Visual Power in Ancient Greece and Rome

Book excerpt: "Visual culture was an essential part of ancient social, religious, and political life. Societies were to a high degree based on civic presence in which appearance and experience of beings and things was of paramount importance. In Visual Power in Ancient Greece and Rome, Tonio Hölscher explores the fundamental phenomena of Greek and Roman visual culture and their enormous impact on the ancient world, considering memory over time, personal appearance, conceptualization of reality, and presentation as fundamental categories of art in social practice. With an emphasis on public spaces, Hölscher investigates the ways these spaces were viewed and experienced, the importance of decoration, and the statements they made about the people and their times."--Provided by publisher.