The Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology of the University of Thessaly
organizes an international colloquium on the spectacle in antiquity,
a field of research with diachronic impact and wide socio-political dimensions.
The colloquium will address aspects of the spectacle, its administration and use
from the prehistoric period to late-antiquity, through texts, material remains, iconography and music.
We are planning three sessions which will focus on the following broad issues:
- Spectacle and Religion
The relationship between religion and various types of spectacle, ranging from ritual activities
of the Bronze Age Aegean and the Dionysiac performances of Classical Greece to the martyrdoms
of the first Christians.
- Spectacle and Politics
The relationship between spectacle and politics, the relevant institutions and offices, the role
of central authority and of individuals in the organization and ideological manipulation of spectacles.
- Performers and Spectators
The social identity and the psychology of performers and spectators, the professionals and the amateurs.
- The spectacle in antiquity and the spectacle today
A comparative approach of the phenomenon followed by open discussion.
In the context of this colloquium, we are planning a concert with original compositions
based on ancient poetry and musical scores.
