The Fight of Telephus: Poetic Visions behind the Pergamon Frieze

A reappraisal of the Pergamon Altar's smaller frieze reveals that its depiction of the Telephus myth was likely influenced by archaic lyric poetry, particularly Pindar and narrative elegies such as those by Archilochus. The vivid and violent imagery of the Mysian battle scenes suggests a shift from traditional epic and tragic narratives toward more dynamic poetic forms, challenging previous assumptions about the frieze's iconographic sources.

Lulli, L. (2016). The Fight of Telephus: Poetic Visions behind the Pergamon Frieze. The Look of Lyric: Greek Song and the Visual, 50–68. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004314849_004