Abstract
In this paper, I propose a clarification of our relationship with images based on the archaic meaning of the Greek word eidôlon. To achieve this, I combine Jean-Pierre Vernant’s research into the evolution of the notion of image in Ancient Greece with Marie-José Mondzain’s thoughts on our susceptibility to an idolatrous relationship with images - a vulnerability exploited today more than ever by certain forms of power. Based on Vernant’s research, I analyse how, in pre-classical Greece, visual artefacts were not conceived as representations distinct or differentiated from the referents they evoked, but as direct manifestations of divine or spiritual forces. The transition to an awareness of the image as representation takes place gradually, above all with Plato, who gives us an understanding of the representational mechanism capable of generating critical distance from the images that surround and challenge us. However, Plato does not recognise any redeeming virtue in this relationship, reducing the image to an illusory imitation, subordinated to an original model. With and without Plato, this paper seeks to extract a positive value from the understanding of the archaic eidôlon. How can the ancient function of the visual artefact illuminate the image’s appeal that goes beyond the logic of power and domination, and instead responds to a need for liberation?
Presenters
Sara BeloAdjunct Professor, ECIA - Escola Superior de Comunicação, Inovação e Artes, Instituto Politécnico da Lusofonia (IPLUSO), Portugal
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Idolatry, Eidolon, Image, Mimesis, Ancient Greece, Jean-Pierre Vernant, Plato, Art
