Performance in Greek Culture: Ancient and Modern

I. 

We have known since Antiquity that performances of poetry and rhetoric played an obvious and important role in the cultural life of archaic and classical Greece. But the scholarship of this century and the last has shown that the degree to which archaic and classical Greek culture existed in performance is far greater than modern readers might have imagined.  The performances of epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy and comedy, rhetoric and philosophy were all occasions for preserving, communicating and transforming Greek culture.  And the performances and processions of the citizens of the polis were centered around its buildings and their sculptures, stoas, temples, theatres, and stadia: material culture, too, was part of the performance of Greek culture.   The history of Greek paideia is, first and foremost, the history of public cultural performances, and of the changes in their character and authority from the archaic period through the close of the classical age and beyond.  The notion that early Greek culture exists first in performance and secondarily in texts and documents requires modern readers to re-think their understanding of archaic and classical Greece. This conference will explore why and how performance was at the center of Greek culture from the eighth century to the close of the classical period in the fourth century.   Ruby Blondell, Professor of Classics at the University of Washington, will deliver the keynote address, "'The Gods Made Me Do It!' Performing the Divine Defense of Helen in Homer, Gorgias and Euripides.” Prof. Blondell, recognized internationally for her contributions to the study of Classical Antiquity, is the author of Helen of Troy:Beauty, Myth, and Devastation (Oxford, forthcoming); The Play of Characters in Plato’s Dialogues (Cambridge, 2002); Helping Friends and Harming Enemies: A Study in Sophocles and Greek Ethics (Cambridge, 1989) and numerous articles, chapters, and translations of Greek tragedy.

II.

The founding premise of the American Foundation for Greek Language and Culture (AFGLC) is that the cultural crises that face western societies—and the societies with which they interact in a global economy—are due in no small part to the neglect of the classical origins of western culture by contemporary institutions of higher education. The AFGLC is dedicated to the proposition that this resolution of this crisis, and the well-being not only of our society but of those throughout the world, is best served by examining these ancient origins as well as modern institutions and practices that are derived from them: democracy and the ideal of an engaged citizenry; literature, art, and architecture that embody cultural values; systematic thought of the sort exemplified by philosophy, medicine, theology, history, the sciences, and mathematics;  philanthropy and the notion of things held in common; and the very idea of a university education with the respect, indeed, reverence, for things of mind and spirit that such an education is meant to instill. 

In the hope of accomplishing these ends, the AFGLC with its international arm, the International Center for Greek Language and Culture (IFGLC), works to endow in perpetuity Interdisciplinary Centers for Hellenic Studies (ICHS) at universities and colleges.  Each year, the AFGLC holds a forum in conjunction with theICHS, aimed at bringing together academics, scholars, students, and engaged citizens.  The goals of the conference are to encourage the study Hellenic culture as well as to energize citizens, including business and community leaders, in supporting Centers for Hellenic studies in institutions of higher learning.

For more information E-mail Joanne Waugh [email protected] or contact the USF ICHS (813-974-4450).