Aegean Art and Architecture

by Donald Preziosi, Louise A. Hitchcock

This is the first comprehensive introduction to the art and architecture of mainland Greece, Crete, and the Cycladic Islands from 3300 to 1000 BCE. Ancient Aegean culture has a particularly important place within European history and art history because of its profound links to the origins of European civilization.Paintings, pottery, objects made from gold, silver, and ivory, carved reliefs, textiles, and architecture, are all fully illustrated and discussed. The authors reveal the many different functions that this vast range of arts and artifacts served within the cultural and social context of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East.Combining the latest research and critical approaches with an up-to-date historiography this book gives readers a clear understanding of Ancient Aegean visual arts and of our changing interpretations of this extraordinary era.

Genres: Art, History, Art History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Architecture, Greece

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 1999

Reviews

[Kimberly Schlarman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to brush up on Minoan and Mycenean art before a trip to Crete. I remember my undergrad class on the subject being a lot more interesting than this book would have you believe.

The problem is that we're discussing the Bronze Age and the authors just outline and describe archeological sites and then offer suggestions for how the sites may have functioned. There is often not enough evidence for us to understand the culture in which these settlements and artifacts were created. Art and architecture is more engaging when it's being used to explain how a society lived or what a people valued and we just don't know enough about the Minoans to provide that context.

I still feel like this could have been more engagingly written. It's very dry and academic -- which I was expecting! -- but not to this extent. The quality of the photographs and illustrations were also pretty poor which sometimes made it hard to follow what the authors were discussing.

This is an older book too so I also wonder how much of this is out-of-date.

[amax · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book offers a comprehensive overview of Aegean art throughout the Greek Bronze Age. the book is older (1999) and therefore some theories and analyses mentioned here have since changed in the field, but overall the authors do a great job of introducing the different cultures of the Mainland, Cyclades, and Crete.

[Vasilis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book on the topic of Aegean Bronze Age art and architecture. However, I would have liked a bit more art and a bit less architecture.

[Aaron Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent entrée to the Ancient Aegean from the Neolithic, through the Palatial periods and ending in an examination of the Minoan legacy. Preziosi and Hitchcock redress the Minoan/Mycenaean distinction and present a view of Aegean culture balanced by the variant interpretations of rituals, customs and practices; kernoi are religious offerings or gaming tokens; bull leaping a genuine game, a gender-identity ceremony or a symbolic representation of the hunt. As always in this series, a generous selection of maps, colour photos and floor-plans: the roots of the Labyrinth myth, perhaps, lie in the ‘internal defence systems’ of the Minoan house.

[Jay Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not always the liveliest or clearest prose but still pretty good.

[Lulu]

3300-1000 BCE

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of the art and architecture of the Aegean, specifically Crete, Pylos and Mycenae in the Neolithic and Bronze ages. Sensibly ordered according to period/date with excellent plans and photographs.

[Chris Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on Aegean Art. Things are well organized and explained without oversimplification.

[Karen Graves]

Although it has some great pictures, this book was a bit too technical in its language and obscure references for a casual tourist such as myself.