The Center for the Ancient Mediterranean at Columbia University seeks to link together all the faculty, students and numerous departments that have an interest in the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean and adjoining areas. It is simultaneously a mechanism for coordinating courses, an information source, and a means of organizing conferences and other scholarly encounters.

Click here for a map of the location of the Italian Academy.

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Click here for CAM Events for the 09-10 Academic Year

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Upcoming Conference:

20-21 November 2009

"Myth in Etruria: Images and Inscriptions"

In contrast to the Greek and Roman worlds, our knowledge regarding the diffusion and use of mythology in Etruria is not primarily based on literature, but on material evidence—images and inscriptions. Far from being a limitation, this feature is not only instructive as regards the specific channels of the transmission of myths, but also suggests an object- and context-oriented approach to their study. The myths we encounter in Etruria are applied myths, i.e. tales that are tightly linked to the occasions in which the artifacts carrying them—be they vases, mirrors, or pediments—played a role in social life. This embeddedness of myths in Etruscan culture only apparently contrasts with their nature as imports from abroad; on the contrary, it has to be understood as a consequence of the constant engagement with the Greek world that was one of the defining aspects of Etruscan civilization throughout its history.

Through the interdisciplinary focus on iconography and epigraphy, the conference aims at fully exploiting the peculiarities of mythological evidence in Etruria in order to explore two key traits of Etruscan religious and cultural practice: seeing/interpreting, and writing. Moreover, the built-in comparative perspective determined by the Etruscans' relationship with the Greeks will provide an optimal background for the broader historical assessment of mythology's role within Etruscan culture.

For more information please contact Prof. Francesco de Angelis (fda2101@columbia.edu).

Click here for the program.

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The Center's Steering Committee comprises:

Zainab Bahrani, Art History and Archaeology

Angelos Chaniotis, Oxford University

Francesco De Angelis (Vice-Director), Art History

Marc van de Mieroop, History

William V. Harris (Chair), History

Marco Maiuro, History

Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Art History

Susanne Saïd, Classics

Seth Schwartz, Religion

Katja Vogt, Philosophy

Katharina Volk, Classics

Gareth Williams, Classics

 

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for Art History, Archaeology, and Historic Preservation