For a long time, research on urban culture in Hellenistic Sicily has produced historical reconstructions predominantly based on literary sources. This methodological approach has created a “Renaissance-Decadence” interpretative paradigm, still dominant in scholarly literature: a flourishing urban revival between the reigns of Timoleon and Hieron, dating around the end of the 4th and the 3rd century BC, followed by a progressive decline after the Roman conquest of Syracuse in 212/1 BC and a concomitant provincialization of the entire island. Recent research has challenged these conclusions and provoked a drastic change in methodologies and perspectives, showing that monumentalization of many cities occurred only from the 2nd c BC onwards, and that a considerable vitality of civic life is attested and documented in this period. Instead of a general decline under Roman rule, Sicily provides a highly differentiated picture of change as well as shifting traditions, concepts, mentalities, and perceptions.

The main aim of this two-day conference is to foster a dialogue between scholars currently working on the cityscapes of Hellenistic Sicily from different perspectives. The conference includes four sessions that explore different disciplinary approaches to a reassessment of cityscaping: history and urban spaces (I), epigraphy and urban spaces (II), literature and urban spaces (III), and archaeology and urban spaces (IV). The outcome is to offer shared perspectives to research about urban space and culture in Sicily during the Hellenistic period, setting the stage for future investigations and overviews.

Program

15.6.2017
14:00 - 14:15
Eröffnung / Welcome
14:15 - 15:00
Profili linguistici e culturali di città ellenistiche siciliane a confronto: verso l'uniformizzazione
Giovanni Salmeri
15:00 - 15:45
Carmine Ampolo
15:45 - 16:30
Malcom Bell
16:30 - 17:00
Pause / Interval
17:00 - 17:45
Alex Walthall
17:45 - 18:30
Lorenzo Campagna
18:30 - 19:15
Christoph Reusser
19:15 - 20:00
Empfang / Reception
16.6.2017
09:00 - 09:45
Caterina Greco
09:45 - 10:15
Rosa Torre
10:15 - 11:00
Megara Hyblaea
Henri Tréziny
11:00 - 11:30
Pause / Interval
11:30 - 12:15
Frédéric Mège
12:15 - 13:00
Maria Concetta Parello
13:00 - 14:00
Mittagspause / Lunch
14:00 - 14:45
Dario Barbera
14:45 - 15:30
Gianfranco Adornato
15:30 - 16:15
Rebecca Henzel
16:15 - 16:45
Pause / Interval
16:45 - 17:30
Elisa Portale
17:30 - 18:15
Thomas Lappi
18:15 - 20:00
Abendessen / Dinner
17.6.2017
09:00 - 09:45
Miriam Knechtel
09:45 - 10:30
Alessia Dimartino
10:30 - 11:00
Pause / Interval
11:00 - 11:45
Jonathan Prag
11:45 - 12:30
Filippo Battistoni
12:30 - 13:30
Mittagspause / Lunch
13:30 - 14:15
Josefine Parkin
14:15 - 15:00
Suzanne Frey-Kupper
15:00 - 15:45
Gianluca Furcas
15:45 - 16:15
Pause / Interval
16:15 - 16:45
Frerich Schoen
16:45 - 17:30
Monika Trümper
17:30 - 18:15
Anna-Lena Krüger
18:15 - 20:00
Abendessen / Dinner
18.6.2017
09:00 - 09:45
Christian Russenberger
09:45 - 10:30
Markus Wolf
10:30 - 11:00
Pause / Interval
11:00 - 11:45
Johannes Bergemann
11:45 - 12:30
Salvatore De Vincenzo
12:30 - 13:00
Abschlussdiskussion / Final discussion