The Iliad in a Nutshell: Visualizing Epic on the Tabulae Iliacae

The Iliad in a Nutshell has two objectives: first, it advances a new critical interpretation of the miniature Iliac tablets, or Tabulae Iliacae; second, it signals their relevance within much bigger issues facing the study of Graeco-Roman art and literature in the twenty-first century. By re-assessing the visual and verbal aesthetics of the miniature, Michael Squire shows how a group of early Imperial Roman objects relate to grander discourses about size, ecphrasis, and representation. The conclusions will be of critical importance not only to students of Graeco-Roman literary and visual culture, but to anyone interested in the cultural history of scale, replication, and visual-verbal relations. The volume is generously illustrated, in both black and white and colour.