Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture

Sculpted figural motifs were an important component of many buildings in the Hellenistic world, and their frequent relegation to subsidiary status has, until now, left our knowledge of both Hellenistic architecture and sculpture incomplete. In Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture, Pamela A. Webb examines the full range of figural embellishment—from simple to complex, on large monuments as well as on more obscure ones, and in the major population centers as well as the smaller cities, sanctuaries, and isolated areas throughout western Anatolia and the Aegean islands.

In this book, the first to focus specifically on the figural adornment of Hellenistic architecture, Webb provides extensive information about the chronology and interpretation of figural motifs adorning religious, civic, commercial, commemorative, and domestic constructions. She finds that figural sculptures adorn structures at every level from the ground to the roof, and display a wide variety of motifs on such architectural elements as columns, walls, entablatures, and pediments. More than 130 illustrations of Hellenistic monuments—temples, altars, cult buildings, heroa, theaters, bouleuteria, stoas, gymnasia, and houses—and their sculptured adornment complement the author’s descriptions and analyses. The book features an extensive bibliography, citing resources from the early nineteenth century to the most recent publications.

Author Biography

Pamela A. Webb has taught art history and classics at Swarthmore, Rosemont, and Eastern Colleges. She is currently continuing her research on Hellenistic architectural sculpture