Tag: Discussion

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CHS Open House | Kinyras: The Divine Lyre, with John C. Franklin

Franklin_Kinyras_ The Divine LyreJohn C. Franklin of the University of Vermont will join the CHS Community for an Open House discussion on “Kinyras: The Divine Lyre.” The event takes place on Thursday, September 15 at 11 a.m. EDT.
To prepare for this event, you might like to read the Introduction “Kinyras and Kinnaru” of Kinyras: The Divine Lyre, Hellenic Studies Series 70. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies, on the CHS website, here.
Watch the live broadcast on the  Hour 25 website or on the YouTube site.

On Kinyras of Cyprus

Already for Homer, Kinyras loomed on the eastern horizon, a Great King who treated on equal terms with Agamemnon, sending him a marvelous daedalic breastplate as a friendship-gift:

Next in turn he donned the corselet round his chest
Which once Kinyras gave him as a friendship-gift.
For he had heard a great report on Cyprus—the Achaeans
Were to sail in ships to Troy—wherefore
He gave the corselet to him, cultivating favor with the king.
One version of the lost epic Kypria told of a broken promise by Kinyras to contribute ships against Troy, and probably how he hosted Paris and Helen on a honeymoon escapade as they evaded pursuit. Alkman describes Cypriot perfume as “the moist charm of Kinyras.” Pindar calls him “cherished priest of Aphrodite” whom “golden-haired Apollo gladly loved”; and refers to the “blessed fortune … which once upon a time freighted Kinyras with riches in Cyprus on the sea.” Sources from the Hellenistic period onwards, when Cypriot lore entered Greek letters more directly, tell us that Kinyras was first-discoverer of copper and metallurgical operations on the island, and master of other typical industries. Local fourth-century inscriptions show that the Paphian kings traced their descent from Kinyras, and it was said that he built, and was buried in, Aphrodite’s great and ancient sanctuary there. His wealth was a byword, rivaling Sardanapalos and Kroisos, and thrice surpassing Midas. And, like these other eastern kings, he underwent a humbling reversal of fortune.

John C. Franklin

John C. Franklin is Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Vermont. He began life in music composition at the New England Conservatory of Music and MIT Media Lab (1988), and then switched to Classics, earning a PhD at University College London (2002).  Much of his research deals with the cultural—and especially musical interface—between early Greece and the Near East. He has recently completed a book on divinized instruments called Kinyras: The Divine Lyre; another work in progress treats the historical relationship between the Mesopotamian and early Greek lyre traditions (The Middle Muse: Mesopotamian Echoes in Early Greek Music). His compositions now incorporate aspects of ancient musical practice; these include “recomposed” scores for productions of ancient drama (Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, London Festival of Greek Drama 1999 and Aristophanes, Clouds, Edinburgh Fringe 2000); and electronically-realized impressions of ancient music, notably The Cyprosyrian Girl: Hits of the Ancient Hellenes, for which he developed a Virtual Lyre for the Reaktor platform, permitting use of ancient microtonal intonations. He has held research fellowships at the Center for Hellenic Studies, the American Academy in Rome, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute, and the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research.

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CHS Open House | Kinyras: The Divine Lyre, with John C. Franklin

Franklin_Kinyras_ The Divine LyreJohn C. Franklin of the University of Vermont will join the CHS Community for an Open House discussion on “Kinyras: The Divine Lyre.” The event takes place on Thursday, September 15 at 11 a.m. EDT.

To prepare for this event, you might like to read the Introduction “Kinyras and Kinnaru” of Kinyras: The Divine Lyre, Hellenic Studies Series 70. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies, on the CHS website, here.

Watch the live broadcast on the  Hour 25 website or on the YouTube site.

On Kinyras of Cyprus

Already for Homer, Kinyras loomed on the eastern horizon, a Great King who treated on equal terms with Agamemnon, sending him a marvelous daedalic breastplate as a friendship-gift:

Next in turn he donned the corselet round his chest
Which once Kinyras gave him as a friendship-gift.
For he had heard a great report on Cyprus—the Achaeans
Were to sail in ships to Troy—wherefore
He gave the corselet to him, cultivating favor with the king.

