Archaeology Through Archives: The Early History of the Archaeological Research in Boeotia…

Ioannis Fappas | 13 September 2017

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Deciphering Greek Amphora Stamps

Citation with persistent identifier: Badoud, Nathan. “Deciphering Greek Amphora Stamps.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:BadoudN.Deciphering_Greek_Amphora_Stamps.2017 §1 One day in July 1555, the great Sicilian scholar Tommaso Fazello (1498-1570) found near Heloros an amphora handle on which he read the name Agathoklês (fig. 1). Thoroughly steeped in the literary sources he linked this to ancient references which reported that Agathokles, tyrant of Syracuse, had been a potter before he seized power.[1]… Read more

History Research Symposium Papers

Scholarship and Leadership on the Black Sea: Clearchus of Heraclea as (Un)enlightened Tyrant[1]

Citation with persistent identifier: Harris, Jason. “Scholarship and Leadership on the Black Sea: Clearchus of Heraclea as (Un)enlightened Tyrant.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:HarrisJ.Scholarship_and_Leadership_on_the_Black_Sea.2017 1§1 During the fourth century BCE, between the end of the Peloponnesian War and the beginning of the Hellenistic Period, a group of powerful tyrants appeared across the Greek world. Several of these rulers took advantage of developments within the literary and philosophical spheres by inviting… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Place and Identity in Pindar’s Olympian 2

Citation with persistent identifier: Lewis, Virginia. “Place and Identity in Pindar’s Olympian 2.”CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:LewisV.Place_and_Identity_in_Olympian_2.2017 1§1 In his epinician odes for Sicilian victors, Pindar links local places to Panhellenic mythic narratives to reinforce and shape identities for Sicilian rulers and the citizens over whom they rule. This short paper focuses on the way that Pindar represents civic and ruler identity in terms of place in one of… Read more

Art/Archaeology Epigraphy/Papyrology Research Symposium Papers

Διονύσιος: Τhe grammarian, the potter and the ghosts*

Citation with persistent identifier: Nasioula, Maria. Διονύσιος: Τhe grammarian, the potter and the ghosts. CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:NasioulaM.Dionysios.2017 τοιοῦτον εἴδομεν ποτήριον γραμματικὸν ἀνακείμενον ἐν Καπύῃ τῆς Καμπανίας τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι, ἀργυροῦν, ἐκ τῶν Ὁμηρικῶν ἐπῶν κατεσκευασμένον καὶ ἐντετυπωμένα ἔχον τὰ ἔπη χρυσοῖς γράμμασιν, ὡς τὸ Νέστορος ὄν. Athenaeus Deipnosophists XI 466e §1 Three major questions arise when one comes to consider the grammatika vases: who created them, for whom and… Read more

Language/Literature Mythology/Religion Research Symposium Papers

Two Tombs for Hyrnetho: A Case Study in Localism and Mythographic Topography*

Citation with persistent identifier: Hawes, Greta. “Two Tombs for Hyrnetho: A Case Study in Localism and Mythographic Topography.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:HawesG.Two_Tombs_for_Hyrnetho.2017 §1 It should be uncontroversial to observe that stories are shaped by the contexts in which they are told. When a storyteller aims to please – or persuade, or entertain, or frustrate, or rebuke, or challenge – his audience, his stories are part of his rhetorical arsenal. The… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Συνοίκησις in Mycenaean Times? The Political and Cultural Geography of Attica in the Second Millennium BCE

Citation with persistent identifier: Papadimitriou, Nikolas. “Συνοίκησις in Mycenaean Times? The Political and Cultural Geography of Attica in the Second Millennium BCE.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:PapadimitriouN.Synoikisis_in_Mycenaean_Times.2017 1§1 As a rule, myths are first manifested in poetry or visual arts. The same is true for most of Theseus’ myths, including those which were invented at the time of Peisistratus and Cleisthenes to forge the image of a ‘national… Read more

