CFP: 9th Interdisciplinary Symposium on “Metron kai Mousikē— Meter and Music”

Metron is a wide-ranging concept in Greco-Roman antiquity, from meter in poetry, to moderation in ethics, to the sophistic doctrine that “Man is the metron of all things.” Likewise, mousikē extends beyond the modern concept of “music” to every art over which the Muses preside.  Not only were both important parts of ancient education, they infused a variety of daily practices including art, dance, drama, literature, philosophy, rhapsody, religion, and the festivals that celebrated them. The goal of this conference is to bring together scholars from various disciplines and perspectives to explore the concepts of metron and mousikē in ancient Greece, especially in the Hellenic culture of ancient Sicily and Southern Italy.

Our conference takes place at the Exedra Mediterranean Center in Syracuse, Sicily—the cultural center of Western Greece known by Epicharmus, Empedocles, Plato, Aeschylus, Sappho, Theocritus, Archimedes, Cicero and many others.  It includes guided tours of local archaeological and cultural sites, communal meals, and the possibility to witness live performances in the ancient Greek theater by the National Institute for Ancient Drama. 

Space in the conference is limited; abstracts will be selected by blind review. Proposals for individual paper presentations and panel discussions related to any aspect of topic are welcome, especially those that mention Sicily and Southern Italy. Abstracts for papers should be 150-300 words in length and prepared for blind review in .docx or .rtf format (not .pdf).  Proposals for panel discussions should include contact information for all participants.  Presentation times range from 20 minutes for individual papers to 90 minutes for panel discussions.  Abstracts received by November 15, 2023 will be considered for early acceptance.  Final deadline for abstracts is February 15, 2024. Selected proceedings will be published in our series, The Heritage of Western Greece, which is indexed in JSTOR.

Please send abstracts and direct questions to Heather L. Reid at [email protected]