One version of the lost epic Kypria told of a broken promise by Kinyras to contribute ships against Troy, and probably how he hosted Paris and Helen on a honeymoon escapade as they evaded pursuit. Alkman describes Cypriot perfume as “the moist charm of Kinyras.” Pindar calls him “cherished priest of Aphrodite” whom “golden-haired Apollo gladly loved”; and refers to the “blessed fortune … which once upon a time freighted Kinyras with riches in Cyprus on the sea.” Sources from the Hellenistic period onwards, when Cypriot lore entered Greek letters more directly, tell us that Kinyras was first-discoverer of copper and metallurgical operations on the island, and master of other typical industries. Local fourth-century inscriptions show that the Paphian kings traced their descent from Kinyras, and it was said that he built, and was buried in, Aphrodite’s great and ancient sanctuary there. His wealth was a byword, rivaling Sardanapalos and Kroisos, and thrice surpassing Midas. And, like these other eastern kings, he underwent a humbling reversal of fortune.

John C. Franklin

John C. Franklin is Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Vermont. He began life in music composition at the New England Conservatory of Music and MIT Media Lab (1988), and then switched to Classics, earning a PhD at University College London (2002).  Much of his research deals with the cultural—and especially musical interface—between early Greece and the Near East. He has recently completed a book on divinized instruments called Kinyras: The Divine Lyre; another work in progress treats the historical relationship between the Mesopotamian and early Greek lyre traditions (The Middle Muse: Mesopotamian Echoes in Early Greek Music). His compositions now incorporate aspects of ancient musical practice; these include “recomposed” scores for productions of ancient drama (Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, London Festival of Greek Drama 1999 and Aristophanes, Clouds, Edinburgh Fringe 2000); and electronically-realized impressions of ancient music, notably The Cyprosyrian Girl: Hits of the Ancient Hellenes, for which he developed a Virtual Lyre for the Reaktor platform, permitting use of ancient microtonal intonations. He has held research fellowships at the Center for Hellenic Studies, the American Academy in Rome, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute, and the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research.

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CHS Dialogues: Pindar’s Pythian 3 & 9 with Maria G. Xanthou

We are pleased to welcome back Maria G. Xanthou, University of Leeds, for a CHS Dialogue on Pindar on Wednesday, August 10, at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

Visit  Hour 25 for the live stream webcast, focus passages to prepare for this conversation, and a discussion with community members on the topic.

Maria Xanthou

Maria G. Xanthou (PhD Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) has taught Classical Languages, Literature and Thought and ICT in teaching classical languages at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki since 2001. She is Adjunct Lecturer at the Open University of Cyprus since 2012 and a research collaborator of the Centre for Greek Language (Thessaloniki). She has been appointed Teaching Fellow in Classics and Ancient History, University of Leeds. Her research interests include Greek lyric poetry, both monodic and choral (Stesichorus, Pindar and Bacchylides), Aristophanic and Attic comedy (5th c. B.C.E.), Attic rhetoric (Isocrates), history of classical scholarship (German classical scholarship of the 19th c.), textual criticism, literary theory, rhetoric, ancient theory of rhetoric (definition and use of asyndeton), e-learning, ICT use for teaching classical languages and integration of ICT methodologies in the curriculum. As a Fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies, she has been researching the social and cultural construction of fear (φόβος), awe (δέος) and anger (ὀργή) as emotions in the fifth and fourth century BCE political scene in Attica, Greek mainland and the islands, and the formation of good will (εὔνοια) as a response towards these emotions and its significance in the development of Isocrates’s emotional intelligence theory.

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CHS Dialogues: Pindar’s Pythian 3 & 9 with Maria G. Xanthou

We are pleased to welcome back Maria G. Xanthou, University of Leeds, for a CHS Dialogue on Pindar on Wednesday, August 10, at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
Visit  Hour 25 for the live stream webcast, focus passages to prepare for this conversation, and a discussion with community members on the topic.
Maria Xanthou
Maria G. Xanthou (PhD Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) has taught Classical Languages, Literature and Thought and ICT in teaching classical languages at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki since 2001. She is Adjunct Lecturer at the Open University of Cyprus since 2012 and a research collaborator of the Centre for Greek Language (Thessaloniki). She has been appointed Teaching Fellow in Classics and Ancient History, University of Leeds. Her research interests include Greek lyric poetry, both monodic and choral (Stesichorus, Pindar and Bacchylides), Aristophanic and Attic comedy (5th c. B.C.E.), Attic rhetoric (Isocrates), history of classical scholarship (German classical scholarship of the 19th c.), textual criticism, literary theory, rhetoric, ancient theory of rhetoric (definition and use of asyndeton), e-learning, ICT use for teaching classical languages and integration of ICT methodologies in the curriculum. As a Fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies, she has been researching the social and cultural construction of fear (φόβος), awe (δέος) and anger (ὀργή) as emotions in the fifth and fourth century BCE political scene in Attica, Greek mainland and the islands, and the formation of good will (εὔνοια) as a response towards these emotions and its significance in the development of Isocrates’s emotional intelligence theory.

