Browsing by Author "Martin, Amy"

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    Never simply nudity
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Martin, Amy; Masters, Samantha; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Recent studies regarding the motif of the nude female figure on Athenian red-figure vases of the 5th century BCE have caused much controversy among contemporary scholars. Whereas the nude male figure on Athenian vases is generally perceived by scholars as representative of heroic, ritualistic or civic nudity, the female form’s nude state remains ambiguous in comparison. In an attempt to uncover the cultural significance behind the appearance of the nude female figure on Athenian vases, multiple scholars have suggested that her utterly exposed state must surely have been indicative of a ‘disreputable’ status, especially that of the hetaira. However, this interpretation is problematic as it ultimately restricts the possible function(s) of the nude female figure to being primarily erotic in nature. Consequently, it can be argued that the full context of these vase images is not always taken into consideration when scholars discuss the connotations of the nude female form in Athenian vase-painting. The aim of this thesis is therefore to explore the broad meanings associated with the nude female figure in Greek antiquity, as well as the specific connotations assigned to the nude female form in Athenian vase-painting. Finally, this thesis endeavours to re-analyse a selection of these nude female figures to investigate whether additional functions to that of eroticism could be attributed to them. To meet this goal, this study utilised the research of various scholars who provided controversial and diverse discussions and interpretations on the motif of the nude female figure on Classical Greek vases. A general framework of function and meaning could then be constructed to aid in this investigation. Next, 649 images of nude female figures on ancient vases were briefly analysed in the online Beazley Archive under the category ‘naked’. It was established that, after the initial survey, five main categories of the function of the nude female figure emerged: religion and ritual, apotropaism, violence and vulnerability, eroticism and pornography, as well as female agency. Fifteen images were selected from the online Beazley Archive, three from each of the aforementioned five functions, as the core corpus, based on prevailing interpretations of these images that have been the most extensively discussed among scholars. To read these fifteen vase images, an iconographical analysis was chosen as a rigorous approach to viewing and interpreting the motif of the nude female form. This approach further aided in the re-analysis of these nude female bodies so as to place them in their appropriate categories of function. It was found that there is indeed a propensity for oversimplifying the cultural significance of the nude female form on Athenian vases by mainly eroticising her due to her lack of clothing. As a result, many of these nude women in ancient Athenian vase-painting are removed from their cultural contexts and their multiple functions in society disregarded or misconstrued. In conclusion, then, the nude female form on Athenian vases does not guarantee an erotic or pornographic setting and, as such, it cannot be said that her nude state discloses a ‘disreputable’ status.
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