The Ancient Mediterranean Sea in Modern Visual and Performing Arts: Sailing in Troubled Waters

Description

When thinking about the Mediterranean, Fernand Braudel's haunting words resound like an echo of the sea and its millenary history. From Prehistory until today, the Mediterranean has been setting, witness and protagonist of mythical adventures, of encounters with the Other, of battles and the rise and fall of cultures and empires, of the destinies of humans. Braudel's appeal for a long duree history of the Mediterranean challenged traditional views that often present it as a sea fragmented and divided through periods. This volume proposes a journey into the bright and dark sides of the ancient Mediterranean through the kaleidoscopic gaze of artists who from the Renaissance to the 21st century have been inspired by its myths and history. The view of those who imagined and recreated the past of the sea has largely contributed to the shaping of modern cultures which are inexorably rooted and embedded in Mediterranean traditions. The contributions look at modern visual reinterpretations of ancient myths, fiction and history and pay particular attention to the theme of sea travel and travellers, which since Homer's Odyssey has become the epitome of the discovery of new worlds, of cultural exchanges and a metaphor of personal developments and metamorphoses.

Rosario Rovira Guardiola works in the Department of Greece and Rome at the British Museum, UK. She was Project Curator for the exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict and is now part of the project Pantanello: Unearthing the History of Hadrian's Villa.

I do not hesitate to recommend the book warmly to anyone interested in up-to-date knowledge about a broad range of topics related to the representation of ancient cultural tradition in contemporary visual and performing arts. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * With its clever thematic foci and its wide geographical scope, this book makes an outstanding addition to the series Imagines - Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts. Readers of all levels will appreciate the strong thematic units and the harmonious blending of textual analysis with visual documentation and with evidence drawn from diverse performative contexts. * Gonda Van Steen, Cassas Chair in Greek Studies, University of Florida, USA * This book sets sail on a wide-ranging journey - from the ancient to the modern, and back again. Chapters navigate the sea of classical reception studies, demonstrating how ancient currents have continued to direct the course of the visual and performing arts. The result will be essential reading for anyone interested in the geopolitical and cultural bonds that connect modernity to its ancient Mediterranean heritage. * Michael Squire, Reader in Classical Art, King's College London, UK *