Agenda
Graduate Symposium
Beyond the Altar
Dynamic Intersections of Space, Identity, and Ritual in Ancient Religions
Hosted by the Master Apprentice Group Sacrality
January 29th, 2025 | 13:00 | Drift 25 – 101 (hybrid via Teams-link)
This symposium will explore the dynamic interplay of physical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions that shaped ancient sanctuaries and religious rituals. Through cutting-edge research and innovative perspectives, we will examine topics such as necromancy, healing cults, divine landscapes, religion and gender, nymphs, material economies of the sacred and the Eleusinian Mysteries.
As part of this symposium, we are honoured to welcome Jean Vanden Broeck-Parant, a former postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University who is currently teaching at Louvain-la-Neuve. During this symposium he will speak, online, on the building blocks of Greek sanctuaries and the logistics of quarrying, transportation and architectural use, including his own fieldwork and research at the stone quarries of Naxos and Itanos (Crete):
Logistics of quarryscapes in the Greek world: the cases of Naxos and Itanos
Join us as we gather graduate researchers from diverse disciplines to shed light on the fluid and interactive nature of sacred spaces in ancient Mediterranean cultures. This event will provide a platform for innovative dialogue and collaborative exploration at the intersection of Archaeology, History, Anthropology, and Religious Studies.
We invite graduate students, post-graduate students and faculty to participate in this thought-provoking event, which promises to be a platform for innovative ideas, collaborative dialogue, and scholarly growth.
Program:
13:00 – 13:10 Arrival
Session 1
13:10 – 13:20 Introduction by Floris van den Eijnde
13:20 – 13:40 Revisiting the Dead: Necromancers and Practices on the Move
Alexander Stypczínsky examines itinerant figures like necromancers, their social position and their roles in extending the boundaries of sacred activity beyond fixed locations.
13:40 – 14:00 Dreams, Healing, and Rituals: Cognitive Aspects of the Amphiareion of Oropos
Folkert de Vries delves into the sensory and cognitive aspects of rituals within sanctuaries, including healing practices and processional routes.
14:00 – 14:20 Q&A Session 1
14:20 – 14:35 Break
Session 2
14:35 – 14:55 Constructing the Divine Landscape
Maaike Leeuwangh explores how sacred spaces were identified and interpreted in archaeological contexts with limited textual records.
14:55 – 15:15 Gendered Sacred Practices
Eva van Campen focuses on the roles of women in rituals dedicated to Nymphs, emphasizing life transitions and fertility.
15:15 – 15:35 Q&A Session 2
15:35 – 16:00 Break
Session 3
16:00 – 16:20 Material Economies of the Sacred
Jelle de Jongh investigates the economic and artistic dimensions of sacred objects, focusing on ‘Klinai’ and their role in sanctuaries.
16:20 – 16:40 Sacred Props and Festival Tokens in the Eleusinian Cult of Demeter and Kore
Sergio Rémon Alvarez explores how ritual objects and festival tokens reveal the intersection of performance, agriculture, and economics in Eleusinian worship.
16:40 – 17:00 Q&A Session 3
17:00 – 17:15 Break
Keynote address
17:15 – 17:55 Logistics of Quarryscapes in the Greek World
Jean Vanden Broeck-Parant shares insights from his fieldwork on the quarries of Naxos and Itanos, discussing the building blocks of sanctuaries.
17:55 – 18:15 Final Q&A Session
18:15 – 18:30 Closing Remarks by Floris van den Eijnde
Drinks in Café Hofman