Browsing by Author "Sanders, Michelle Sharon"

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    Childhood companions: children and animal companions on attic red-figure vases
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Sanders, Michelle Sharon; Masters, Samantha; De Villiers, Annemarie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In ancient Greece, children and animals found themselves on the periphery of social importance, more closely grouped with slaves than with their older male citizens. This lack of importance has resulted in a lack of documentation on them, in both ancient and modern-day times. However, in recent years there has been a surge of interest in the animals and children of ancient Greece, allowing scholars the opportunity to potentially fill in certain gaps of knowledge. One of the gaps which has yet to be filled, is the relationship and interactions between children and their pets. The aim of this thesis is then to research the relationship that may have existed between children and their ‘personal animals’. Although sources on these topics can be scarce and problematic, one of the best sources we have showing these interactions are on red-figure vase paintings. Therefore, 203 red-figured vases showing children and animal interactions were selected from the Beazley Archive, catalogued and studied. Vases which contain animals such as Spitz-type lap dogs, hunting dogs, deer, goats and hares were included in this study. By studying these vases in as much detail as possible, this thesis aimed to identify which animals were consistently paired with which age category of the child, whether or not the vase paintings could be viewed as real life scenarios, whether it would be possible to read in these differing pairings of animal and child other reflections of identity and perceptions of childhood and finally how the symbolism of the image would change in accordance to the animal and the age category of the child it is paired with. To do so, this study utilised a number of primary and secondary sources to gain some insight into the lives of ancient Greek children and the above-mentioned animals to better understand not only their roles in society but also the possible meaning and symbolism linked with the various animals. It was found that certain animals are in fact consistently paired with specific age groups, while the symbolism attached to animals which are depicted with a number of age groups does appear to change, depending on the age group.