Prayers in Stone: Greek Architectural Sculpture (c. 600–100 B.C.E.)

Architectural sculpture was not simply decoration in the ancient Greek world: it formed part of the building itself and helped communicate religious, civic and cultural meaning. In Prayers in Stone, distinguished classical archaeologist Brunilde S. Ridgway examines Greek architectural sculpture from roughly 600 to 100 BCE, tracing its development across the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods.

Ridgway considers sculptural programmes associated with temples, treasuries, tombs and other monuments, paying close attention to their placement, visibility and relationship to architecture. Some works were positioned where they could scarcely be seen once construction was complete, raising important questions about audience, ritual and purpose. Drawing on a wide range of monuments and supported by photographs, maps, line illustrations and extensive scholarship, this is a substantial specialist study of how sculpture and architecture worked together in the Greek built environment.