Boston Area Classics Calendar
September 2020
Lecture & Workshop: Eckart Frahm (Yale University)
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d147127809>
Wed., Sep. 16, 12 – 2:30 p.m.
Zoom
Lecture, 12–1:15: "Changing Perspectives in Studying the Bible in Its
Ancient Near Eastern Setting"
Workshop, 1:30–2:30: "A Divine Murder Story from Mesopotamia and Its
Background: Greek, Lydian, or Biblical?"
Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series
<https://ancientstudies.harvard.edu/visitors-series> [image: Lecture &
Workshop: Eckart Frahm (Yale University)]
Open Conversation with Graduation Students: Eckart Frahm (Yale University)
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d147127810>
Fri., Sep. 18, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Zoom
"Personal Reflections: Studying and Teaching the Ancient Near East in
Europe, the US, and Asia”
Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series
<https://ancientstudies.harvard.edu/visitors-series> [image: Open
Conversation with Graduation Students: Eckart Frahm (Yale University)]
Racetrack to Salvation: The Circus, The Basilica, and the Martyr
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d147316299>
Mon., Sep. 21, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Zoom: mit.zoom.us… <https://mit.zoom.us/j/93274587072>
PRESENTED BY: Kim Sexton (Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design,
University of Arkansas) and Lynda Coon (Dean of the Honors College,
University of Arkansas)
ABSTRACT: Six basilicas constructed by Christians in fourth-century Rome
relate purposefully to ancient athletic structures, namely the circus and
the stadium. This relationship grew out of the shared cultural traditions
of Classical athleticism and the cult of Christian martyrs materialized in
the built environment and serving mixed religious audiences. These six
“circus basilicas” mimicked the most iconic features of Roman racetracks,
whether designed for sturdy horses or swift humans. The similarities in
design between circus and basilica were not mere accidents of history
bearing only “pseudo-resemblances” to pagan monuments. Rather, the
architectural features of circus basilicas bear witness to an ancient
Christianity practiced outside the city walls in the fourth century only to
be eclipsed by newer styles of worship in subsequent epochs. Here, the
martyr keeps company with the charioteer; the pagan dissolves seamlessly
into the Christian; the godhead metamorphoses into the ultimate spectator
at the games; and the athletic spaces of the later Roman Empire transmute
into a racetrack to salvation. This subject is not new, but typically
scholars have located the circus basilica within the context of Classical
hero cults rather than the cult of Christian martyrs. This presentation
brings together a wealth of sources—architectural, archaeological,
artistic, and literary—combined with interdisciplinary methodologies to
demonstrate how the Roman votaries of Jesus harnessed the cultural prestige
and cosmological systems of the circus to promulgate the faith and exercise
cultural dominion over the empire.
MIT Ancient & Medieval Studies Colloquium Series
<https://history.mit.edu/lectures-and-seminars/ancient-and-medieval-studies-colloquium-series>
calendar.mit.edu…
<https://calendar.mit.edu/event/racetrack_to_salvation_the_circus_the_basilica_and_the_martyr>
[image:
Racetrack to Salvation: The Circus, The Basilica, and the Martyr]
October 2020
Seth Schein (University of California, Davis)
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d140013589>
Tue., Oct. 13, 12 – 1:15 p.m.
Zoom
Workshop on *Iliad* commentary
This will be an interactive workshop. Participants are asked to prepare by
reading *Iliad* 1.551-611 (in Greek) in advance.
Adriaan Lanni (Harvard Law School)
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d147626344>
Thu., Oct. 22, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Zoom
"Extracting Modern Lessons from Classical Athenian History"
November 2020
Danielle Allen (Harvard University)
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d147711821>
Wed., Nov. 4, 6 – 8 p.m.
Zoom
Title TBA
Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director
of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.
July 2021
Classical Association of New England Summer Institute
<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3devent%26eventid%3d147046638>
Mon., July 12 – Sat., July 17
Brown University, Providence, RI (dates will be confirmed in Jan. 2021)
On the theme
* “Power and the Individual in the Ancient Mediterranean World”graduate
credit available*
For more information and registration details, go to
www.caneweb.org
Please direct questions to the CSI director Amanda Loud at
summerinst(a)caneweb.org
caneweb.org… <https://caneweb.org/new/?page_id=165>
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<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar>
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