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Geometric templates used in the Akrotiri (Thera) wall-paintings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

C. Papaodysseus ,
M. Panagopoulos ,
P. Rousopoulos ,
G. Galanopoulos  and
C. Doumas
C. Papaodysseus*
Affiliation:
National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Application of Computer Science to Archaeology Group, GR-15773 Athens, Greece
M. Panagopoulos
Affiliation:
National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Application of Computer Science to Archaeology Group, GR-15773 Athens, Greece
P. Rousopoulos
Affiliation:
National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Application of Computer Science to Archaeology Group, GR-15773 Athens, Greece
G. Galanopoulos
Affiliation:
National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Application of Computer Science to Archaeology Group, GR-15773 Athens, Greece
C. Doumas
Affiliation:
Akrotiri Excavations, Santorini, Er. Professor, National University of Athens, Greece
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Extract

A research team at Akrotiri, Thera, here examine the Bronze Age frescoes and show that the artists were making use of templates of well known geometric curves. Some of the spirals, hyperbolae and ellipses which all feature in the repertoire do not occur in nature and must have their origin in some still unknown human science or aesthetic.

Keywords

AegeanCreteTheraCycladesBronze Agewall-paintingfrescoimagesgeometry
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 82 , Issue 316 , June 2008 , pp. 401 - 408
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2008

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