The So-called Nonsense Inscriptions on Ancient Greek Vases: Between Paideia and Paidiá by Sara Chiarini (review)

Sara Chiarini is the author of a small gem of a book on the Hesiodic Shield of Heracles, which moves quickly, easily, and aptly between art historical observations and philological and literary questions.1 Her new book, however, on those Greek vases with letters that though undamaged make little or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Classical World Vol. 112; no. 3; pp. 225 - 226
Main Author Sider, David
Format Journal Article Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Johns Hopkins University Press 01.04.2019
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Summary:Sara Chiarini is the author of a small gem of a book on the Hesiodic Shield of Heracles, which moves quickly, easily, and aptly between art historical observations and philological and literary questions.1 Her new book, however, on those Greek vases with letters that though undamaged make little or no sense, will not qualify for a multum-in-parvo award. Various explanations have been offered, each one credible in itself and not necessarily at odds with the others, but all fall short of proof: the artist is illiterate; the letters are meant merely to be decorative/aesthetic; writing in and of itself lends prestige to a vase; although nonsensical as Greek, the sounds represented by the sometimes iterative letters attempt to reproduce certain sounds (such as ]ΙΣ ΙΣ ΙΧΣ ΙΧ[ next to a rooster, or ENENENE as baby talk coming out of the mouth of a new-born Athena, with similar clusters nearby). When in conclusion she says that “these inscriptions could unleash a whole range of imaginative, logical and linguistic skills in a literate reader” (217), the reader that comes to mind is none other than Chiarini herself, who has just shared these skills with all her readers.4 David Sider New York University Footnotes Publishers are invited to submit new books to be reviewed to Professor Gareth Williams, Department of Classics, Columbia University, 1130 Amsterdam Ave., 617 Hamilton Hall, MC 2861, New York, NY 10027; email: gdw5@columbia.edu. 1.
ISSN:0009-8418
1558-9234
1558-9234
DOI:10.1353/clw.2019.0023