Ex Oriente Lux in Early Iron Age Greece and Save the Date

The last lecture of the Institute’s Winter/Spring Lecture Program will take place this coming Wednesday, the 10th, at 7:30 PM. The lecture will be given by a former Homer and Dorothy Thompson Fellow of the Institute (2001/2), Dr. Alison Barclay. She is now a professor of Classics at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The title of her lecture is, “Centre and Periphery: Intercultural Relations in the Eastern Mediterranean, ca. 900-600 BCE”.

“The period from ca. 900-600 BCE is an important one in the development of ancient Greek culture and scholars rely heavily on archaeological remains to reconstruct and interpret the processes of change in this period. Thus, the artistic motifs and the artifacts they decorate are essential vehicles for examining the transmission and, in particular, the reception, of new elements that appear in the artistic repertoire of early Greece at this time – many as a result of expanding intercultural contacts with the Near East and Egypt. These artifacts are also important for tracing the internal diffusion of foreign ideas and their Greek adaptations within the Greek world. One model for interpreting the effect of these interactions is the concept of centre and periphery. While this model is a good starting point for an analysis of artistic and social historical changes during the period, it is just a starting point. To even begin to understand the processes of reception – not only what, but how and why these new elements were used – one has to move beyond this model to a more context-based approach. Established indigenous traditions, social, political and economic trends, ideological structures, economics, and communicability all affect how, why or whether new elements will be incorporated into the receiving culture. It is the analysis of these factors together with the reception of the artistic motifs that give us the greatest insights into the choices, and to some degree the motivations, made by merchant, politician, poet and artist.”

Save the Date!
It is that time of year again and our Annual Open Meeting date is now set! It will be Tuesday, May 21st at 7:00 pm at the Italian School in Makriyianni. Shortly I will provide more details on the Invited Lecturer and the topic.

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director