Introduction In his Symposium Plato crafted a set of speeches in praise of love that has attracted the interest of philosophers, theologians, poets, and artists from antiquity down to the present day. In the third century CE, Plotinus drew on aspects of the Symposium to fashion an account of the nature of the twin processes of emanation and return to “the One.” Following Plotinus’ lead, a… Read more
Acknowledgments To our students past, present, and future Each of the essays included in this volume was presented at a conference held at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC, in August of 2005. On behalf of all the conference participants we would like to thank the Director of the Center, Professor Gregory Nagy, Associate Director Douglas Frame, Programs Officer Jennifer Reilly, Executive Assistant… Read more
Diagrams and Illustrations [Due to copyright restrictions, some of the images included in the print version of this book are not available for reproduction online. Where possible, those unavailable images have been replaced by open source images or links to relevant citation information.] Chapter Eight Figure 1. Seating arrangement of the guests at Agathon’s symposion Figure 2. Historical incidents in the aftermath of… Read more
Bibliography Agrest, D. I. 1991. Architecture from Without: Theoretical Framings for a Critical Practice. Cambridge, MA. Alberti, L. B. 1965. The Ten Books of Architecture (1485). Reprint from the Leoni Edition of 1755, ed. J. Rykwert. London. Alden, M. 2000. Homer Beside Himself: Para-Narratives in the Iliad. Oxford. Anderson, M. L. 1987. Pompeian Frescoes… Read more
Illustrations Figure 1. Mapping utopia. Map of the wanderings of Odysseus. Figure 2. Blueprint of the ideal polis. Reconstruction: The Shield of Achilles. Figure 3. A landscape “of unusual, even startling interest.” Red-figure pelikē: Odysseus, Elpenor, and Hermes in the Underworld. Figure 4. Alone in the realm of Nature. Attic black-figure amphora: the suicide of Ajax. … Read more
Epilogue: The Medallions and Other Magic Gardens Barely visible beneath a century’s accumulation of grime, a limpid lake beckons the viewer, its grassy shores flanked by stands of stately trees, its waters reflecting the clouds that grace a moody sky. On the opposite wall is its pendent, the depiction of a small farmhouse shaded by a grove and accessed by a road winding its way through verdant… Read more
Chapter 4. Nostalgia and Virgil’s Pastoral Dream (On the Dangers of Playing Orpheus) Virgil, we are told, “was given a house in Maecenas’ gardens on the Esquiline with the hope of enticing him to Rome.” [1] With this in mind, it would be tempting to identify the Esquiline villa in which the Odyssey Frieze was found with Virgil’s Roman house, particularly since… Read more
Chapter 3. Rome and the Reinvention of Paradise In 1848, earthworks on Rome’s Esquiline Hill fortuitously brought to light part of an elegant private house in what was once a fashionable neighborhood in the ancient city’s expansive greenbelt. The walls of a cryptoporticus, a long vaulted room in the villa’s substructure, yielded a most remarkable work of art, an unprecedented example of landscape painting (Figure 9). Dated… Read more
Chapter 2. Greece and the Garden It is at dawn, the time of new beginnings, that the Phaiakian ship, with Odysseus onboard, draws near to the island of Ithaka. There the spectacular harbor of Phorkys, enclosed by two lofty promontories sheltering it from perilous winds and waves, affords all vessels a ready approach. At the head of the harbor, Homer tells us, is a long-leaved olive tree… Read more
Chapter 1. Homer’s Eutopolis For ten long years after the fall of Troy, Odysseus endures one hardship after another as his ships are driven over the ominous, wine-dark sea, but his sufferings are not in vain. In the course of his wanderings, Odysseus sees many cities and intimately comes to know many ways of life. The intelligence he gathers will be of the utmost importance to him… Read more
