Center for Hellenic Studies

Abstract–Matters of Trust: Associations and Social Capital in Roman Egypt

Philip Venticinque — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:29:09 +0000

Concerns regarding the untrustworthy nature of merchants and craftsmen commonly expressed by classical authors, who instead championed agriculture for its security and as a pursuit conducive to developing proper decorum, have helped frame our understanding of the ancient economy. Cicero’s often quoted opinions on craftsmen, merchants, and acceptable economic activity outlined in the first book of his De Officiis have proven particularly influential. Moses Finley considered the elite ideology espoused in these texts as the correct framework through which to understand and interpret economic activity at all levels of society. Comments Cicero made in the second book of De Officiis that acknowledged the fact that despite stereotypes, members of lowly trades, and even thieves and pirates, understood that a sense of justice, equity, and establishing trust with colleagues was necessary, have received somewhat less attention. Trust, reputation, and esteem are vital to economic activity. Brennan and Pettit have dubbed esteem… more

Abstract–The Oresteia and Waterloo

Barbara Witucki — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:48:17 +0000

Victor Hugo says that Les Misérables is “a hydra at the beginning; an angel at the end.” Taking the theme of transformation from something deadly and devious into something kindly and benevolent, this paper investigates how two contemporaneous nineteenth-century authors of similar background, though they do not know each other, draw on the conventions of Greek tragedy in their novels. W.M. Thackeray in Vanity Fair and Victor Hugo in Les Misérables not only draw on the conventions of Greek tragedy, they also present a re-interpretation of the Oresteia through their novels. more

Abstract–Dionysos, Divine Space and Dopamine: A Cognitive Approach to the Greek Theatre

Peter Meineck — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:21:51 +0000

The Sanctuary of Dionysos Eleuthereus on the south east slope of the Acropolis in Athens and the theatron that was erected above it, was the major and performance venue for fifth century Athenian drama and it is quite possible that almost every play from that period was created specifically for this space. I suggest that we can learn a great deal more about the original reception of the plays in performance by applying research from the affective sciences to the evidence of material culture and the texts of the plays themselves. Here I focus on the relationship of the spectator to the environment with which the theatre was located, in particular the stunning view of the landscape, sea and sky. I apply the four spatial realms theory of Previc to the theatre space and following Previc’s research, suggest that the relationship of the performance space to its view created a… more

Abstract–The Tomb Below the Ostrusha Mound and the Painted Prosopa Within the Central Boxes of the Ceiling: Proposal for a New Reading

Consuelo Manetta — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:32:37 +0000

The presentation reviews some figurative paintings inside boxes that adorned the ceiling of the thalamos within the so-called tomb-Mound Ostrusha, found in ancient territories corresponding to present-day Bulgaria. It constitutes unquestionably one of most interesting witnesses of understanding Thracian artistic, social and funeral contexts during the early Hellenistic period. My proposal for a new reading of the Ostrusha painted prosopa completely revises the previous interpretations. It introduces innovative perspectives of research, both about the figurative program of the tomb and painted and sculpted representations from similar and contemporary ceilings. more

Abstract–Art in transition: Damophon of Messene in the Ionian coast of Greece

Milena Melfi — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:23:55 +0000

This paper consists of a preliminary reassessment of the activity and chronology of the Messenian sculptor Damophon, on the basis of three specific episodes of his career. A new inscription from the Asklepieion of Butrint and two honorary decrees issued for the sculptor by the cities of Leukas and Kranioi (Kephallenia) confirm that he was active in the Ionian coast of Greece in the 2nd century BC. Historical and archaeological data seem also to suggest that at the time of Damophon’s work the whole area was already under the control of the Romans. The sculptor’s activity and the cult statues he made/restored are therefore interpreted in the light of contemporary religious and cultural policies, aimed at strengthening the links between Rome and Greece. more

Abstract–Emotional Responses to the Suffering of Others: Explorations in Judeo-Hellenistic Literature

Francoise Mirguet — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:09:56 +0000

