Diver of Paestum

Tonio Hölscher is Emeritus Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Heidelberg.

"This is a remarkable book, of great originality and charm, a pleasure to hold and to read. Though relatively short, and written in a straightforward unassuming way, it is a work of high intellectual ambition: a brilliant and memorable intervention in the interpretation of ancient Greek funerary imagery."Chris Hallett, University of California, Berkeley"Professor Tonio Hölscher is one of the world's foremost art historians of the ancient Greek world. Any new book of his is to be hugely welcomed, and that this one is devoted to exploring and explaining a great rarity, a 2-D color painting of the fifth century BCE from Paestum (Poseidonia) in southern Italy, is an enormous bonus."Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge"A powerful, new anthropological interpretation of one of the masterpieces of ancient Greek painting. Hölscher's magisterial discussion of the frescoes of the Tomb of the Diver in Paestum as a representation of the real lifeworld of Greek youths becomes an opportunity for addressing key aspects of Archaic and Classical Greek culture. A must read for anyone interested in ancient Mediterranean art and its hermeneutic potential."Clemente Marconi, New York University"In his new study (admirably translated by Robert Savage), Tonio Hölscher... uses his rhetorical skills to patiently and persuasively build his argument... in an eloquent dialectic with previous scholars."History Today"The Diver of Paestum is a delight to read, with rich illustrations and excellent suggestions for further reading. It is accessibly written for the non-specialist and gracefully translated from German by Robert Savage, making it an ideal starting point for any lay reader interested in learning about not just ancient Greek painting, but Hellenic culture, literature, philosophy and religion too."Edith Hall, Literary Review"arrestingly original"Engelsberg Ideas"engaging"Current World Archaeology

• PrefaceNote to the English Edition1. Tomb, City, and Civic Culture: Challenges of a Sensational Discovery2. Eschatology or Lifeworld?3. Ephebes by the Sea: Images4. Ephebes by the Sea: Places5. Girls by the Sea: Images6. Girls by the Sea: Places?7. Life Stages and Living Spaces8. Mythical Heroes and Maidens in the Wilderness and by the Sea9. The Body, Beauty, and the Culture of Direct Action10. Images of Life in the Face of Death11. The Tomb in Paestum: The Deceased, his Lifeworld, and his Cultural Milieu12. EnvoiAppendixList of Figure Credits