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CHS Open House: From Homer to Ferdowsi with Olga M. Davidson

We are delighted to welcome Olga M. Davidson for a CHS Open House discussion on Thursday, November 5 at 11:00 a.m. EST when she will be talking about why she went on from Homer to Ferdowsi, and introducing his epic Shāhnāma.
In her book Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings:

Olga M. Davidson argues that….whenever the Shāhnāma was performed by the poet or by later practitioners of his poetry, the performer could interact with his grand characters by re-engaging with their stories, as if for the first time. After documenting the oral poetic performance traditions underlying the text of the Shāhnāma in all its variations, Davidson argues that the heroic tradition of this epic is deeply ancient, stemming from Indo-European poetic traditions. A primary example is the great warrior Rostam, who upholds Iranian kingship while at the same time posing a threat to kings who prove unworthy of the crown.
(Harvard University Press: ‘About Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings‘)

You can watch the live event below or via the Google+ event page.
Members of Hour 25 can start and continue the discussion in this forum thread.

Olga M. Davidson

Olga M. Davidson earned her Ph.D. in 1983 from Princeton University in Near Eastern Studies. She is on the faculty of the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations, Boston University, where she has served as Research Fellow since 2009. From 1992 to 1997, she was Chair of the Concentration in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University. Since 1999, she has been Chair of the Board, Ilex Foundation. She is the author of Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings (Cornell University Press: Ithaca, 1994; 2nd ed. Mazda Press: Los Angeles, CA, 2006; 3rd ed. distributed by Harvard University Press, 2013) and Comparative Literature and Classical Persian Poetry, Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions Series (Mazda Press: Los Angeles, CA, 2000; 2nd ed. distributed by Harvard University Press, 2013), both of which have been translated into Persian and distributed in Iran. Her articles include “The Haft Khwân Tradition as an Intertextual Phenomenon in Ferdowsi’s Shâhnâma.” In Honor of Richard N. Frye: Aspects of Iranian Culture (ed. C. A. Bromberg, Bernard Goldman, P.O. Skjærvø, A. S. Shahbazi), Bulletin of the Asia Institute 4 (1990) 209-215; “The Text of Ferdowsi’s Shâhnâma and the Burden of the Past.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 118 (1998) 63–68, and “The Burden of Mortality: Alexander and the Dead in Persian Epic and Beyond,” Epic and History (David Konstan and Kurt Raaflaub, eds., Wiley-Blackwell, Malden / Oxford 2010) 212–222.
Image credit: detail from Rustam fights Afrasiyab, from Walters manuscript W.602
The Walters Art Museum, Creative Commons License.

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CHS Open House Discussions — Fall 2015

OHD_F2015
We are in the heart of the fall season of CHS Open House discussions. These are the discussions that have taken place so far:
Casey Dué, University of Houston

Paul O’Mahony, actor, writer, and educator

Olga Levaniouk, University of Washington

Forthcoming CHS Open House discussions:
October 22  at  11:00 a.m EDT – Joel Christensen

October 29  at  11:00 a.m EDT – Leonard Muellner & Douglas Frame

  • ‘Touring the Ionian Dodecapolis with Homer in Mind’

November 5  at  11:00 a.m EST – Olga Davidson

  • ‘The Poetic World of the Shâhnâma’

You can find a complete list of video recordings of previous visits, here.

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CHS Open House: ‘Epos and Eris: Composition, Competition and the ‘Domestication’ of Strife’ with Joel Christensen

We are pleased to welcome back Joel Christensen (University of Texas, San Antonio) for our next CHS Open House discussion, on Thursday, October 22 at 11 a.m. EDT, when we will be talking about ‘Epos and Eris: Composition, Competition and the ‘Domestication’ of Strife’ which was originally given as a keynote talk at the 2015 Heartland Graduate Workshop in Ancient Studies.
To prepare for the discussion, participants might like to read the paper, which is available at Acadameia.edu, here.
The abstract introduces the topic as follows:

