Icon, Cult, and Context: Sacred Spaces and Objects in the Classical World

This festschrift honors UCLA professor emerita Susan Downey and her meticulous scholarship on religious architecture and imagery in the Roman/Hellenistic world. The iconography of gods and goddesses, the analysis of sacred imagery in the context of ancient cult practices, and the design and decoration of sacred spaces are the main themes of the book.Professor Downey’s influence shines through in these discussions, which echo her mentorship of several generations of art history and archaeology students, and recognize her scholarly achievements.The broad temporal and geographic parameters of the volume are expansive, and the juxtaposition of images and analyses lead to surprising new conclusions. Authors examine such subjects as painting from Dura-Europos, Hellenistic sculpture at Saqqara in Egypt, Roman cameo glass, Pompeiian fresco, and aspects of Venus in portrait sculpture. The essays on Dura-Europos are especially valuable in light of the present turmoil in the region.Series: Monographs 82