New Article by Professor Counts

Professor Derek Counts’ article “Myth into art: foreign impulses and local responses in archaic Cypriot sanctuaries” examines a series of sculptural representations of the triple-bodied monster “Geryon” (of Greek mythological fame) in Cypriot sanctuaries of the Archaic and Classical periods (ca. 750-325 BCE). An examination of the complex religious iconography during this period reveals the productive capacity of hybridization processes, characterized by sculpted images that represent the recombination of existing cultural (and cultic) traditions among the diverse communities of ancient Cyprus and the broader Mediterranean region. This paper considers the role of iconography and the multivocal responses to exchange and social difference in contact zones, including acceptance versus resistance, innovation versus conservatism, and stasis versus change.

It was published in an edited volume: http://www.cambridge.org/US/academic/subjects/archaeology/classical-archaeology/cambridge-prehistory-bronze-and-iron-age-mediterranean