Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Lecturer: Dr Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides
Entry: FREE

Synopsis

Dr Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides' presentation will discuss the appropriation of eastern cults by Seleucus I Nicator and his son Antiochus in their struggle to establish their dynasty. She will examine the roles of Zeus and Apollo, the foremost divine protectors of the Seleucids, against near eastern royal traditions.

Dr Anagnostou-Laoutides will argue that the founding members of the dynasty had an intimate knowledge of Babylonian traditions that celebrated Šamaš, the Sun god, as protector of royal legitimacy and Marduk as warrantor of military supremacy and that they employed these traditions meticulously in order to promote their claim to kingship.

By encouraging the identification of Marduk and Nabû with Zeus and Apollo respectively, Seleucus and Antiochus mirrored the father-son relationship of the gods. Dr Eva will also examine the importance of royal gardens under the Seleucids in connection with “sacred marriage” and akītu (New Year) ceremonies which the Hellenistic kings embraced enthusiastically.

Bio

Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides is a senior lecturer in Classical Studies at Monash. She holds degrees in Classical Studies from Aristotle University, the University of Leeds and the University of Kent at Canterbury as well as in Ancient History from Macquarie University.

She has published extensively on various aspects of ancient mythology and religion and their appropriation in ancient political agendas. Her most recent book is In the Garden of the Gods: Models of Kingship from the Sumerians to the Seleucids (London and New York: Routledge, 2017). Recently she was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship on a project that examines Platonic inebriation and its reception in late antiquity and the Middle Ages.

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