Research Bulletin

Perceptions of the Barbarian in Early Greece and China

Yang Huang | 14 March 2014
Art/Archaeology History Research Symposium Papers

The Establishment of the City-States of Eastern Crete from the Archaic to the Roman Period

Citation with persistent identifier: Coutsinas, Nadia. “The Establishment of the City-States of Eastern Crete from the Archaic to the Roman Period.” CHS Research Bulletin 2, no. 1 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:CoutsinasN.The_Establishment_of_the_City-States_of_Eastern_Crete.2013 §1  The island of Crete is both the southernmost and the largest island in Greece. So, unlike the other Greek islands, it was home to dozens of cities, which all had to contend for enough land to survive. Inevitably, the urban centers fought… Read more

Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Aristotle’s Treatment of Force and Compulsion as Exculpatory Conditions for Moral Responsibility

Citation with persistent identifier: Lienemann, Béatrice. “Aristotle’s Treatment of Force and Compulsion as Exculpatory Conditions for Moral Responsibility.” CHS Research Bulletin 2, no. 1 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:LienemannB.Aristotles_Treatment_of_Force_and_Compulsion.2013 §1  From history and the news, we are all familiar with difficult situations such as the following: the politician who has to decide whether or not to torture a terrorist to make him reveal where his group has planted the bomb which threatens to kill innocent… Read more

Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Socrates in the Marketplace

Citation with persistent identifier: Collins, James. “Socrates in the Marketplace.” CHS Research Bulletin 2, no. 1 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:CollinsJ.Socrates_in_the_Market_Place.2013 §1  This paper is part of a larger project on the ways in which professional philosophers of fourth-century Athens compete with other occupations and lifestyles. I am trying to determine the broader pragmatics of a ‘marketplace of ideas’ in the larger context of traditional and competing systems of social and economic exchange.… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

The Lord of the Wings: Political Leadership and the Rhetorical Manipulation of Athenian Law in Aristophanes’ Birds

Citation with persistent identifier: Buis, Emiliano J. “The Lord of the Wings:  Political Leadership and the Rhetorical Manipulation of Athenian Law in Aristophanes’ Birds.” CHS Research Bulletin 2, no. 1 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:BuisE.The_Lord_of_the_Wings.2013 Introduction §1  The importance of law in Old Comedy is reflected by the numerous legal terms mentioned in Aristophanes’ plays,[1] but there have rarely been literary interpretations of comedies that take into account the juridical phraseology and imagery as a… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

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

Citation with persistent identifier: Manetta, Conseulo. “The Tomb Below the Ostrusha Mound and the Painted Prosopa within the Central Boxes of the Ceiling: Proposal for a New Reading.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:ManettaC.The_Tomb_Below_the_Ostrusha_Mound.2013 “Tribuenda est sideribus divinitas” (Cic., De Nat. Deor, 2.15) §1  The so-called Ostrusha Mound represents an important witness for understanding artistic, social and funeral aspects of Thracian culture during the Late Classical – Early… Read more

Research Symposium Papers

Live Webcast: Research Symposium

Join us on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7 for a live webcast of the Center for Hellenic Studies Research Symposium. To access the stream, go to rtsp://stream.chs.harvard.edu/HouseA, viewable with VLC, RealPlayer, or Quicktime. Have questions for the presenters? Send questions and comments via the online form. Friday, December 6, 11:00am-12:30pm (EST) The Lord of the Wings: Political Leadership and the Rhetorical Manipulation of Athenian Law in Aristophanes’ Birds” Emiliano Buis,… Read more

Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–Socrates in the Marketplace

Why does Socrates frequent, and often use the language of, the marketplace? Why, when so many of his elite interlocutors vehemently express disgust for craftsmen and merchants, does Socrates feature them and their products in his arguments? Elites express tremendous anxiety about the banausic nature of workers and their corrupting influence in politics. And Socrates himself is sometimes represented and understood as an oligarchic elitist who shares in contempt for… Read more

History Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–Perceptions of the Barbarian in Ancient Greece and China

The ancient Greeks and Chinese bear striking similarities in their attitudes towards other peoples, often calling them ‘barbarians’. This paper attempts to discuss Greek and Chinese perceptions of the barbarian in a comparative perspective in the hope that such a study might be helpful for further understanding the role that such perceptions played in the self-identification of both societies. The paper at first outlines Chinese attitudes towards other peoples from… Read more

History Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–The Lord of the Wings: Political Leadership and the Rhetorical Manipulation of Athenian Law in Aristophanes' Birds

 In Aristophanes’ comedy Birds (414 BCE), the protagonist Peisetaerus —not surprisingly named as “he who persuades his companions”— becomes an outstanding master of rhetoric, who smoothly manages to use his λόγος to convince birds, gods and mortals about his own ruling primacy. However, this triumph is not only achieved by the mere power of language, but can be explained more especially as the result of a well-thought legal manipulation. A… Read more

Philosophy/Science Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–Aristotle’s Treatment of Force and Compulsion as Exculpatory Conditions for Moral Responsibility

This paper explores Aristotle’s conception of responsibility in the Eudemian Ethics and the Nicomachean Ethics by focusing on one representative example:  his treatment of force and compulsion as exculpatory conditions. This case is revealing both for Aristotle’s specific views on the appropriate reactions to actions undertaken under conditions of force or compulsion and for his methodological approach to demanding questions on moral responsibility. Starting with Aristotle’s determination of clear cases… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–The Establishment of the City-States of Eastern Crete from the Archaic to the Roman Period

