Both Sides Matter? Reading Greek Vases Using Pictoral Semiotics

Abstract

This paper explores the possibilities of using methods of analysis from the field of pictorial semiotics in studying Greek vase painting, and thus resolving the problem of interpreting multiple scenes on a single vase. Its aim is to explain and clarify basic notions connected to this discipline, such as imagery, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, and how they relate to Greek iconography, using various examples. The main premise is that the separate scenes on the artifact are connected syntagmatically and not only paradigmatically as it is usually indicated, thus the joint interpretation always precedes the analysis of detached scenes, the latter being dependent upon the syntagmatic reducibility of the image.

Keywords

• Greek vase painting
• pictorial semiotics
• Greek imagery