The First International Symposium "The Wall-paintings of Thera"
  • SESSION 1:
    TECHNICAL DIMENSION
    Chairmen: M. Bietak and C. G. Doumas
    A generally accepted view is that the technique of wall painting was introduced to the Aegean from the east. Besides styl-istic and thematic comparisons, modern technology enables us to examine the technical aspects in minute detail. A whole series of analyses of materials (plasters, pigments, glues) and techniques concerning the Theran wall paintings have been carried out in recent years and others are still in progress. This Session reviews the results of these analyses and compares them with relevant material from Egypt and the Levant.
  • SESSION 2:
    MODES OF REPRESENTATION
    Chairman:C.Renfrew
    The papers in this session deal with various visual aspects of the way the world is depicted in the Thera paintings in comparison with representations in other cultures.Issues of perspective,the use of space,ways of depicting humans and animals are dealt with along with questions of composition,colour,schematic versus naturalistic approaches,ways of treating movement,sequence and time and so forth.Consideration is also given to the way narratives and other verbal descriptions influence the visual representation. Stylistic and aesthetic questions are also treated in this session. However,the broad question of the overall choice of subject matter in the paintings,in comparison with subjects chosen for other grand cycles and programmes in other times and places,is dealt with in Session 5.
  • SESSION 3:
    ARCHITECTURAL/FUNCTIONAL DIMENSIONS
    Chairman: C. Doumas
    Many views have been expressed concerning the function of the wall paintings and their significance for Theran society. However, these paintings were directly associated with the buildings they decorated. This Session examines the connection between the function of the areas decorated with wall paintings and the themes represented, the way in which the artists made use of available space with respect to the themes, as well as the principles and conventions used in depicting architecture.
  • SESSION 4:
    ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION
    Chairmen: P. Warren and P. Nomikos
    The Theran Weltanschauung, at least as it is depicted in the wall paintings, is deeply environmental. There are mountain landscapes, rocky terrain, rivers, reed thickets, coastlines and seas, a wealth of trees and flowering plants, animals, birds, insects, fish. An imagined environ-ment, with fantastic creatures and hybrid plants, is also portrayed. This Session therefore examines the relationship of depicted environ-ments to those of the real, physical world; it does this through questions of floral and faunal identification, habit and habitat. At the same time the environment depictions give a constant and strong impression that they had symbolic value and were intended to convey meaning. Discussion is therefore focused not only on the forms of depiction ("naturalistic" or otherwise), but also on their purposes and meanings.
  • SESSION 5:
    SOCIAL DIMENSION
    Chairmen: M. Bietak and R. Laffineur
    The Session on Social Dimension addresses questions such as the choice of themes and motifs of Theran painting in relation to those of other Aegean and east Mediterranean painting, the place of Theran painting in the history of painting generally, the possibility of attribution to individual artists or workshops, the connections between Theran painting and other arts and crafts, the position and social function of the individual as illustrated in the paintings, the social function of the paintings and their economic, tech-nological and historical background.
  • SESSION 6:
    RELIGIOUS OR SYMBOLIC DIMENSIONS
    Chairwoman: M. True
    Widely differing views have been published about the extent, if any, to which the paintings represent or are concerned with conceptions of the divine, with religious belief, or with ritual practice. In endeavouring to clarify and advance understanding in this area, the Session on Religious or Symbolic Dimensions aims to identify the relevant images and to propose some definitions of their purposes.

    THE THERA FOUNDATION
    112-114 Middlesex Street, London E1 7HY, UK. 
    Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7588 6671
    Fax: +44 (0) 20 7588 2905
    e-mail:info@therafoundation.org


    Thera Foundation-Πέτρος Μ. Νομικός
    17-19 Ακτή Μιαούλη, 185 35 Πειραιάς, Greece
    Tel: +30 (0)1 411 8227, +30 (0)1 412 2347,
    Fax: +30 (0)1 417 1777
    e-mail:info@idryma-theras.org.gr.

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