Miniatures of "Ambrosian Iliad" as an Element of Visualisation of Ritual "Entertainment"
Authors: Chumachenko Olena 
Published: September 2023

The purpose of the article is to consider the miniatures of the "Ambrosian Iliad" as an element of visualisation of ceremonial and ritual "entertainment" in the context of the development of ancient culture. The methodology of the research. The study uses the analytical method as a methodology to study the miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad, as well as to study the theoretical material on the ceremonial and ritual type of "entertainment"; the historical and cultural method is used to analyse the miniature as one of the visual components of the ceremonial and ritual "entertainment" in the socio-cultural life of Antiquity; the art history method is used for a detailed examination of the miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad, which is a unique illuminated manuscript of the fifth century, depicting almost the entire Iliad of Homer, with special attention to the scenes of ritualistic spectacles. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the study of the miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad as an element of visualisation of ritual and ritual "entertainment", as well as the miniature as one of the visual components of ritual and ritual "entertainment" in the socio-cultural life of Antiquity. Conclusions. The article examines the miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad as an element of visualisation of ceremonial and ritual "entertainment" in the culture of antiquity. It is determined that in the Ambrosian Iliad, over time, there was a tendency to shift the emphasis from literary issues to an increased interest in mythological and Homeric "images" in the visual context (Anthony Snodgrass, Karl Schefold and Luca Giuliani, H. Shapiro), and the miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad are also considered as a social phenomenon in the culture of late antiquity (Ceil Parks Bare). The history of the manuscript and the characteristic feature of the Ambrosian Iliad miniatures (the use of gold and red shades in clothing, orange and green palette in drawing the background) are considered. The miniatures, the plot of which is devoted to ritualistic spectacles, are especially considered: Calchas made a prediction that, according to a sign he saw of a dragon killing nine birds in Avlida, Troy should fall only in the tenth year of the siege. Agamemnon suggests that the Greek soldiers return home and lift the siege, but they know about this sign and the sacrifice and stay because they believe in the signs of Calchas. Another miniature shows the Greek kings under the leadership of Agamemnon sacrificing a bull to Zeus. And the most interesting is the miniature where Achilles asks Zeus to pardon and save the life of Patroclus, his foster brother, by sacrificing to Zeus. The classification of five groups of miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad proposed by Bandinelli is considered. It is proved that the miniatures of the Ambrosian Iliad, as a pictorial component of the ceremonial and ritual phenomenon of "entertainment", reflected not only the artistic aspects of the socio-cultural life of Antiquity, but also served as the personification of the visualisation of the hero cult.
Key words: "entertainment", "Ambrosian Iliad", culture of Antiquity, rite, ritual, Greek pantheon, Achilles, visualisation, hero cult.