Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies) by Subject "Akrōtēri (Greece)"

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    The Global Village: A case study of the frescoes at Akrotiri as evidence for multiculturalism in the Bronze Age Aegean
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) van den Brink, Jessica Hendrika; Masters, Samantha; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Perceptions of the culture and identity at Akrotiri often suggest a ‘Minoanized’ civilization which came into being and succeeded as a product of Minoan settlement and thalassocracy. Evidence for this lies in the material remains found at Akrotiri, and in particular in the fresco fragments and compositions which have been restored at the site. That said, this Minoan reading is largely a product of confirmation bias. While the images at Akrotiri do share some resemblance to those found at Knossos and other pre-Greek settlements, they also bear resemblance to images, themes, and motifs seen in North African and West Asian imageries. This thesis investigates the extent to which the frescoes of Akrotiri are influenced by Cretan, Egyptian, and Asian material evidence, and how the iconographies from across the Bronze Age Aegean trade route are synthesised into unique compositions at the site. In order to do so, a corpus of images from Xeste 3, the West House and Sector Beta are discussed alongside comparanda from various settlements in the Aegean network of trade and diplomacy. In doing so, Akrotiri becomes a useful case study in understanding the development and maintenance of a globalised Aegean network through the study of the visual echoes seen at the site. Because of this globalised space, ideological distances are collapsed and Akrotiri becomes an example of a physical, ancient Global Village.