Materiality and Aesthetics in Archaic and Classical Greek Poetry

Amy Lather is Assistant Professor of Classics at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina. She is the author of numerous articles on aesthetic experience in ancient Greek poetry and has been the recipient of a Center for Hellenic Studies fellowship as well as a Young Researcher Award from the Fondation Hardt.

• IntroductionChapter One: A Beautiful Mind: Patterns of Thought and the Decoration of TextilesI. Poikilia, Polychromy, and Perception IIa. Sensing Fabric in the Acropolis Korai IIb. Visualizing Fabric and Constructing Images in Vase Painting III. Putting the "Hand" into Handicraft: Poikilia and (feminine) thought patterns Chapter Two. Brazen Charm: The Vitality of Archaic Armor I. Affective Armor Ia. Bronze as Light Ib. Heavy Metal: The Sound of Battle IIa. Bodies Nonhuman and Superhuman IIb. A Wall of Armor, A Human Boulder, and Brazen Voices IIc. The Armor of Achilles and Blazing WeaponryIII. Life in/of Metal Chapter Three. Mind Tools: Art, Artifice, and Animation Ia. Paradoxical Poikilia: Labyrinthine Passageways Ib. Poikilia in Miniature Ic. A Wonder to Behold: Pandora in the Theogony IIa. Intelligent Things IIb. Hephaestus’ Tools IIIc. The Ships of the Phaeacians and Other "Smart" Objects III. Conclusion: Poikilia and the Riddle of Speech Chapter Four. The Protean Shape of Lyric Poikilia I. The Imaginative Matter of Poikilia: Scintillating Objects in Sappho, Alcman, and Anacreon IIa. Pindaric Poikilia and the Victorious Imagination IIb. Pythian 8, Pythian 10, and Olympian 1 IIc. Olympian 6, Nemean 5, and Nemean 4 III. Visible and Audible Movement: Poikilia’s Scintillating Shape Chapter Five. Mētis and the Mechanics of the Mind I. Crafting Cognition with Prometheus II. Mētis, the Mother of Invention III. Social Media and the Embodiment(s) of Poikilomētis: A Viewing Guide IV. Conclusions Chapter Six. The Materiality of Feminine Guile I. Hera and the kestos himas IIa. Goddesses in Disguise and Divine Assemblages IIb. Aphrodite’s Seductive Assemblage in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite IIc. Pandora as dolos II. Killer Style and Tragic Poikilia: Clytemnestra and Medea III. Conclusions ConclusionBibliography

Lather’s work adds to our understanding of the complex world of objects and their representation in archaic and classical Greece. She deftly brings a new theoretical perspective to some much-studied texts, and [...] the book offers new insights and prompts for further discussion and debate.