6th Trends in Classics International Conference
Department of Classics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
6th Trends in Classics International Conference
Hellenistic Studies at a Crossroads:
Exploring Texts, Contexts and Metatexts
Thessaloniki, 25-27 May, 2012
Auditorium I
Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center
September 3rd Avenue, University Campus
http://kedea.rc.auth.gr
Hellenistic poetry and poetics have attracted the attention of scholars such as Wilamowitz, Powell, Pfeiffer, Frazer and Gow whose editions and studies mark a milestone in the history of classical scholarship. However, it is only in the last 25 years that Hellenistic studies have been established as an independent discipline in the field of classics. Numerous editions, specialized companions and histories of Hellenistic poetry are only some of the tools that have been developed in recent years. The subject matter of Hellenistic studies is vast and diverse, since it comprises not only the three major Alexandrians, Callimachus, Apollonius and Theocritus, but also a huge corpus consisting of fragments, dramatic poets such as Menander and Lycophron, new genres (the idyll and the epyllion), didactic poetry, as well as a wide range of epigrammatic and epigraphic material. And although previous scholars have seen the key to reading Hellenistic poetry in the mastering of the allusion (Pasquali, Giangrande etc.), contemporary trends from literary theory, narratology, cultural studies and so on, provide new insights into Hellenistic poetics.
“Texts” views Hellenistic poetry from a textual perspective. What does collection or poetry book denote for the Hellenistic audience, and on what terms were books compiled and read during the Hellenistic era? A different problem concerns modern day philology: how to provide new editions and commentaries for fragmentary works, how to compile anthologies, and if new editions and translations are still necessary.
Under the title “Contexts” scholars are encouraged to explore Hellenistic poetry against various backgrounds −the political ideology, the religious framework, the cultural trends, the progress of science, the establishment of scholarship, the artistic movements and aesthetics. In most cases, the decisive factor of these contexts is Alexandria and the Ptolemaic court; however, the exploration of contexts may take account of other factors, such as the existence of other cultural centers besides Alexandria, the Egyptian background or the rise of Rome. Despite the fact that a great part of Hellenistic studies is dedicated to the intertextual dialogue between Hellenistic poetry on the one hand, and archaic, classical or even Roman poetry on the other, modern day scholars refine this type of research by placing emphasis on “Metatexts”. Hellenistic genres and narrative modes thus presuppose archaic literary forms; Hellenistic poetics may be seen as comments on previous authors and poems; Hellenistic myth becomes a field of variation and experimentation on archaic and classical mythology. Moreover, is the old thesis about ‘neoteric poetics’ still valid? In what ways can the analysis of intertextual and metatextual relations shed light on Hellenistic poetics and aesthetics? Which aesthetic trends can we distinguish within the corpus of Hellenistic poetry? And finally: how can modern critical theories (psychoanalysis or linguistics or feminist studies or narratology) contribute to a better understanding of Hellenistic poetics in the 21st century?
Organizing committee
Richard Hunter (University of Cambridge)
Franco Montanari (University of Genova)
Antonios Rengakos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
Evina Sistakou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)