March 21, 2024: Classical Studies Speaker Series
Milette Gaifman, Yale University
"Pheidias as Religious Artist"
Pheidias Son of Charmides is known as antiquity’s master of religious art. Focusing on his Zeus at Olympia, which he completed in the later decades of the fifth century BCE, the paper considers how later generations have conceived of his personal religious life, its relation to his masterpiece, and the position he has come to occupy within broader cult practices and devotional experiences. Close analysis of Pausanias’ Description of Greece alongside other evidentiary materials shows that by the second century CE, Pheidias was a figure of religious significance in his own right. Greco-Roman authors ascribed to him the qualities of a visionary with unparalleled access to Zeus. Centuries after his departure from Olympia, his artmaking has come to be understood as a form of devotional practice.
4:30 PM
Location: Sycamore Hall 210
Contact Alyson Melzer (almelzer@iu.edu) for more info!
The College of Arts