Situational aesthetics in Ptolemaic culture

• Bing, Peter ^[1] ; Höschele, Regina ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Toronto

     University of Toronto

     Canadá

     
• Localización: Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, ISSN 0076-0730, Vol. 67, Nº. 2, 2024 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Hellenistic aesthetics: approaches and frameworks), págs. 27-37
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The Ptolemies fostered a literature of exquisite polish and slender proportions, most strikingly embodied in Callimachus, whose aesthetic principles became synonymous with Alexandrian artistry. At the same time, however, they had a penchant for ostentatious display and gigantism, as evidenced, for example, in Ptolemy Philadelphus’ ‘Grand Procession’. While these two impulses might appear to be at odds, we argue that Ptolemaic patronage embraced a ‘situational aesthetic’, accommodating both the grandiose and the diminutive: these rulers understood that different situations (and their respective audiences) call for different aesthetic approaches.