The Origins of Mythic Representation in Greek Art

When do we find the earliest myths in Greek art? This lecture traces myth in cultures predating Greece, in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and show how the representation of narrative in art is a Greek invention that accompanies the spread of alphabetic literacy. Prof. Barry B. Powell is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught for thirty-four years.