Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Lecturer: Dr Christopher Gribbin
Entry: Free

Synopsis

Myths were extremely important to the ancient Greeks and pervaded many aspects of their society. The ancient Greeks used their myths in decorating their pottery and buildings, as a basis for their poetry and as an important part of their religion. Myths contained cultural wisdom and acted as a source of inspiration. But the myths also tell stories of the gods committing incest, theft and murder, and some Greeks found that unsettling. This talk explores the Greeks' love-hate relationship with their myths in an attempt to understand how it came about and how some people tried to fix the problem.

Biography

Dr Christopher Gribbin is a fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, where he runs the Classics Summer School for the public each January. He has also taught at Monash and La Trobe Universities. He completed a Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne in 2001 looking at the interaction between religion and philosophy in the sixth century B.C. He has a particular interest in ancient myth, religion and philosophy, and their value for today. You can find out more about Christopher's activities through http://shaps.unimelb.edu.au/classics archaeology/summer-school or @ClassicsMelb.

Sponsors

We would like to thank Olyvia Nikou QC for sponsoring this lecture.

Such initiatives assist us in providing these lectures free to the public. If you would like to participate as sponsor from as little as $100 please send us an email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it