What was childhood like in ancient Greece? What activities and games did Greek children embrace? How were they schooled and what religious and ceremonial rites of passage were key to their development? These questions and many more are answered in this study, which features and discusses imagery and artefacts relating to childhood in ancient Greece. "Coming of Age in Ancient Greece" shows that the Greeks were the first culture to represent children and their activities naturalistically in their art. Here we learn about depictions of children in myth as well as life, from infancy to adolescence. This illustrated book features such archaeological artefacts as toys and gaming pieces alongside images of them in use by children on ancient vases, coins, terracotta figurines, bronze and stone sculpture, and marble grave monuments. Essays by eminent scholars in the fields of Greek social history, literature, archaeology, anthropology and art history discuss a wide range of topics, including: the burgeoning role of childhood studies in interdisciplinary studies; the status of children in Greek culture; the evolution of attitudes toward children from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period as documented by literature and art; the relationships of fathers and sons and mothers and daughters; and the roles of cult practice and death in a child's existence.
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The scholarly but very readable catalog delves into the profound differences between ancient views of childhood and those of today. -- Grace Glueck, New York Times
From the Publisher
This book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (August 23 to December 14, 2003); the Onassis Cultural Center, New York (January 18 to April 1, 2004); the Cincinnati Art Museum (May 1 to August 1, 2004); and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (September 14 to December 5, 2004). Published in association with the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, readable, and fascinating,
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This review is from: Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Childhood from the Classical Past (Paperback)
This is one of the rare books that genuinely helps to make a real connection to a very different place and time. There are some aspects of childhood that we all remember; we can find those aspects in the images and artifacts presented in this book. There are also elements of childhood that are unique to a particular culture; again, we can discover and learn to understand the aspects of childhood in ancient Greece that provide a wonderful window into their society.Another great strength of this book is the way it focuses on what is visual. You'll spend your time with the authors poring over dozens of intriguing, sometimes amazing, sometimes very moving images created by the ancient Greeks themselves. For most of us, there is a great language barrier between their world and ours, but the visual evidence presented here, along with the very skillful and insightful guidance provided by the authors, goes a long way toward solving that problem. I think my favorite image in the book, and one that demonstrates the approach the authors take, is the beautiful photograph of a small terracotta sculpture of a mother teaching her daughter how to cook. On the one hand, the image conveyed by the sculpture itself is immediate. On the other, as soon as you start to take a closer look, with the help of the text, question after question after fascinating question comes into your mind. The book doesn't have all the answers--no one does!-- but it has the insights necessary to orient you to the sculpture and set your mind racing. By and large, the book avoids academic-ese. Sometimes it doesn't; referring to a woman giving birth as a "parturient" instead of "a woman giving birth" is one example. Sometimes the logic slips; one essay says that "all the texts" were written by men, and then proceeds to examine several texts written by women. Oh, well.... Can't win 'em all, can we? The book is beautifully produced and printed. It's a pleasure to handle. In particular, the photography is excellent almost everywhere. If you admire fine craftsmanship, it's a pleasure just to study so many examples of fine pottery, even without thinking about the meanings the pots convey. You'll read other books for an intellectual appreciation of Greek history, politics, art, and so forth. This book wil give you a wonderful gut feel for how they really lived, felt and experienced the world.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Overview,
This review is from: Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Childhood from the Classical Past (Paperback)
The book provides a complete discussion of childhood images from the Classical Period with ample illustrations. The discussion of the significance of childhood images is also covered in detail.Alan Safani
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