here of general issues – definitions, problems of evidence, ancient analysis of the phenomenon,
the question of personifications’ predominantly feminine gender – as well as case studies of the
cults of Themis, Nemesis, Persuasion, Health, and Peace. Various aspects of Greek personifi-
cation are discussed in papers collected in Stafford and Herrin 2005; in addition to papers cited
individually in this chapter, see Parisinou on personifications of celestial light, Burton on the
gender of death, Kovaleva on Eros at the Panathenaea, Lazongas on the odd case of the
personified pomegranate, Allan on the cult of Opportunity, Murray on the Muses, Seaman
on representations of theIliadandOdyssey, and Yatromanolakis on the personified city. Shapiro
1993 provides an accessible and fairly comprehensive survey of personifications in Greek art
between 600 and 400 BC; the story is continued into the fourth century in Aellen’s (1994)
richly illustrated discussion of the role of personification in south Italian vase-painting. Indi-
vidual personified characters usually have an entry inLIMC, which gives a summary of the
figure’s place in literature and cult before cataloging her (or his) appearances in Greek (and
Roman) art; entries in the olderREcan be useful, though they are inevitably outdated in some
areas. Gombrich 1971 and Webster 1954 are still worth reading for overviews of Greek
personification, while Whitman 1987 provides a good account of allegory in Greek literature.
Specific points may be pursued by following up references in the text.
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