Michael Konaris

Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies Lecture The Greek Gods in the History of Classical Scholarship: Rival Theories in Nineteenth Century Germany and Britain Michael Konaris [email protected] Ted and Elaine Athanassiades Postdoctoral Fellow, Hellenic Studies Respondent: Angelos Chaniotis, Institute for Advanced Study The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are a crucial period in the history of scholarship on ancient Greek religion and especially in the history of the interpretation of the Greek gods. They saw the demise of theories such as the theory that the Greek gods had been gods of natural elements that had been influential for centuries and the emergence of others such as the theory of universal gods, or later, of theories inspired by anthropology and sociology, the impact of which is still felt today. In my lecture I examine both declining and emerging interpretive paradigms in two major traditions of European classical scholarship, the German and the British. I place emphasis on the underlying agendas of rival theories and their significance as sources for nineteenth- and early twentieth-century cultural and intellectual history. I explore, in particular, how the interpretation of the Greek gods became implicated in contemporary religious and cultural questions and how it was affected by romantic thought and the rise of nationalist discourses. Michael Konaris holds a B.A. in Literae Humaniores, an M.St. in Modern History, and a D.Phil. in Ancient History (2009) from the University of Oxford, and an M.Phil in Ancient History from the University of Cambridge. His research combines Ancient and Modern History and centers on ancient Greek religion and the history of its modern interpretations in Europe and North America. His doctoral dissertation, which is being turned into a book for Oxford University Press, examines major rival theories of interpretation of the Greek gods in nineteenth- and early twentieth century German and British scholarship and their religious and cultural implications; as a Junior Researcher at the Institut für Religionswissenschaft, Freie Universität, Berlin, he focused on different interpretive approaches to Dionysos in Germany, Britain, France and the United States. He also taught seminars on ancient Greek and Roman religion and literature (2010-2013). His current project examines the history of Modern Greek classical scholarship on ancient Greek religion in comparison to Western European and North American scholarship. Tuesday, October 15, 2013 4:30 p.m. Scheide Caldwell House, Room 103 Cosponsored by the Department of Classics