In Spring 2024, IHCLA launched an annual interdisciplinary Hellenic Studies seminar series. The series invites ACG faculty, visiting fellows, and guest speakers to present their research on a wide range of topics in Hellenic Studies spanning antiquity to the present. Areas of focus include archaeology and art history, classics, as well as Byzantine and Modern Greek studies. The seminar brings together scholars and students of Hellenic Studies in a collegial and intellectually engaging environment that fosters dialogue and collaboration.
Seminars are held once a month during Fall and Spring terms on our Aghia Paraskevi campus and can also be attended via Zoom.
For past seminars, see below:
Mr. Byzantoine: Antonis Benakis and Byzantium
Join us for a lecture featuring Anastasia Drandaki, Associate Professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology at the University of Athens and Academic Advisor at the Benaki Museum. The talk, “Antonis Benakis and Byzantium: Collecting, Curating, and Creating a Museum,” examines the founder of the Benaki Museum’s deep engagement with Byzantine art and artifacts. Exploring Benakis’ collecting practices, correspondence, and curatorial vision, the seminar sheds light on how a private passion evolved into a public institution dedicated to Greece’s cultural heritage.
Learn more about the event here.
Traveling to Ancient Platea: Interpreting a Landscape of Liberation between Hellenism and Philhellenism
Join us for a lecture featuring K. Scarlett Kingsley, Visiting Associate Professor in Classics at Deree – The American College of Greece. The talk, “Plataea in British Travel Writing: Ancient Freedom and Modern Empire,” explores how early nineteenth-century travelers reimagined the ancient Greek victory site of Plataea within the context of Romantic-era politics and philhellenism.
Learn more about the event here.
Local and Global Perspectives on Ancient Sparta
On Tuesday, May 27, join us for a compelling talk on Spartan culture and its global impact. Dr. Daphne D. Martin will challenge stereotypes and explore Spartan material culture through a lens of local and global interactions. Discover how Sparta’s legacy reshapes our understanding of the ancient Mediterranean.
Learn more about the event here.
Attic-style relief stelai in the Black Sea region
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, join us for the Hellenic Studies Seminar Series with Jane Rempel, Assistant Professor in Classics at Cambridge University. Explore the impact of Athenian cultural exchanges in the Black Sea during the Classical period. This seminar will focus on the use of Attic-style grave stelai in the region, examining their significance and selective consumption by elite markets.
Learn more about the event here.
Charismatic Leadership, Populism, and the Future of Democracy in the Age of Trump
On April 1, 2025, Takis S. Pappas, a political scientist known for his work on global populism and democracy, will delve into the complexities of charismatic leadership and populism in the context of modern democratic institutions, using Donald Trump’s second presidency as a focal point. Dr. Pappas, known for his extensive work on global populism and democracy, will explore the implications for liberal democracy in today’s political climate.
Learn more here.
Modern Antiquity: Beyond the Battles of the Ancients and Moderns
On February 6, 2025, Georgia Giannakopoulou will present a seminar titled “Modern Antiquity: Beyond the Battles of the Ancients and Moderns” at the Deree Faculty Lounge. The session will explore Nietzsche’s critique of modernity and how the image of Periclean Athens has been shaped by historical and social constructs.
Learn more here.
Contextualizing Pharmacological Substances from Asia in Byzantine Medical Works
On Thursday, December 5, 2024, the IHCLA hosted a seminar featuring Petros Bouras-Vallianatos, Associate Professor of History of Science at the University of Athens. The event contextualized references to pharmacological ingredients from Asia in late antique and Byzantine medical works, examining their evolution and impact.
Learn more here.
Adam’s Lament and Eve’s Blame: Performing Gender in Byzantium
On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, Assistant Professor Kallirroe Linardou from the Athens School of Fine Arts presented a lecture titled “Adam’s Lament and Eve’s Blame: Performing Gender in Byzantium.” The event, held at the Deree Faculty Lounge, explored how gender roles and narratives were expressed and perceived in Byzantine society, offering a nuanced analysis of these themes through historical and artistic lenses.
Learn more here.
Greece in the Metapolitefsi: Political Democratization and Economic Globalization
The IHLCA recently welcomed Kostas Kostis, Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Athens and Director of the National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation (MIET), as a distinguished guest speaker at our Hellenic Studies Seminar on March 19, 2024. This seminar marked the fifty-year anniversary of the Greek Metapolitefsi, a pivotal period following the fall of the 1967-1974 military dictatorship, prompting deep reflection on its political, economic, and social ramifications. Professor Kostis’ enlightening discourse, titled “Metapolitefsi: Greece in the Era of Globalization,” delved into the nuances of Greece’s post-1974 journey, shedding light on the intersections of political democratization and economic globalization. However, he also sounded a cautionary note, highlighting the contemporary challenges of democratic capitalism and the emergence of authoritarian tendencies amidst global inequality. The seminar, attended by engaged faculty and students, ignited vibrant discussions and underscored the importance of comprehensively examining Greece’s Metapolitefsi era in light of modern global complexities.
Learn more here.
Odysseus through the Looking Glass: On Knowing One’s Self in Homer
On February 26, 2024, Tobias Myers, Associate Professor of Classics at Deree – The American College of Greece, presented the inaugural lecture of the Hellenic Studies Seminar Series entitled “Odysseus through the Looking Glass: On Knowing One’s Self in Homer.” Professor Myers, author of Homer’s Dive Audience: The Iliad’s Reception on Mount Olympus (OUP, 2019), spoke about ideas of the self and self-knowledge in Homer’s Odyssey as seen through Odysseus’ own retelling of his harrowing journey home to the Phaeacians. Organized by the Institute for Hellenic Culture and the Liberal Arts, attendees, which included Hellenic Studies faculty, fellows, students as well as guests from outside the college, participated in a lively discussion following the lecture and enjoyed refreshments and snacks in the Deree Faculty Lounge.
Learn more here.