Passion and Pathos in Ancient Greek Arts: On Semantics of Strong Emotions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18688/Keywords:
Pathos, Pathosformeln, Aby Warburg, emotions in ancient Greek art, ancient theory of pathos, ancient anger, Aristotle’s theory of emotions, Greek tragedy and fine art, pathetic techniques, impact on the viewer, Gigantomachy of the Pergamon Altar, Alexander Mosaic, Dying Gaul, Hellenistic artAbstract
The article examines the manifestations of pathos in ancient Greek art. Plato, Aristotle, Pseudo-Longinus, and Seneca did not attribute painting and sculpture to this sphere. Modern research focuses on the “formulas of pathos”, a concept introduced by Aby Warburg to study Renaissance images. However, the embodiment of pathos in ancient Greek art cannot be limited to these patterns. The gesture of raised hands can mean not only grief, but also fear or prayer: the meaning of the sign depends on its context. Emotion — and pathos as its extreme manifestation — was not of interest to the Greek artist. Much more important was the presentation of an action that evokes fear and compassion, as well as awareness of causes and consequences. The article analyses the repertoire of techniques that convey strong emotions of characters, as well as visual effects aimed at exciting strong audience reactions. In addition to the “pathos formulas” (corporeal formulas), a whole arsenal of pictorial means was used in Greek sculpture and painting. This is a plastic emphasis on the culmination of the story, frozen “motion at rest”, a seething dynamic composition, a spiral rotation of bodies, sharp contrasts of light and shadow, intense tactile impact, theatricalization, physiognomic signs of suffering, and the depiction of opposite “heart-rending” emotions. Although pathos is usually considered a feature of the style of the late stages of the art of Ancient Greece, the examples given show that pathos was present in Greek art from the archaic to the end of Hellenism. With the end of the Hellenistic era, the process of “decreasing pathos” began. Strong suffering emotion and ecstasy gradually completely disappeared from the figurative system. Its semantics is rooted in the Hellenic religion of “passions”. Pathos and catharsis, the main principles of Hellenic religious life, were embodied with the greatest force in tragedy and fine art.
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