Dr Heather Jackson, a senior research fellow in the School of Philosophical and Historical Studies in the University of Melbourne, will present a lecture titled ‘Images of Myth and Life: the University of Melbourne Collection of Greek Vases’, on Thursday 9 March at the Greek Centre, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered for the seventh consecutive year by the Greek Community of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne Greek vase collection is a teaching collection gathered over many years and through many generous donations. It ranges from the Geometric period of the eighth and seventh centuries BC, through to the birth of narrative in sixth century Athenian vase-painting, the ‘invention’ of red-figure painting in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, and finally the development of a distinctive south Italian style in Magna Graecia in the fourth century BC.
The main knowledge of how the Greeks viewed their gods and their myths is derived from the iconography of these vases, which also provide much information about contemporary life and customs.
Dr Jackson’s research and publications have been mainly concerned with the Hellenistic site of Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates in Syria, founded by the Macedonian Seleucos Nikator c. 300BC, but here in Melbourne she has also engaged with the university collection of Greek vases, and was the curator of the exhibition of these in 2016. She is the co-author of a book on the collection and was also invited to publish the Greek and Roman artefacts in the National Gallery of Victoria.
When: Thursday 9 March, 2017 at 7.00 pm
Where: Greek Centre, Mezzanine Level, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Vic
For more information, visit www.greekcommunity.com.au/seminars