter addresses the following questions: What do archaeological finds tell us about aniconic standing stones in their variety of geometric forms? Are there particular contexts and cults in which we are more likely to find stelai that were worshipped by ancient Greeks? Can we detect certain patterns or recurring features in our records? Is there an affinity between such wrought monuments and the completely unwrought? It also considers possi…
Greek Views of Aniconism
This chapter examines aspects of aniconism among a broad variety of authors ranging from Presocratic philosophers to early Christian apologists. Despite differences in genre and context, overarching themes emerge. These themes reveal, in particular, that alongside the de facto existence of aniconic cults and monuments, aniconism was seen as typical of what could be termed ‘primitive’, as a form of otherness, not merely without but also within, th…
Conclusion
This chapter suggests that the scholarly placement of aniconism on the peripheries of mainstream Greek cult practices and visual culture is not unwarranted by the evidence we have seen. Although they sit on the sidelines, aniconic stelai and stones and a variety of other forms of aniconism resist being brushed aside as insignificant. Instead, they declare their role as markers of temporal, spatial, and social boundaries in art, religion, and visu…
The Aniconic Depicted
This chapter turns from physical stone stelai, and their replications in relief, to representations of similar monuments on vase paintings of the classical period. Although the images seen here incorporate elements from ancient actuality, they are not direct reflections of lost realities; they are visual constructs that operate under the regime of pictorial representation. These depictions are statements in their own right that offer ancient test…
Pausanias’ Aniconica
This chapter examines Pausanias' Periegesis. Pausanias, the Greek travel writer of the second century ad, bequeathed to us the most detailed surviving account of aniconic monuments. In his Periegesis, the inartistic and crude are not overshadowed by the sumptuous and artful. Pausanias was particularly interested in material culture and ritual, and stelai and stones that stood out in the landscape he described for his reader were clearly deemed de…
What Is Greek Aniconism?
Aniconism in Greek Antiquity
This book explores a phenomenon known as aniconism — the absence of figural images of gods in Greek practiced religion and the adoption of aniconic monuments, namely objects such as pillars and poles, to designate the presence of the divine. Shifting our attention from the well-known territories of Greek anthropomorphism and naturalism, it casts new light on the realm of non-figural objects in Greek religious art. Drawing upon a variety of materi…
Aniconism and the Notion of the “Primitive” in Greek Antiquity
Pausanias and modern perceptions of primordial Greeks
Journal Article Pausanias and modern perceptions of primordial Greeks Get access Milette Gaifman Milette Gaifman * *Classics and Art History Departments, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Classical Receptions Journal, Volume 2, Issue 2, November 2010, Pages 254–286, https://doi.org/10.1093/crj/clq015 Published: 28 October 2010
The Libation of Oinomaos
Visualized rituals and dedicatory inscriptions on votive offerings to the nymphs
This article explores the religious meaning of Archaic and Classical dedications with images of rituals (e.g. sacrificial procession, libation) and dedicatory inscriptions. I argue that these objects ought to be treated as meaningful expressions of individuals’ piety rather than as reflections of actual cult practices. I adopt a holistic approach that considers the two components of dedications—images and texts—as inextricably intertwined in the …
Statue, Cult and Reproduction
The article examines replications of Greek monuments of cult in the fifth and fourth centuries bce . It considers the process which allows a grand statue to be copied and analyses specific cases of replications of Phidias's Athena ‘Partnenos’ to demonstrate how an image of the god, which was not easily viewable at any time, could become an iconic emblem that was embedded in daily experience outside the realm of ritual. In addition to the ‘Parthen…
Aniconism in Greek Antiquity
This book explores a phenomenon known as aniconism — the absence of figural images of gods in Greek practiced religion and the adoption of aniconic monuments, namely objects such as pillars and poles, to designate the presence of the divine. Shifting our attention from the well-known territories of Greek anthropomorphism and naturalism, it casts new light on the realm of non-figural objects in Greek religious art. Drawing upon a variety of materi…
The Greek Libation Bowl as Embodied Object
Statue, Cult and Reproduction
The article examines replications of Greek monuments of cult in the fifth and fourth centuries bce . It considers the process which allows a grand statue to be copied and analyses specific cases of replications of Phidias's Athena ‘Partnenos’ to demonstrate how an image of the god, which was not easily viewable at any time, could become an iconic emblem that was embedded in daily experience outside the realm of ritual. In addition to the ‘Parthen…
Aniconism
This introductory essay to this thematic issue on aniconism argues for the value of considering various forms of aniconism side by side. It summarizes briefly the historiography of the terms ‘aniconism’ and ‘aniconic,’ noting that they originate in the work of Johannes Adolph Overbeck, who coined the expressions anikonisch and Anikonismus. It considers current definitions and proposes ‘aniconism’ be used to denote divine presence without a figura…
Introduction
Statue, Cult and Reproduction
The article examines replications of Greek monuments of cult in the fifth and fourth centuries bce . It considers the process which allows a grand statue to be copied and analyses specific cases of replications of Phidias's Athena ‘Partnenos’ to demonstrate how an image of the god, which was not easily viewable at any time, could become an iconic emblem that was embedded in daily experience outside the realm of ritual. In addition to the ‘Parthen…
Visualized rituals and dedicatory inscriptions on votive offerings to the nymphs
This article explores the religious meaning of Archaic and Classical dedications with images of rituals (e.g. sacrificial procession, libation) and dedicatory inscriptions. I argue that these objects ought to be treated as meaningful expressions of individuals’ piety rather than as reflections of actual cult practices. I adopt a holistic approach that considers the two components of dedications—images and texts—as inextricably intertwined in the …
The Libation of Oinomaos
Aniconism and the Notion of the “Primitive” in Greek Antiquity
Pausanias and modern perceptions of primordial Greeks
Journal Article Pausanias and modern perceptions of primordial Greeks Get access Milette Gaifman Milette Gaifman * *Classics and Art History Departments, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Classical Receptions Journal, Volume 2, Issue 2, November 2010, Pages 254–286, https://doi.org/10.1093/crj/clq015 Published: 28 October 2010
Stones, sacred
In Greek and Roman antiquity numerous stones – rough and shaped, stationary and portable – were held sacred. These varied in size, form, and religious meaning.