Epigraphy/Papyrology Mythology/Religion Research Symposium Papers

At the Table of the Gods? Divine Appetites and Animal Sacrifice

Citation with persistent identifier: Carbon, Jan-Mathieu (Mat). “At the Table of the Gods? Divine Appetites and Animal Sacrifice.”CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:CarbonM.At_the_Table_of_the_Gods.2017 Setting the Scene: Myths and Sacrifice 1§1 What did the Greek gods eat and drink? ‘Ambrosia’ and ‘nectar’ are the standard answers that any student of mythology would hurry to propose.[1] But was that always the case, whether in myth or in belief (as far as we… Read more

Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Between Seriousness and Play: Imperial Platonic Readings of the Aristotelian Natural Problems (Plutarch, Taurus, Apuleius)

Citation with persistent identifier: Meeusen, Michiel. “Between Seriousness and Play: Imperial Platonic Readings of the Aristotelian Natural Problems (Plutarch, Taurus, Apuleius).” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:MeeusenM.Between_Seriousness_and_Play.2017 The Aristotelian Natural Problems: origins and success “Why are great excesses disease-producing? – Is it because they produce either excess or defect? And these are disease?”; “Why does cabbage prevent hangovers? – Is it because it has juice that is sweet and able to… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Greek Colonies and Their Neighbors in Rough Cilicia

Citation with persistent identifier: Mac Sweeney, Naoíse. “Greek colonies and their neighbors in Rough Cilicia.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:MacSweeneyN.Greek_Colonies_and_Their_Neighbors.2017 Introduction 1§1 Scholarship on the Greek colonies abounds.[1] In recent years, much of this work has moved away from attempts to define or characterize the phenomenon of Greek overseas settlement as a whole, and towards a more contextual understanding of individual communities in their immediate and regional settings. In particular, the… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Swelling Women: Formulaics in the Hesiodic Catalogue

Citation with persistent identifier: Kirk, Athena. “Swelling Women: Formulaics in the Hesiodic Catalogue.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 2 (2017). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:KirkA.Swelling_Women.2017 §1The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, despite its name, is not what one imagines it might be.  While it does indeed begin from the premise that it (via the muse) will tell “how many [women]” (ὅσσαις, Fr. 1MW) various gods went to bed with, it is hardly a simple tallying of the numbers… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Deciphering Greek Amphora Stamps

About 300,000 Greek amphora stamps have been discovered so far. What were they used for? They themselves do not tell us, and no ancient source mentions them. Hence hypotheses have multiplied since the middle of the 19th century. A historiographic approach will help to set out the problem in a new way. The study of the Rhodian evidence will then provide a fresh solution.   Read more

Art/Archaeology Language/Literature

Abstract | Διονύσιος: The Grammarian, the Potter, and the Ghosts

Four grammatika vases bearing signatures are the starting point of this paper, which aims to uncover the people behind the objects, focusing on the quest of their identity and their role in the creation and dissemination of one of the most distinctive varieties of Hellenistic relief pottery. The fusion of literature and scholarship on the surface of everyday vessels, in combination with the archaeological data that point to a sympotic… Read more

Art/Archaeology History Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Συνοίκησις in Mycenaean Times? The Political and Cultural Geography of Attica in the 2nd Millennium BC

A number of scholars have expressed the view that the synoikismos (political unification) of Attica took place in Mycenaean times. This entails that the region evolved into an early state during the 13th c. BC. Drawing on this hypothesis, I will examine the available archaeological data from a wider (Bronze Age) socio-economic perspective, to explore whether the establishment of a Mycenaean state in Attica was historically feasible and, if yes,… Read more

History Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Scholarship and Leadership on the Black Sea: Clearchus of Heraclea as (Un)Enlightened Tyrant

Clearchus of Heraclea Pontica, who ruled as tyrant from 364 to 352 BC, provides an interesting case-study in the intersection of politics and philosophy in the ancient Greek world. Although trained under Plato and Isocrates in Athens, upon his accession to power in Heraclea, he largely rejected their teachings by becoming cruel and by pandering to the demos. Although formerly a participant in their scholarly community, Clearchus was murdered in… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Swelling Women: Formulaics in the Hesiodic Catalogue

This paper examines a formulaic phrase in the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, ἣ δ’ ὑποκυσαμένη.  While its context in the fragments of that text is difficult to determine, an examination of its appearances in Homer and the Theogony reveals that it regularly appears following a description of an extraordinary or noteworthy union.  I argue that the formula belongs, like the phrase e hoie itself, to the traditional poetics of genealogy… Read more

