The fate of statues : a contextualised study of sculpture in Late Antique Cyprus
The consideration of the fate of statuary during Late Antiquity (fourth to seventh centuries) is a key element for a nuanced understanding of the processes of de-structuration of the Roman world and its transformation to the Christian Byzantine Empire. The evidence of broken or discarded statues has frequently been associated with destructive responses of the Christian communities to the pagan past of their cities. It is only recently that regional studies have prompted a rethinking of the fate of statuary, by accommodating the issue within the context of the development of urban areas in Late Antiquity. Focusing on three important Cypriot cities (Nea Paphos, Salamis, Kourion), this research constitutes the first comprehensive investigation of the sculptural environment of a Roman province in late antique times. By collating all the published and unpublished evidence for the first time, it interprets the function, changing uses, and fate of statues within their local context. The first chapter discusses the contribution of the study of statuary and its fate to the ongoing debate about the evolvement of late antique urbanism and the demise of the âclassicalâ cities. Instead of repeating historical events,
Panayides, Panayiotis
The fate of statues : a contextualised study of sculpture in Late Antique Cyprus. The consideration of the fate of statuary during Late Antiquity (fourth to seventh centuries) is a key element for a nuanced understanding of the processes of de-structuration of the Roman world and its transformation to the Christian Byzantine Empire. The evidence of broken or discarded statues has frequently been associated with destructive responses of the Christian communities to the pagan past of their cities. It is only recently that regional studies have prompted a rethinking of the fate of statuary, by accommodating the issue within the context of the development of urban areas in Late Antiquity. Focusing on three important Cypriot cities (Nea Paphos, Salamis, Kourion), this research constitutes the first comprehensive investigation of the sculptural environment of a Roman province in late antique times. By collating all the published and unpublished evidence for the first time, it interprets the function, changing uses, and fate of statues within their local context. The first chapter discusses the contribution of the study of statuary and its fate to the ongoing debate about the evolvement of late antique urbanism and the demise of the âclassicalâ cities. Instead of repeating historical events,
fate statue contextualised study sculpture late antique cyprus consideration fate statuary late_antiquity key_element nuanced process structuration roman_world transformation christian byzantine_empire evidence broken discard statue frequently associate destructive response christian_community pagan past city recently regional_study prompt rethink fate statuary accommodate issue within_context development urban_area late_antiquity focusing important cypriot city salamis constitute first_comprehensive investigation sculptural environment roman_province late_antique time collate publish_unpublished evidence first_time interprets function change fate statue within local_context first_discuss study statuary fate ongoing_debate late_antique urbanism demise classical city instead repeat historical_event