About this course
Ancient Greek figure-decorated pottery is the best source on Greek antiquity after the literary sources and even surpasses them when they show things writers omit because they take them for granted. Greek pots show unknown, local, and lost myths beginning with scenes from Homer’s Odyssee. They illustrate theatrical scenes showing stages, theatres, and costumes, are the best source on the lives of women in Classical Athens, show moving details of funerals, and the often raucous lives of Athenian aristocrats.
Athenian figure-decorated vases are the best dated objects in Greek Archaeology and were hugely popular in antiquity. They are found from Portugal in the west to Baghdad in the east, and Meroe in the Sudan in the south to Reading in England in the north, making trade networks and culture contacts visible.
This intense course is based on Oxford University’s Pots and Pictures and Greek Vases options, the best in the world, and is supported by world class resources such as the Beazley Archive with 100,000 photographs and 200,000 drawings and sketches amassed by the greatest vase-scholar, Sir John Beazley, visits to the Ashmolean Museum, and handling sessions with original pottery. Over the three weeks, students will learn a term’s worth of knowledge about Greek vases.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will:
- Be able to recognize and classify the pottery of all Greek regions producing figure-decorated vases.
- Be able to recognize the major myths of ancient Greece.
- Be able to read the images of the lives of ordinary Greeks and to discuss their concerns.
- Be able to date Greek pottery in particular and Greek art in general.
- Be able to distinguish the leading artists of the period.
- Be able to develop your own individualised scholarly interests in the history of Greek figure-decorated vases.
Who is this course suitable for?
This course would suit students of the Humanities, especially those with an interest in ancient Literature, Art History, and Ancient Art. There are no specific prerequisites for participation, but experience reading significant amounts of both literary and critical texts closely and with discernment is essential for the course.
Course Convenor: Dr Thomas Mannack
Dr Mannack studied Classical Archaeology, Ancient History, and Pre-History at Heidelberg, Oxford, and Kiel, where he submitted his doctoral thesis on Beazley’s Later and Latest Mannerists. He has worked at the Beazley Archive, Oxford, since 1986, where he is in charge of the Archive’s database of Greek figure-decorated pottery, and has taught Greek and Roman Art for 25 years. He is Titular Reader in Classical Iconography since 2006, Lecturer in Classical Archaeology since 2007 and director of the British Academy’s Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Project.
Dates and availability
Available as a Residential course on the following dates:
Session 2: 19th July - 6th August 2027
How to apply
Get in touch
If you have any questions, or would like to know more, please get in touch via the link below.