Academic workshop
DESMOS Cultural Venue 31 July 2022, 18:00
Molyvos, Lesvos
As part of the events scheduled for the 10th Arion International Guitar Festival of Molyvos, the Molyvos Tourism Association is holding an international academic meeting under the aegis of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens-Department of History and Archaeology. The meeting will be held 31 July 2022 at the DESMOS Cultural Venue in Molyvos (ancient Mithymna), the birthplace of Arion the kitharode. Academic researchers from Greece and abroad will be taking part with the aim that their presentations will serve as a springboard for further dialogue and exploration of the topic.
Representations of Arion in European art will be presented at the meeting which will highlight aspects of the history of the famed musician, who is credited with having named and taught the dithyramb, a choral hymn dedicated to Dionysus. He was also considered the greatest kitharode and singer of his age. Classical writers such as Herodotus, Ovid, Hyginus and Lucian related the stories of his life and emphasised his ability to overcome perilous circumstances, culminating in the incident of his rescue by a dolphin.
The poetic tradition surrounding Arion inspired numerous visual representations of him in antiquity. In later times, from the Renaissance to the 19th century, artists also depicted events from his life in various visual media. The meeting will present European works of art that were inspired by Arion’s form and will highlight the cultural, historical and social conditions in which they were created. The interpretation of the myth through various readings will also be explored.
Taking part in the meeting will be Prof. Fernando Marías (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Prof. Anna Tachintzi (The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), Prof. Ioannis Petropoulos (Centre for Hellenic Studies in Greece at Harvard University, Democritus University of Thrace), Dr Jim Harris (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), Assistant Prof. José Riello (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Dr Rembrandt Duits (Warburg Institute) and Assistant Prof. Ianthi Asimakopoulou (NKUA), who organising the event.
The presentations will be in English but there will be a parallel translation. To take part in the meeting, pre-registration is required by filling out the form at the following link: http://www.arionfestival.com/conference/
More information about the programme of the 10th Arion International Guitar Festival of Molyvos and related events is available on the festival website: www.arionfestival.com
