Image and Mimesis: A Reflection from the Greeks

Abstract

This article presents the relationship between image and the Greek notion of mimesis from Plato and Aristotle. The discussion goes from understanding mimesis as an uncreative copy of reality to a form of portrayal with a reference that celebrates the ability of artists, such as painters and poets, to present beings and psychological states through this portrayal. In Plato, we use mimesis to explain the relationship between the physical world we inhabit and the reality that underlies and is its principle, in contrast to the images made by painters and poets. In Aristotle, although used to explain a certain relationship that the world has with what underlies it, the mimesis practiced by visual and literary artists will be seen as na interpretative way of reality that demonstrates the poet’s ability to, through mimesis, move us and make us think.