Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Pantelis Michelakis
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Systematic Exploration ◽  
Classical Studies ◽  
Analytical Work ◽  
Roman Antiquity

This chapter sketches out some of the features of the encounter between media theory and Greco-Roman antiquity in two complementary ways: as a field of knowledge awaiting further systematic exploration and analysis, but also as a set of methods that under the banner of ‘cultural transmission’ brings together practices for producing and processing knowledge that are fundamental to the way in which ancient cultures become ‘classical’. The discussion begins with the concept of the medium and the promise it holds for analytical work in the study of the past. It then moves on to the role of mediation in thinking about the cultural significance of communication across time and perception. It continues with a consideration of classical studies and media studies as disciplines, focusing on the kinds of research that can be pursued at their intersection. The chapter concludes with an overview of the contributions that follow.

scholarly journals The Classical in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture – an Introduction

CLARA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bente Kiilerich
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Past ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
The Impact

This special issue of CLARA titled ‘The Classical in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture’ focuses on the impact of Greco-Roman antiquity on present day art and culture. Over the last few decades, antique statues have been revived again and again, turning up in new guises in contemporary art from all over the globe. In addition to new works based on specific ancient statues, some artists create art that references the past in a more general way. Other artists question the divide between past and present raising the possibility of ‘multi-temporality’, a phenomenon that will be explored in connection with recent exhibitions. Another aspect of the interaction of antiquity and the contemporary world is the association between luxury brands and antique monuments, fashion brands taking on the role of patrons, paying large sums for the restoration of Roman landmarks. By studying various types of exchanges between the classical and the contemporary, the papers aim to throw light on why artists and designers continue to draw inspiration from ancient art; in short, why antiquity continues to fascinate.

Classics and Media Theory

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
Of Greece

The aim of this volume is to introduce a largely neglected area of existing interactions between Greco-Roman antiquity and media theory. It addresses the question of why interactions in this area matter, and how they might be developed further. The volume seeks to promote more media attentiveness among scholars of Greece and Rome. It also aims to create more awareness of the presence of the classics in media theory. It foregrounds the persistency of Greco-Roman paradigms across the different strands of media theory. And it calls for a closer consideration of the conceptual underpinnings of scholarly practices around the transformation of ancient Greece and Rome into ‘classical’ cultures.

Zooarchaeology

2019 ◽  
pp. 95-122
Author(s):  
Michael MacKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Cultural Complexity ◽  
Scientific Investigations ◽  
Classical Archaeology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Classical Studies ◽  
Roman Antiquity

This chapter discusses zooarchaeological exploration that might be less familiar (but no less important) within the discipline's broader contribution to classical archaeology. Scientific investigations and analyses of zooarchaeological materials from classical archaeological sites have grown rapidly since the 1980s. These are broadened further through initiatives taken not simply to understand biological and environmental components of the past (aspects that might, superficially, ally better with natural science), but to engage animals as markers of cultural complexity as well. Investigations today are increasingly conducted by zooarchaeologists who specialize in the scholarship of Greek and Roman antiquity, a tactic consequently helping to blur or dissolve traditional academic boundaries in classical studies that previously emphasized primacy to other categories of material remains, such as texts or art. Scientists now infiltrate classics, and vice versa.

The role of ancient remains in the Sarmatian culture of early modern Poland

2018 ◽  
pp. 286-304
Author(s):  
Barbara Arciszewska
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
The Past ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Material Evidence ◽  
Ancient Remains ◽  
Class Discourse

Visible material remnants of ancient cultures were, for a variety of historical reasons, not particularly abundant in the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795). The past monuments of these lands were not hewn in stone and marble but in timber, leaving behind no impressive structures to provoke the interest of subsequent generations. The dearth of material evidence did not, however, prevent generations of Polish historians and antiquarians from assigning Greco-Roman identities to local monuments. They were keen to offer tangible proof of the past glory of the land inhabited by the alleged descendants of the Sarmatians. In this paper, some of these monuments are explored, especially the Mounds of Krakus and Wanda near Cracow as well as an alleged tomb of Ovid in Vohlyna. The narratives fabricated around them as a part of the ideology of Sarmatism, a class discourse, which constructed an identity for the Polish nobility as the descendants of the ancient tribe of Sarmatians, are also examined.

scholarly journals Language As a Memory Carrier Of Perceptually-Based Knowledge. Selected Aspects Of Imagery In Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale And Troilus And Criseyde

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Stadnik
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Troilus And Criseyde ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cumulative Cultural Evolution

