The ancient Greek notion of theôría (θεωρία) is of unquestionable cultural importance. Not only does it speak immediately to the ancient Greek festival as a cultural institution; philosophers seized on it as their preeminent metaphor for philosophical reflection. Most agree that it has to do with… Read more
On 24 April 2010, Traianos Gagos, Professor of Greek and Papyrology at the University of Michigan and Archivist of Papyrology in the University of Michigan Library, passed away as a result of an accident at his home. He was only 49. The loss of this beautiful man,… Read more
The “Garland of Philip”, published around AD 40, contains numerous epigrams addressed to Roman patrons and members of the Imperial household. One of the authors included in Philip’s anthology is Crinagoras of Mitylene, who – as several inscriptions attest – served as ambassador between Rome and his native city. Among… Read more
…is a graffito scratched into a street in the Athenian deme of Thorikos. Who Chares was, and whether he really was as fine a whore as his ‘admirer’ suggests, is anyone’s guess. Graffiti like this, which comment on the sexuality of a person, are common in the ancient world however. Read more
In antiquity, gesture and facial expressions were not thought simply to refer to language, but to the underlying emotions or psychic states (Quintilian, Orator’s education 11.3.66). It is all the more surprising that in the case of pantomime, ancient accounts often emphasise the close correspondence between gestures and words, for… Read more
