Special Public Events
Throughout the year, we host a variety of events that spotlight the wide world of classical antiquity and its reception in the modern world.
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Wednesday, November 11, 2024, at 11:00 am – Rittenberg Lounge, Mather Hall Living in the Lion’s Jaws: Survival as Resistance in Martial’s Lion and Hare Cycle by Dr. Emi Brown In this talk, Prof. Emi Brown will tell us about her research on the first-century A.D. Roman poet Martial. Martial came from what is today the country of Spain, a margin of the Roman Empire at the time. Dr. Brown will elucidate Martial’s poetic practice, creating art in the context of one of the most dictatorial emperors. ‣Free event! Food! All are welcome! |
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| Thursday October 31st at Common Hour in the Joslin Family 1823 Room, Library
The Princeps In Pittsfield: A Third-Century Inscription in the Berkshire Museum by John Higgins Dr. Higgins is going to present an inscription in Greek from the eastern Roman frontier that’s now in Pittsfield, Massachusetts’ Berkshire Museum. It dates to the time of the ancient Roman emperor Gordian III, who ruled from 238-244 A.D. Dr. Higgins will talk about the inscription itself and what it means for our understanding of the Romano-Persian wars in which Gordian later died. He will also talk about how it came to Pittsfield, and the dealer who sold it to the Berkshire Museum.
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| Thursday, September 19, 2024- Common Hour – Reese Room, Smith House
Joe will perform selections from his music that adapts the ancient Greek epic poem the Iliad, steeped in ancient and modern war literature as well as interviews and his experiences playing music at VA hospitals as part of recreational therapy for veterans experiencing PTSD and other related war traumas. Joe’s first-person songs capture the horror, grief, and love that permeate the Iliad and the combat experience. Each song takes on the perspective of different characters, from warriors like Achilles and Patroclus, to kings like Priam, and women like Briseis, Helen, and Andromache. |
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| Thursday, April 18, 2024; Common Hour; Rittenburg Lounge Psychedelic Art in the Aegean Bronze Age Dr. Karen Polinger Foster, Yale UniversityThe hallucinatory visions engendered by the consumption of psychoactive substances, as well as the production of mind-bending imagery have inspired artistic creation far across space and time. Following a brief overview of the science of psychedelia, this talk investigates Aegean Bronze Age art for evidence of the principal psychedelic hallmarks. Two case studies are considered—Kamares Ware vessels of the Old Palace period on Crete, and the wall paintings on the upper floor of Xeste 3 on Thera. As argued here, both exhibit clear signs of psychedelic influence and intent. To help bridge the gap of 3500 years, analogous examples of modern psychedelic art are discussed and illustrated. |
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| Tuesday March 28, 2023 – Common Hour – Rittenberg Lounge
The Blues of Achilles: a musical performance by Joe Goodkin Joe will perform selections from his adaptation of the ancient Greek epic poem the Iliad, steeped in ancient and modern war literature as well as interviews and his experiences playing music at VA hospitals as part of recreational therapy for veterans experiencing PTSD and other related war traumas. Joe’s first-person songs capture the horror, grief, and love that permeate the Iliad and the combat experience. Each song takes on the perspective of different characters, from warriors like Achilles and Patroclus, to kings like Priam, and women like Briseis, Helen, and Andromache. |
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