Joe Lapadula

Joe Lapadula

Hellenistic Art

The images that I have chosen both depict Africans in Greek society. One of the images is a bronze statue of craftsman who may have worked at a forge or foundry, and the other is a terracotta vase that shows a fatigued slave or servant. From these images, it can be seen what life may have been like in ancient Greece and what role African individuals may have had in society. In both pieces of art, the subjects are shown working in rough conditions, indicating that they both may have lived in a lower class in Greek society. Based on the readings from the week, it’s stated that it’s still debated between historians whether racial prejudice towards African people existed at the time, however, these two images still depict the hard lives that many people lived at the time. I believe that through looking at art, historians can get a glimpse into the lives of different groups of people that existed in ancient Greece and the conditions that slaves and those in the working class may have been subjected to.