Institute for the Study of the Ancient World

This lecture will take place in person at ISAW. Registration is required; click through for the registration link. The body was a hugely popular subject of representation in ancient Egypt. But this talk will look at the bodies in Egyptian art that we now don’t see–those of the ancient Egyptian audience.

Published 02/04/2026 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2025-2026

This lecture will take place online. Registration is required; click through for the registration link. Zoom information will be provided via confirmation email to registered participants. This talk will demonstrate the process of fundamental cultural change during the European Early Neolithic that took place in the northern marginal zones of the Balkans in the first half of the 6th millennium BCE.

Published 06/27/2024 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2022-2023

This lecture will take place in person at ISAW. Registration is required; click through for the registration link. This lecture is given in conjunction with ISAW's exhibition Madinat al-Zahra: The Radiant Capital of Islamic Spain. Madīnat al-Zahrā’, the 10th-century caliphal city of the Umayyads of al-Andalus, presents an exemplary site for the investigation of the intertwined notions of nature, humanity and materiality embodied in landscape architecture.

Published 11/11/2024 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2024-2025

This event will take place in person. Registration is required; click through for the registration link. Please join us as Roberta Casagrande-Kim, ISAW Exhibitions Director, hosts guest curator Vincent Jolivet École Normale Supérieure in a gallery conversation about the recent work and discoveries at the Etruscan necropolis at Norchia. Using the objects on display, Vincent will discuss how his team's excavations have helped us understand more about the Etruscan language and society, and how digital techniques such as drone photography and photogrammetry have allowed us to bring Norchia into the gallery for visitors to experience.

Published 04/08/2025 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2024-2025

This lecture considers one type of Roman sundial represented in the exhibition that has not been sufficiently appreciated from geographical, cultural, and social perspectives. These are the miniature bronze instruments fitted with adjustable rings to accommodate the changes of latitude liable to occur during long journeys. This lecture will explore the possibility that often they were valued not so much for practical use, but rather as prestige objects.

Published 09/22/2016 — filed under: exhibition-event, video Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2016-2017

This lecture will consist of a brief introduction to the historical development and the main characteristics of Greco-Roman astrology, to be followed by a survey of the theoretical and practical importance of accurate time-measurement in the practice of horoscopy and other astrological applications.

Published 09/22/2016 — filed under: exhibition-event, video Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2016-2017

The lecture will first summarize quickly the history of Crete from the first known settlement in Crete c. 6900/6600 BC at Knossos to the collapse at the end of the Bronze Age c. 1200–1150 BC and the population nadir c. 1025 BC. We will then return to c. 1600 BC in order to focus on the nature and role of Knossian-controlled Minoan Crete and its seaborne empire at its zenith, considering among many other aspects the dependence of Minoan Crete on overseas sources for the copper and tin needed to create the bronze of the Bronze Age, the nature of the colonies, trading stations and ports of call required, and the cultural impact of Minoan Crete on the Mycenaean civilization of mainland Greece. Please note: This lecture is now fully subscribed; we are no longer accepting RSVPs or names for our wait-list.

Published 09/14/2017 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2017-2018

Sir Arthur Evans was not alone among pioneering archaeologists in his use of the important new technology of photography in his excavations at Knossos on Crete at the beginning of the 20th century. However, as it has recently been noted, Evans was unique in his frequent modifications of these photographs. This talk will discuss these modifications as well as recent work in the Sir Arthur Evans archive at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Oxford which point to the methods he used and some of his motivations. Ultimately the talk will reflect on Evans' broad interest in restoration of the site and its finds and how we might understand this today.

Published 10/10/2017 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2017-2018

This talk will trace the story of Alexander from the ancient Greek novel, the Alexander Romance, to its Persian and Turkish adaptations. A variety of Islamic literary texts, namely the 11th century Persian Shahnama of Firdawsi, the 12th century Iskandarnama of Nizami, and the 14th century Turkish Iskendername of Ahmedi, will be discussed. Both famous and rarely-known paintings from Islamic manuscripts dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries in various collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, will be featured. This visual journey will touch upon Alexander’s shift from a military hero/invader to a wise ruler and how the image of Alexander adapted to changing political contexts from the Ilkhanid Tabriz in Iran to Ottoman Amasya in Turkey. Even if the historical Alexander couldn’t conquer the entire world, Islamic traditions certainly imagined him as doing so in their development of his legendary persona.

Published 02/01/2018 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2017-2018

The talk will address the circumstances under which beautifully illustrated manuscripts could become dangerous to your health. While the production of illuminated manuscripts certainly enhanced the beauty – and thus the price of the manuscript – this beauty almost always came at a price. At times this price dangerously involved sacrificing essential part(s) of a text in order to accommodate the illumination. Furthermore beautifully illuminated manuscripts usually involved at least two people: one to copy the text, the other, and more artistically talented one, to produce the illuminations, for it is indeed very rare to find an illuminated manuscript that was produced by one person who could perform both tasks. This cooperative effort was not always risk free either. This to say nothing of manuscripts that were translated from one language to another as was the case with most Greek manuscripts that were translated into Arabic. The talk will demonstrate how some of those intricate problems involved in the very nature of the production of illuminated manuscripts came to impact the final content of the text thus exposing the consumer of the text to real danger.

Published 02/08/2018 — filed under: exhibition-event Located in Events Events Archive Academic Year 2017-2018

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