Public Lectures: Death for the Fatherland in Democratic Athens
In the ancient democracy of classical Athens a funeral speech was delivered once a year in honour of those who had died in battle for the fatherland. For the Athenians it was a vitally important speech because it reminded them who they were as a democratic people and why they had sacrificed their sons in war.
In two public lectures, two of the world’s leading ancient historians put this speech back into its rich historical context. Professor Peter Hunt (USA) shows how this speech fitted into the general discussion of war and peace in Athenian democracy. Professor Dominique Lenfant (France) explores how funeral speeches portrayed democracy itself as a cause of Athenian military success. Professor Hunt’s lecture will be in English and Professor Lenfant’s in French. The event will be chaired by Professor Violaine Sebillotte Cuchet (France). There is a coffee/tea break between the two lectures.
These public lectures are part of the 'The Athenian Funeral Oration Conference' which is taking place at the University of Strasbourg from 9 to 11 July 2018.
Programme
| 14:00 | Welcome David Pritchard, Senior Lecturer in Greek History, University of Queensland, Australia; USIAS Fellow 2017 |
| 14:15 | Imagining Athens in the Assembly and on the Battlefield (in English) Peter Hunt, Professor of Ancient Greek History, University of Colorado in Boulder, United States |
| 15:15 | Coffee/tea |
| 15:45 | General remarks on the Paris School Violaine Sebillotte Cuchet, Professor of Ancient History, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, |
| 16:00 | The Funeral Oration as a Self-portrait of Athenian Democracy (in French) Dominique Lenfant, Professor of Ancient Greek History, Archimède, University of Strasbourg, France |
| 17:00 | End |
These public lectures are free and open to all; please register here.
For more information, please contact Dr. David Pritchard at pritchard [at] unistra.fr
