Iconography of War in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Images of warfare offer a lens through which to explore the values and ideologies of ancient societies. This volume, which emerges from the panel Iconography of War at the War in the Ancient World International Conference (WAWIC) in 2025, examines how war and conflict were represented, interpreted, and communicated through images in the ancient world. Bringing together specialists in archaeology, art history, ancient history, and Classical studies, this book explores visual media, including bronze votive figurines, monumental sculpture, reliefs, and ceramics. The chapters span diverse chronological and geographical contexts, focusing on the Greco-Roman world while also engaging with neighbouring cultures and the Iberian Peninsula. Through case studies, experts analyse how visual representations of weapons, armour, battle scenes, and martial bodies conveyed ideas about identity, status, ritual, and political authority.