The island of Crete is the largest Greek island. Unlike the others, it contains dozens of cities, all of which have had to share the island to survive. The mountains occupy more than half of the island, while the fertile plains are very limited, mostly situated on the coasts (with the exception of the Messara plain, the biggest of the island). As a result, the landscape of Crete is highly… Read more

History Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–The Second Loss of Troy: Some Thoughts about Strabo, Book 13

 Troy and Troas have always been a central issue for ancient and modern scholars dealing with Hellenic and Roman identities and cultural history. Despite the huge interest for the city destroyed by the Achaeans, the site of Troy was rediscovered only in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann. The long history of the search for Troy, however, began already in Antiquity, at the precise moment when the heritage of Ilion was… Read more

Language/Literature Mythology/Religion Research Symposium Papers

Abstract–Using Homer for Divination. Homeromanteia in Context

The verses of Homer were often interpreted in Antiquity as the voice of an oracle. But we have no material evidence about the use of Homeric verses as oracles before the third and fourth centuries CE. This paper is focused on the use of Homeric works in divination in Roman times and consists in a comparative study of the three Homeromanteia that have been preserved. A comparison of the content and the… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

Art in Transition: Damophon of Messene in the Ionian Coast of Greece

Citation with persistent identifier: Melfi, Milena. “Art in Transition: Damophon of Messene in the Ionian Coast of Greece.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:MelfiM.Art_in_Transition_Damophon_of_Messene.2013 §1  A monumental Doric colum, inscribed with seven decrees in honour of the sculptor Damophon of Messene was found in the Asklepieion of Messene in relatively recent years. It  bears a set of long and not yet fully published epigraphic texts, consisting of seven decrees by… Read more

Art/Archaeology Research Symposium Papers

The City of Late Hellenistic Delos and the Integration of Economic Activities in the Domestic Sphere

Citation with persistent identifier: Zarmakoupi, Mantha. “The City of Late Hellenistic Delos and the Integration of Economic Activities in the Domestic Sphere.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:ZarmakoupiM.The_City_of_Late_Hellenistic_Delos.2013 §1 Delos, home of the sanctuary of Apollo since the archaic period, underwent a period of rapid economic development after 167 BCE, when the Romans put the island under Athenian dominion and turned it into a commercial base connecting the… Read more

Art/Archaeology History Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

ΠΑΡΑΛΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΑ: "Coastalness" and "Inlandness" in the Ancient Greek World

Citation with persistent identifier: Bultrighini, Ilaria. “Παραλία καì Μεσόγεια: ‘Coastalness’ and ‘Inlandness’ in the Ancient Greek World.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:BultrighiniI.Paralia_kai_Mesogeia_Coastalness_and_Inlandness.2013 Παραλία καì Μεσόγεια: Coastalness and Inlandness in the Ancient Greek World[1] §1  In the past few years scholarship has 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… Read more

Blog Philosophy/Science

Aristotle on Perceiving Objects

How can one explain the structure of experience?  What is it that we perceive?  How is it that we perceive objects and not disjoint arrays of properties?  By which sense or senses do we perceive objects?  Does this type of perception require a further sense over and above the five senses? Aristotle was the first to investigate these questions to a depth that makes his account fruitful even for contemporary… Read more

History Research Symposium Papers

Matters of Trust: Associations and Social Capital in Roman Egypt

Citation with persistent identifier: Venticinque, Philip F. “Matters of Trust: Associations and Social Capital in Roman Egypt.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013).http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:VenticinqueP.Matters_of_Trust_Associations_and_Social_Capital.2013 §1  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 ancient economic history. Cicero’s often quoted opinions on craftsmen,… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

Ages of Athletes: Generational Decline in Philostratus’ Gymnasticus and Archaic Greek Poetry

Citation with persistent identifier: Stocking, Charles. “Ages of Athletes: Generational Decline in Philostratus’ Gymnasticus and Archaic Greek Poetry.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:StockingC.Generational_Decline_in_Philostratus_Gymnasticus.2013 §1  The Gymnasticus, written in the third century CE by the Athenian sophist Philostratus, is one of our latest, most important, but also most underappreciated texts on ancient athletic training.[1] Earlier scholars had largely dismissed the text as incoherent and encyclopedic.[2] More recently, however,… Read more

History Research Symposium Papers

Public Slavery, Politics and Expertise in Classical Athens

Citation with persistent identifier: Ismard, Paulin. “Public Slavery, Politics and Expertise in Classical Athens.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:IsmardP.Public_Slavery_Politics_and_Expertise_in_Classical_Athens.2013 §1  Public slavery was an institution common to most of the Greek cities of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. From the Homeric dêmiourgos to the scribes of sixth-century Crete, the Archaic period abounds with examples of skilled technicians who, as such, were partially or fully excluded from the… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

The Oresteia and Waterloo

Citation with persistent identifier: Witucki, Barbara. “The Oresteia and Waterloo.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:WituckiB.The_Oresteia_and_Waterloo.2013 Two virtually contemporaneous mid-nineteenth century novels, William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair (1847) and Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables (1862) have numerous similarities.[1]  One of the most striking of these is an extended description of the Battle of Waterloo.  Both authors use the Battle of Waterloo to invoke the memory of another much older… Read more

Language/Literature Research Symposium Papers

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

Citation with persistent identifier: Park, Arum. “Gender, Genre, and Truth in Pindar: Three Case Studies.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:ParkA.Gender_Genre_and_Truth_in_Pindar.2013 Introduction §1  Pindar’s epinician odes take care to identify and emphasize the relationship between poet and patron, a relationship that is based on reciprocity, truthfulness, and trust, and is marked by key terms and concepts such as xenia, philia, charis, and alêtheia.[1] These terms are what the poet uses… Read more

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