Excavations at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia on Poros were recommenced in June 2015 under the direction of Arto Penttinen.

The gods of the Greeks liked things. Greek religion is inseparable from its temples, altars, statues, and votive offerings; the last of a dazzling variety, ranging from gleaming bronze tripods or elaborate gold jewellery, to simple terracotta figurines, used shoes and dirty pieces of clothing. As a corollary, to understand Greek religion one has to integrate into any study of its theology and rituals, its distinctive materiality. This conference examines this “distinctive materiality” on two levels: firstly, by examining the role of religious objects in human society and secondly, by looking at the significance that objects were thought to have for the gods themselves. The discussions will aim specifically at exploring the ancient Greek ideas on objects and their materiality, a perspective that has hitherto been given little attention.

Programme: The Stuff of the Gods

Poster: The Stuff of the Gods

The Swedish Institute at Athens has invited the jazz band Orfeas Wärdig Tsoukalas Quartet to perform at the

• 15th Athens Technopolis Jazz Festival on Friday June 5, 2015 at 21.00 hrs.

Before that a concert will also be held in the city of Kavala on Wednesday June 3 2015, at 21.00 hrs at Halil Bey or “Palia Mousiki”.

The Swedish Institute at Athens and Aegeus – Society for Aegean Prehistory invite you to the lecture:

Reappraising Kirrha. New evidence on landscape,
economy  and society from Southern Phocis

Julien Zurbach & Raphaël Orgeolet

Friday 22 May 2015, 19:00 (Μitseon 9, Acropolis Metro station).

Double Greek Religion Seminar, by Jan-Mathieu Carbon and Edward Harris,

Tuesday 19 May 2015 (Μitseon 9, Acropolis Metro station).

Welcome!

12 May 2015, 15:00
Swedish Institute at Athens (Mitseon 9, Akropolis metro station)

Polyxeni Strolonga, ASCSA
“Shaping Religious Beliefs: The Case of the Major Homeric Hymns”

21 April 2015, 15:00
Swedish Institute at Athens (Mitseon 9, Akropolis metro station)

Elene Balomenou (University of Athens)
“Were Gods Meant to Entertain? Exploring Performativity, Theatricality and Entertainment in the Aegean Bronze Age Religion.’’

The Swedish Institute at Athens and Aegeus – Society for Aegean Prehistory invite you to the lecture:

The traditional paradigm of the Indo-European problem and the “Coming of the Greeks” (in Greek)

by Theodoros G. Giannopoulos (Open University of Cyprus)

Friday 17 April 2015, 19:00.