The year 2012 marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood. During these passing years her clear and unmistakable scholarly voice has not been silenced but thanks to the editorial work of loyal friends it has continued – and will continue – to enrich our critical reflection and debate on Greek religion with fresh material and ideas. All of her work, including that published posthumously, displays the quality that most particularly characterized Christiane: her ability to apply rigorous methodology and to combine literature, history and archaeology to interpret Greek life and culture.

As a tribute to Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood’s long-lasting achievement and on-going contribution to scholarship, the Classics Division of the Department of Philology of the University of Crete will host a conference in her memory in September 2012 (22-24) which will aim to bring together scholars working in various areas who are familiar with Sourvinou-Inwood’s ideas to discuss important religious aspects of literary, visual and historical material that illuminate Greek culture.

Programme

Saturday 22 September 2012 (17:30-18:45)

Welcome speeches

‘Reading’ and Remembering Christiane (Robert Parker, John Petropoulos, Isabelle Clark, Dionysia Makri)

Coffee Break

Saturday 22 September 2012 (19.00-21.00)

Moderator: A. Nikolaides (Crete), ‘Reading’ Gods & Heroes

Robert Parker (Oxford), Interpretatio Graeca

Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge (Liège), In what sense does a Greek god have a personality? Back to JHS 1978

Emma Aston (Reading), Heroes, Humans and the Construction of Collective Identity

Discussion of the papers

Dinner

Sunday 23 September 2012 (09.30-15.45)

Excursion

Sunday 23 September 2012 (17.45-21.15)

Moderator: E. Bowie (Oxford), ‘Reading’ Myths and Rituals

Sarah Iles Johnston (Ohio State University), Narrating Myth

Renaud Gagné, Zeus Laphystios and Athamas (Herodotus 7.197)

Athena Kavoulaki (Crete), Men Protecting Rituals

Ian Rutherford (Reading), Delphi, Primeval Purification and Theoria

Fritz Graf (Ohio State University), Myth in the Twilight Zone: John Malalas and Roman Mythology

— Discussion of the papers —

Dinner

Monday 24 September 2012 (09.00-14.00)

Moderator: TBA, ‘Reading’ Feasts and Songs

Peter Wilson (Sydney), The festival of Dionysos in Ikarion: a new study of IG I3 254

Lucia Athanassaki (Crete), Choral Authority and Ritual Act in Aeschylus

Michael Anderson (Trinity College), Religious Elements in Greek Tragedy: Ancient Texts and Modern Adaptations

John Petropoulos (Harvard Centre for Hellenic Studies, Greece), Sacred Time in Theocritus’ Hymn to Adonis

Discussion of the papers

Coffee break

‘Reading’ Monsters and Animals

Nassos Papalexandrou (Austin, Texas), Seeing Monsters in Early Greek Art

Emma Aston (Reading), ‘Reading at Close Focus’: C. Sourvinou-Inwood’s Unpublished Remains on Girls and Animals

Monday 24 September 2012 (17.00-21.00)

Moderator: TBA

‘Reading’ Religion In and Out of the Polis

Sarah Hitch (Oxford), Even further aspects of polis religion: models, individuals and hierarchies in the study of Greek religion

Agis Marinis (Patras), Polis and Panhellenic Religion: the Pindaric Paradigm

Discussion of the papers

Coffee Break

Anastasia Serghidou (Crete), The elusive ritual in the Histories of Herodotus

Josine Blok (Utrecht), The priestess of Athena Nike: a new reading

Sally Humphreys (Michigan), Something to do with gene

Discussion of the papers

Closing Remarks

End of the conference

There will be no registration fee for attendance, but those who wish to attend the conference are strongly encouraged to register, so as to ensure that there will be sufficient conference material for everybody. If you wish to attend, please register electronically, submitting simply name, affiliation and email address through the form accessible through the appropriate website (see “info”) by September 20, 2012 (extension of registration procedure).