San Diego Magazine / June 2010 / Standard-Bearers of Glory

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Standard-Bearers of Glory

San Diego Museum of Art presents Heroes: Mortals & Myths in Ancient Greece

Heroes personify the earthly salvation of the cultures from which they spring. Beowulf vanquishes Grendel and its avenging mother to illustrate the virtues of fealty in an Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. Don Quixote’s chivalric ideals are outmoded by a deranged Renaissance world where the knight-errant courts a prostitute, jousts a windmill and unchains bandits, who then pepper him with stones. Nietzsche’s philosophy introduces the Übermensch, an archetypal overman that takes flight against a tide of 19th century German anti-intellectualism and religiosity. Each hero counterposes his homeland’s challenges to a harmonious society.

Situated in the cradle of Western civilization, ancient Greece is no exception.

The San Diego Museum of Art presents Heroes: Mortals & Myths in Ancient Greece, now through early September. More than 100 art objects — from busts and reliefs to vases and bronzes — are on display as emblems of Hellenic immortality. Containing pieces from the Archaic (sixth century B.C.E.) to Classical (fifth-fourth century B.C.E.) periods with additional examples from the Hellenistic period (third-first century B.C.E.), the exhibition is broken into three segments: Heroes in Myth, Heroes in Cult and Heroes as Role Models.

Herakles, Helen, Odysseus and Achilles are recurrent figures throughout Heroes in Myth. Exemplary feats, love affairs, violent acts, revelries and martial exploits are all worthy of representation. In addition, abnormal creatures such as sea monsters and cyclopes menace heroes as uncivilized foils to heroic achievement.

Terracotta pottery, in particular, was a popular means of conveyance for these accounts. Designs such as whorls and teardrops trim vase handles, necks and shoulders to hem in the narrative images of black- and red-figure wares.

Archaeologists and art historians rely on attributes to differentiate heroes and gods. For instance, many gemstones and statuettes feature tiny images of Herakles clad in a lion’s pelt and brandishing a club.

Heroes in Cult deals with the worship of heroes as practiced in communities. A notable curio is an eye cup, which boasts two wide eyes across the short vessel. When tilted to the drinker’s mouth during a symposium, the kylix gives the appearance of a mask.

Biographical highlights and literary quotes are posted on walls as points of reference.

One poignant rendering of a scene from Homer’s Iliad is found on a large vase. In it, King Priam outstretches an arm in supplication as he begs his son’s slayer, Achilles, for the body of his son, Hektor. Achilles reclines on a couch overtop the desecrated corpse — which the victor’s chariot ignominiously dragged before the public — of his enemy.

Women, athletes, warriors and rulers emulate standard-bearers in Heroes as Role Models. Here a bronze Corinthian helmet bears cracks and small indentations along cheek projections and a nose guard. A marble bust of Alexander the Great reveals that many nobles claimed to be descended from revered heroes and frequently commissioned art to mesh likenesses or attributes.

As part of its Summer Salon Series, SDMA is hosting a nighttime Culture & Cocktails event on June 17 in conjunction with this exhibit. It’s a chance to hobnob with fellow art enthusiasts in an illuminated setting as a deejay’s tunes and mixologist’s blends complement the soirée.

Tickets for Heroes are $4.50-$12; a family four-pack is available for $28. Children six and under are free. 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park 619-232-7931, sdmart.org.