AbstractIn the paper, we address the question of the relation between language and culture from a Cognitive Linguistic perspective. While accounting for the role of language as an aid to cultural transmission in maintaining the community’s conceptual order, we address the question of whether the concept of a linguistic worldview aptly captures the interplay between language and culture. We suggest that, due to cumulative cultural evolution spurred by the incessant development of human knowledge, layers of conceptualisations accumulate over time. It is proposed that this palimpsest of conceptualisations results from human interaction that transcends the constraints of the present moment, encompassing the past and present, as well as delineating possible developments of the community’s future conceptual order.

scholarly journals Anchoring Innovation: A Classical Research Agenda

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ineke Sluiter
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Revolving Door ◽  
Classical Antiquity ◽  
American Constitution ◽  
Electric Cars ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
History Of ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
New Research

Several periods in classical (Greco-Roman) antiquity provide an intriguing mix of being ‘in the grip of the past’ and profoundly innovative in all societal domains at the same time. A new research agenda of the Dutch classicists investigates this combination, under the hypothesis that the two are connected. Successful innovations must somehow be ‘anchored’ for the relevant social group(s). This paper explores the new concept of ‘anchoring’, and some of the ways in which ‘the new’ and ‘the old’ are evaluated and used in classical antiquity and our own times. Its examples range from a piece of ancient theatrical equipment to the history of the revolving door, from an ornamental feature of Greek temples to the design of electric cars, and from the Delphic oracle to the role of the American constitution.

The urban expansion of the Isis cult: A quantitative approach

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Hegedus
Keyword(s):  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
City Size ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Statistical Correlations ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Antiquity

This article presents a quantitative sociological study of the expansion of the worship of Isis in Greco-Roman antiquity focusing on the role of large urban centres. Receptivity to the cult is measured for a data set of 44 cities based on the presence or absence of archaeological remains. Statistical correlations between the spread of the Isis cult and city size, distance from Alexandria and distance from Rome (a secondary centre of the cult's expansion) support the thesis that distance from cultic centres was a significant factor in the spread of Isiac worship. The paper concludes with a number of suggestions for further research.

The Social Organization of Secrecy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Secret Societies ◽  
Ancient Judaism ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Social ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Roman Antiquity

In this chapter we study the mysteries and secrecy in Greco–Roman antiquity. The cults of Mithras and Isis as mysteries and revelations to their initiates, as well as the “Mithras Liturgy” and magical elements of the ascent, are examined. Secret groups have tripartite social structures. There is evidence for secret societies in Ancient Judaism other than Essenes and Therapeutae. The identification of the Qumran covenanters and of the Essenes is explored. We look at cryptic writing and secrecy within groups. The role of women in some groups is discussed. Past discoveries of Dead Sea manuscripts and documents are outlined.

Local antiquaries and the expansive sense of the past: a case study from Counter-Reformation Spain

2018 ◽  
pp. 167-189
Author(s):  
Katrina B. Olds
Keyword(s):  
Local History ◽  
Text And Image ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Past ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Printed Books ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
Roman Antiquity

In the seventeenth century, Spanish antiquarians collected inscriptions, coins, and other evidence of their community’s illustrious Christian origins, conflictive medieval past, and glorious present. Efforts to compile a suitable local history were particularly determined and prolific in the Andalusian diocese of Jaén, where two local enthusiasts of the past – Francisco de Rus Puerta and Martín Ximena Jurado – generated a voluminous body of manuscripts and printed books under the sponsorship of Jaén’s bishop. Like their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, Jaén’s antiquaries documented the past in both text and image, as the authors sketched coins, ruins in situ, and ongoing excavations for antiquities and saints’ relics. In these efforts, Greco-Roman antiquity played the handmaiden to the early Christian era, for it was of intense concern for Andalusian Catholics to prove that the Islamic invasion had not disrupted the region’s deep and essential Christian identity. In this way, ‘antiquity’ was a rather motley-coloured creature, encompassing not only the remains of Roman Hispania, but also including pre-Roman antiquities from Spain’s early Greek, Phoenician, and Celtiberian peoples, as well as Visigothic and some Islamic artefacts.

Celebrating Science in Ancient Greece and Rome

Nuncius ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liba Taub
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Intellectual Curiosity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
Scientific Ideas ◽  
Scientific Achievements

Abstract Current ideas about the aims and value of scientific work and knowledge may be part of our inherited legacy from Greco-Roman antiquity. While financial rewards were important in the past and are important today, when we look at individual ancient Greeks and Romans known for their scientific ideas and achievement, we see that a number of these were avowedly pursuing science for a gain which was very specific, but not financial. Motivations might include intellectual curiosity and a desire for personal improvement, including increased understanding, as well as an interest in gaining reputation and influencing posterity. In Greco-Roman antiquity there were various ways in which an individual’s scientific achievements could be celebrated, commemorated, honoured and memorialised; several are considered here.

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