Digital Classicist & Institute of Classical Studies Seminar 2011
Friday July 22nd at 16:30
Room 37, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU
Sandra Blakely (Emory)
Modeling the Mysteries:
GIS technology, network models, and the cult of the Great Gods of Samothrace
ALL WELCOME
The mystery cult of the Great Gods of Samothrace promised safety in sea travel as the reward for initiation. This ongoing project tests the hypothesis that the promise was real, effected through the human social networks created through initiation and festival participation. A GIS database of sites plots the locations of Samothracian affilitation, based on epigraphic and textual evidence for initiation, theoroi, proxenoi, koina, priesthoods and shrines; historical comparanda suggest the potential for these to support long distance maritime travel. Network models recommend the hypothesis that Samothrace functioned as a super-node connecting smaller independent networks, offering an economic argument for the cult¡¦s longevity.
The seminar will be followed by wine and refreshments.
For more information please contact Gabriel.Bodard@kcl.ac.uk, Stuart.Dunn@kcl.ac.uk, S.Mahony@ucl.ac.uk, or see the seminar website at http://www.digitalclassicist.org/wip/wip2011.html
Posted by: Gabriel Bodard (gabriel.bodard@kcl.ac.uk).