Language/Literature Mythology/Religion Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Place and Identity in Pindar’s Olympian 2

My current book project, Myth, Locality, and Identity in Pindar’s Sicilian Odes, examines the way that local topographical features are adopted and adapted as nodes of civic identity in Pindar’s Sicilian odes. The book argues that by weaving regional and Panhellenic mythic traditions into the local landscape Pindar infuses physical spaces with meaning and thereby contextualizes cities, their citizens, and their rulers within a wider Greek framework. This paper focuses… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Greek Colonies and Their Neighbors in Rough Cilicia

How did Greek settlements interact and relate with their non-Greek neighbors? A sophisticated picture of these relationships is beginning to emerge for Magna Graecia and the western Mediterranean, but less is known about the Greek communities of the East. This paper considers the relationships between the Greek settlements on the coast of Rough Cilicia and the communities based further inland, discussing in particular new survey and excavation data from ‘indigenous’… Read more

Language/Literature Mythology/Religion Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Two Tombs for Hyrnetho: A Case Study in Localism and Mythographic Topography

This paper considers the factors which shaped myths as both a shared tradition and an amalgam of conflicting variants and versions.  It uses the story of the division of the Peloponnese amongst the Heracleidai to consider how local concerns produced stories which functioned simultaneously within a supra-local context. It then explores a ‘post-script’ to the story of the Heraclid return, the death of the obscure Argive heroine Hyrnetho. The survival… Read more

Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Between Seriousness and Play: Imperial Platonic Readings of the Aristotelian Natural Problems (Plutarch, Taurus, Apuleius)

The aim of this contribution is to examine how the Natural Problems, attributed to Aristotle (but only partially authentic), were received in the first centuries of the Imperial period, specifically in Platonist milieus. I will zoom in on three distinguished Platonic readers: viz. Plutarch of Chaeronea, L. Calvenus Taurus, and Apuleius of Madauros. Which reading contexts can we distinguish in the literature and what do we learn about the readers’… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | Archaeology Through Archives: The Early History of the Archaeological Research in Boeotia Through Original Historical Archives

The paper examines the fascinating early history of the archaeological research in Boeotia during the 19th century. Based on original, yet unexploited, archival material, this study uses the extant archival sources as a unique source of information for the first steps of Archaeology in Modern Greece, the prosopography, lives, stories and ideologies of its pioneers, their struggle against illegal trafficking of antiquities and the attitudes that shaped the character of… Read more

Mythology/Religion Research Symposium Papers

Abstract | At the Table of the Gods? Divine Appetites and Animal Sacrifice

The paper seeks to reassess some of the evidence for the offering of portions to the gods during animal sacrifice. Starting from a brief consideration of the myths relating to Prometheus and other figures, it is argued that these depict gods who could partake in feasts and who were manifestly interested in offerings of savoury animal parts, even meat. Myths of sacrifice certainly elaborated a hierarchy between gods and mortals, but… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Constructing Periander in Plutarch’s Symposium of the Seven Sages

Citation with persistent identifier: Stamatopoulou, Zoe. “Constructing Periander in Plutarch’s Symposium of the Seven Sages.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 1 (2016). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:StamatopoulouZ.Constructing_Periander.2016. [updated as of June 29, 2020] §1 In Plutarch’s Symposium of the Seven Sages,[1] the Corinthian seer Diocles recounts to a certain Nicarchus what transpired at a dinner party hosted by Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, in the fairly recent past. In the opening section that sets up the… Read more

History Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Herodotean Democracies

Citation with persistent identifier: Schlosser, Joel Alden. “Herodotean Democracies.” CHS Research Bulletin 5, no. 1 (2016). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:SchlosserJ.Herodotean_Democracies.2016 I. 1§1 To study the past, let alone antiquity, at a time when present challenges are both stupendously urgent and complex beyond understanding often feels quite dissonant. How can we possible turn our backs on what’s happening right now to think about ancient history? This feeling has been especially strong in 2016. After a summer… Read more