This talk examines the interrelationship between Eris and Greek Epos, specifically in Homer and Hesiod. I will argue both that Eris is important for the development of their poems both as a theme (a form that shapes the poems) and as cultural aesthetic that drives them to rival one another. Moreover, the poets’ eristic efforts to contemplate the nature of Eris contribute to a common effect to adapt or, for lack of a better term, to “domesticate” strife. I start by identifying the compositional theme of Eris (also neikos) and its associated motifs of dasmos (“distribution”) and krisis (“judgment”) and then trace out the deployment and alteration of the thematic pattern from the Theogony through the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Works and Days. The dynamic appropriation and interrogation of the Eris theme produces a cultural debate about the nature of strife while also speaking to compositional features of Greek epic. In emphasizing this, I also suggest that the rivalry evident in the poems of Hesiod and Homer is characteristic of an ‘additive’ competitive spirit that is a reflex of and reflection on Green agonism.

Members of Hour 25 can start and continue the discussion in this forum thread.
To watch the event live, simply tune in to this blog post at the appropriate time. To participate in the live Q&A, please visit the associated event page on Google+ here. The webcast will be recorded and available for later viewing via the video frame below. View the list of forthcoming events and access a complete list of videos featuring previous Open House discussions and visits on the Scholars page here at Hour 25.

Dr. Joel Christensen received his BA from Brandeis University in Classics and English and his PhD in Classics from New York University, earning an additional Certificate in Poetics and Theory. He is actively engaged in research that explores the development of literature and language in ancient Greece. His dissertation, “The Failure of Speech: Rhetoric and Politics in the Iliad“, an examination of the Iliad‘s internal conception of effective speech and the political importance of language, has developed into a series of articles on the use of language in Homer and the relationship between our Iliad and a putative poetic tradition.
In addition to explorations of language in the Iliad, Dr. Christensen also collaborates with E.T.E. Barker (Open University, U. K.) on rivalry and generic relationships in Archaic Greek poetry. Together they have published articles on the new Archilochus fragment, Oedipus in the Odyssey and are in the midst of a long-term project on the use of Theban myths in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Barker and Christensen have published a Beginner’s Guide to Homerand plan to publish their second book (Homer’s Thebes) within the next few years. In conjunction with his teaching and research interests, Dr. Christensen also writes on myth and its relationship with literary representations: he has published on the Gilgamesh poems, Greek myth and modern science fiction. In addition to being an active researcher, Dr. Christensen also has interests in New Media and conventional publications; he has recently started serving as the book review editor for The Classical Journal.

Selected Publications

  • Forthcoming — “Time and Self-Referentiality in the Iliad and Frank Herbert’s Dune,” in Classical Traditions in Science Fiction, Brett Rogers and Benjamin Stevens (eds.). Oxford, 2015.
  • Forthcoming — (with E. T. E. Barker) “Odysseus’ Nostos and the Odyssey’s Nostoi.” G. Scafoglio (ed.). Studies on the Greek Epic Cycle. 2015.
  • Forthcoming —  “The Hero Herself: From Death-Giver to Storyteller in Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” in Ancient Women and Modern Media, William Duffy and Krishni Burns, eds. Cambridge Scholars Press, est. 2015.
  • Forthcoming – (with E. T. E. Barker) “Even Herakles Had to Die: Homeric ‘Heroism’, Mortality and the Epic Tradition”. Special Issue Trends in Classics: Homer and the Theban Tradition (Christos Tsagalis, ed.; 2014)
  • Forthcoming – “Diomedes’ Foot-wound and the Homeric Reception of Myth,” In Diachrony, Jose Gonzalez (ed.). De Gruyter series, MythosEikonPoesis. est. 2014.
  • Beginner’s Guide to Homer (with E. T. E. Barker), One World Publications (July, 2013)
  • “Aorist Morphology,” in Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, ed. G. Giannakis, Brill. est. 2013.
  • “Innovation and Tradition Revisited: The Near-Synonymy of Homeric ΑΜΥΝΩ and ΑΛΕΞΩ as a Case Study in Homeric Composition.” The Classical Journal 108.3, 257-296.
  • “Ares: ἀΐδηλος: On the Text of Iliad 5.757 and 5.872.” Classical Philology 107.3, 230-238.
  • (with E.T.E. Barker) “On Not Remembering Tydeus: Agamemnon, Diomedes and the Contest for Thebes.”Materiali e Discussioni per l’Analisi dei Testi Classici 66, 9-44.
  • “First-Person Futures in Homer.” American Journal of Philology 131, 543-71.
  • For a complete list of publications, please see Dr. Christensen’s C.V.