Picturing Death in Classical Athens

By John H. Oakley

The Attic white lekythoi, funerary vases long appreciated for their beautiful polychrome images, evoke the style of lost classical wall and mural paintings. This richly illustrated volume closely examines the four major types of scenes: domestic pictures; the mythological conductors of the soul; the prothesis (wake); and visits to the grave. John Oakley analyzes these pictures in context, documenting relationships between the rites of passage, Athenian history, and the changing perceptions of death in fifth-century Athens.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521820162
• ISBN13: 9780521820165
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 2.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.8" x 11.1"