Chacun sa croix. Retour sur une énigme de l’iconographie grecque

Abstract

Attic red-figure vases present a wide range of generic scenes involving young people engaged in various activities. The evocative presence of numerous elements, handled or placed in the field of the image, contributes to the elaboration of an allusive, metaphorical or symbolic discourse. The meanings of these representations, shared by the painters and their addressees, are intrinsically linked to the iconographical context, to the vase shape and to the functions attached to these craft-productions. This paper proposes to re-examine the enigmatic presence of a cruciform element depicted on about a hundred vases, mainly Attic red-figure vases produced between 500 and 420 BC. Associated with different types of scenes (e.g. school scenes, palestra, discussion between young men, musical or domestic scenes), often placed in the background as an accessory element, it is handled on very rare occasions by figures, without distinction of gender. We will have a look at the various hypotheses previously put forward concerning this equivocal iconographic sign, which seems to be able to embody the polysemy of visual language in Classical Athens, by questioning its playful implication in a preferential manner.

Keywords

• Attic red‑figure vases
• iconography
• cross‑shaped element
• toy‑windmill
• whirligig