Standing Stelai
This chapter addresses the following questions: What do archaeological finds tell us about aniconic standing stones in their variety of geometric forms? Are there particular contexts and cults in which we are more likely to find stelai that were worshipped by ancient Greeks? Can we detect certain patterns or recurring features in our records? Is there an affinity between such wrought monuments and the completely unwrought? It also considers possi…
Greek Views of Aniconism
This chapter examines aspects of aniconism among a broad variety of authors ranging from Presocratic philosophers to early Christian apologists. Despite differences in genre and context, overarching themes emerge. These themes reveal, in particular, that alongside the de facto existence of aniconic cults and monuments, aniconism was seen as typical of what could be termed ‘primitive’, as a form of otherness, not merely without but also within, th…
Conclusion
This chapter suggests that the scholarly placement of aniconism on the peripheries of mainstream Greek cult practices and visual culture is not unwarranted by the evidence we have seen. Although they sit on the sidelines, aniconic stelai and stones and a variety of other forms of aniconism resist being brushed aside as insignificant. Instead, they declare their role as markers of temporal, spatial, and social boundaries in art, religion, and visu…
The Aniconic Depicted
This chapter turns from physical stone stelai, and their replications in relief, to representations of similar monuments on vase paintings of the classical period. Although the images seen here incorporate elements from ancient actuality, they are not direct reflections of lost realities; they are visual constructs that operate under the regime of pictorial representation. These depictions are statements in their own right that offer ancient test…
Pausanias’ Aniconica
This chapter examines Pausanias' Periegesis. Pausanias, the Greek travel writer of the second century ad, bequeathed to us the most detailed surviving account of aniconic monuments. In his Periegesis, the inartistic and crude are not overshadowed by the sumptuous and artful. Pausanias was particularly interested in material culture and ritual, and stelai and stones that stood out in the landscape he described for his reader were clearly deemed de…
What Is Greek Aniconism?
Aniconism in Greek Antiquity
This book explores a phenomenon known as aniconism — the absence of figural images of gods in Greek practiced religion and the adoption of aniconic monuments, namely objects such as pillars and poles, to designate the presence of the divine. Shifting our attention from the well-known territories of Greek anthropomorphism and naturalism, it casts new light on the realm of non-figural objects in Greek religious art. Drawing upon a variety of materi…
Timelessness, fluidity, and Apollo's libation
Theologies of statues in Classical Greek art
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Theologies of Ancient Greek Religion
Studied for many years by scholars with Christianising assumptions, Greek religion has often been said to be quite unlike Christianity: a matter of particular actions (orthopraxy), rather than particular beliefs (orthodoxies). This volume dares to think that, both in and through religious practices and in and through religious thought and literature, the ancient Greeks engaged in a sustained conversation about the nature of the gods and how to re…
Framing Divine Bodies in Greek Art
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Aniconism
This introductory essay to this thematic issue on aniconism argues for the value of considering various forms of aniconism side by side. It summarizes briefly the historiography of the terms ‘aniconism’ and ‘aniconic,’ noting that they originate in the work of Johannes Adolph Overbeck, who coined the expressions anikonisch and Anikonismus. It considers current definitions and proposes ‘aniconism’ be used to denote divine presence without a figura…
The Art of Libation in Classical Athens
Review of The Art of Libation in Classical Athens, Reviewed July 2018 by Courtney Baron, Teaching and Learning Librarian, Oxford College of Emory University, [email protected]
Introduction
The Greek Libation Bowl as Embodied Object
Pheidias
The long-lasting impact of Pheidias, antiquity’s master of religious art, especially his Zeus at Olympia, is considered in the context of the theme of personal religion. The chapter adopts a broad chronological perspective and explores how the great master was perceived during the centuries following his lifetime, with a focus on his chryselephantine masterpiece, which he completed in the later decades of the fifth century BCE. It considers how l…
Personal Religion in the Ancient Greek World
Much is known about the manifold ways in which ancient Greek religious beliefs and practices map onto the social and political structures of the ancient Greek polis. The way in which the individual served as the basic unit of ancient Greek religion, and the personal dimension of ancient Greek religion associated with it, is much less well understood. This book offers the first comprehensive study of ancient Greek personal religion since the major…
Classical Antiquity Studies (23 works) · Art (18 works) · History (14 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies (9 works) · Ancient history (8 works) · Literature (8 works) · Visual arts (8 works) · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History (7 works) · Art history (7 works)