As an initial and exploratory step of a broader research on emotional discourses in Hellenistic Judaism, this paper looks at emotional responses to others’ suffering in a few Jewish texts, written in Greek in late Antiquity. As the Hebrew tradition meets the Greek language and culture, new discourses emerge, adjusting the vocabulary available and reframing both the existing Hebrew and Greek discourses on compassion and pity. The paper examines the evolution of those discourses, especially in terms of social dynamics, in a few texts, representative of Judeo-Hellenistic literature: the Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Hebrew Book of Proverbs, Josephus’ rewriting of the Jewish scriptures in the first eleven volumes of his Antiquities, and the Testament of Zebulun, one of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, a pseudepigraphic narrative loosely grafted on the book of Genesis. The texts represent different stages in the development of Judeo-Hellenistic literature, and are characteristic of… more

Abstract–Domination and Legitimacy in Early Hellenistic Basileia: The Rise of Self-Proclaimed Kings

Henrique M. de Sant Anna — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:03:37 +0000

When I first started this research I was thinking about identifying different ideal types of Hellenistic kings based on the way they exercised power. It soon became clear that they should all be treated as “charismatic leaders” in a Weberian sense, as suggested by Gehrke in his Der siegreiche König (1982). Moreover, Gehrke’s idea of the existence in Hellenistic kingship of a charisma inheritable through the establishment of a dynastic principle allowed me to understand that inherited charisma was in some regions connected to the adoption of more ancient monarchical traditions (mainly Egyptian and Mesopotamian). This paper aims to briefly discuss the charismatic nature of early Hellenistic monarchical power (from the Successors to the so-called period of stability) emphasizing both the army (military commanders and to a less extent part of the troops) as one of the main intended audiences of a self-proclaimed king the kings’ identification with more ancient… more

Abstract–Gender, Genre, and Truth in Pindar: Three Case Studies

Arum Park — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:17:41 +0000

This paper explores three deceptive and seductive female figures in Pindar’s myths: the Hera-cloud in Pythian 2, Koronis in Pythian 3, and Hippolyta in Nemean 5. The Hera-cloud is created by Zeus to deceive Ixion and to mark the end of the guest-friendship between Ixion and Zeus; thus, she represents the deception excluded from a relationship based on mutual respect and trust. Likewise, Koronis engages in a sexual relationship with Ischys in secret from her father. In doing so, she also deceives her previous lover Apollo, whose child she is carrying. Her deception damages the guest-host relationship between Ischys and her father and the pseudo-marriage between herself and Apollo. Finally, Hippolyta attempts to seduce Peleus, who, fearing retribution from Zeus Xenios, refuses her; she then concocts a story of Peleus’ attempts to seduce her. Gender is the key factor in coupling deception with seduction in each of these cases. Female… more

Abstract–Paralia and Mesogeia: ‘Coastalness’ and ‘Inlandness’ in the Ancient Greek World

Ilaria Bultrighini — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:04:42 +0000

Scholarship has in the past few years dealt more systematically with connectivity and interaction in the ancient Mediterranean and in the Greek world, especially in terms of exchange and networks within the framework of maritime connectivity. Through the study of the occurrence and employ of the terms paralia and mesogeia, as well as of other words expressing the ideas of ‘coastal’ and ‘inland’ in textual sources, this paper explores ancient Greek reflections about these two concepts: the typological distinction between coastal and inland territories and inhabitants and their distinctive features. Within this framework, a special emphasis is placed on Attica, which forms the focus of my ongoing broader research on the topic. The paper comprises three parts: the first briefly illustrates the peculiarity of the case of Attica, with the territorial divisions that the region underwent over time and the different meanings attached to the words paralia and mesogeia. The… more

Abstract–Knowing Characters and Knowing Authors: “Poetic Knowledge” in Ancient Greece and Early China

Wei Zhang — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:41:38 +0000

This essay submits the earliest articulation of explicit poetics in ancient Greece and ancient China to a comparative study, with special focus on the formulation of the notion of “poetic knowledge” in each tradition. Placed in their respective cultural process, explicit poetics can be seen as the outcome of philosophical confrontation with poetry and its potentially intractable experience in rational attempts to subsume it under a philosophical mode of knowing. While Socrates, Plato and Aristotle deployed a variety of mimetic models to construct a “poetic knowledge”, culminating in the Poetics with the knowledge of characters represented in the fictional world of men in action, in the Ruist tradition from Confucius to the Major Preface poetry was construed to be a special way of knowing the authors, their paradigmatic moral dispositions in attending historical circumstances. When put into a comparative perspective, what essentially distinguished the two modes of “poetic knowledge” can… more