1

From

the Director

—————

It is with great joy that

we issue this first

Newsletter of the Wa-

terloo Institute for Hel-

lenistic Studies. Since

the founding of the In-

stitute in May,

2010, many activities

have taken place, and

we would like to use

this occasional forum

to keep you informed,

and also to alert you to

current developments

and opportunities. We

trust that you will find

this a useful medium,

and invite you to re-

spond with your ideas

and suggestions.

XAIPETE

Riemer Faber

Issue 1 - Spring 2011

From the Director p. 1

WIHS Launch p. 1

Profile of Research Associate p. 1

Recent Events p. 2

Forthcoming Publication p. 3

One of Our Supporters p. 4

Polymathia p. 4

WIHS Database Project p. 5

Riemer Faber

On December 9, 2011, following

months of planning and prepara-

tion, the Waterloo Institute for

Hellenistic Studies was launched

officially. Amidst appropriate

pomp and circumstance, more

than 150 celebrants were wel-

comed to the stylish Clay and

Glass Museum of Waterloo, in

order to mark the creation of the

first North American research and

learning institute dedicated to the

interdisciplinary and collaborative

study of the Hellenistic Age.

Diverse supporters from near

and far were present to share in

the festivities, and the occasion

provided a wonderful oppor-

tunity to express thanks and to

exchange congratulations. We

were particularly pleased that

so many different friends took

part in the event: students, col-

leagues, dignitaries, university

administrators, and research

associates.

The enjoyment of the company,

and of the food and wine, was

heightened by the brief but pas-

sionate addresses of several

special participants. The hon-

ourable Mr. Dimitris Azemo-

poulos, the consul-general of

Greece in Canada, spoke words

of strong support on behalf of

the government of Greece, and

the Greek community in Ontar-

io. Equally gratifying to hear was

the address by Dr. Feridun

Hamdullahpur, the President of

the University of Waterloo. His

continuous and unstinting sup-

port means more to us than

words can express.

Speaking for the Faculty of Arts,

dean Emmanuel Carvalho con-

veyed the importance of the

Institute’s planned research and

teaching activities for the Hu-

manities, and he extended con-

gratulations on behalf of the

Faculty. It was Research Associ-

ate Jim Clauss (University of

Washington) who rounded off

the presentations with heartfelt

expressions of kudos and best

wishes for success. It was an aus-

picious beginning for the new

institute.

- Riemer Faber

WIHS Officially Launched

David Porreca and Students

Consul General Hon. Dimitris Azemo-

poulos, Jim Clauss, Riemer Faber,

Consular Officer Efstratia Karagrigori-

ou, Sheila Ager, President Dr. Feridun

Hamdullahpur, Andrew Faulkner

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Every issue of the WIHS newsletter

will profile (in a good way!) one of

the Institute’s Research Associates.

The goal of this profiling is the foster-

ing of links within the field – of both

the professional and personal kind.

Professor Bing has been a friend and

research associate of WIHS since its

inception. He has participated in

both WIHS workshops to date, the

first and larger entitled Belonging

and Isolation in the Hellenistic World

(see the insert in this newsletter on

this workshop) and the second Op-

portunities for Interdisciplinarity in

Hellenistic Scholarship. At each

gathering, he brought his usual acu-

men, kindness, and wit to the

WIHS’ core mission of exploring

ways in which an understanding of

the Hellenistic world can be en-

hanced, be it through scholarship,

pedagogy or outreach. Peter Bing is

no stranger to all interested in the

Hellenistic world. Currently the Sam-

uel Candler Dobbs Professor of Clas-

sics at Emory University, he is contin-

uously adding to what is already a

distinguished career. While he has

published on several aspects of

ancient literature, he is best known

for his extensive work on Hellenis-

tic poetry. His work has appeared

in numerous academic journals

and in many collections, including

the important The New Posidip-

pus: A Hellenistic Poetry Book

(Oxford 2005). His most recent

monographs include: The Well-

Read Muse. Present and Past in

Callimachus and the Hellenistic

Poets. 2nd ed. with New Introduc-

tion (Ann Arbor 2008) and The

Scroll and The Marble: Studies in

Reading and Reception in Hellenis-

tic Poetry (Ann Arbor 2009). He is

currently engaged in two projects:

the first is a “diachronic study of

monument groups possessing multi-

ple, interactive epigrams. These are

chiefly Hellenistic, but can be traced

back as far as the 6th century B.C.”

The second is an annotated transla-

tion of the letters of the fifth-century

A.D. writer Aristainetos, a project he

has undertaken with Professor Regi-

na Höschele of the University of To-

ronto. This will be published by the

Society of Biblical Literature.

This profile will close on two personal

details. Peter Bing is passionately

fond of theatre and tries very hard to

attend the Stratford Festival on an

almost yearly basis. Second, unlike

many scholars of ancient Alexandria,

Peter has lived in this city. In

1995/96, Peter walked “its dust-

tormented streets”, carrying his six-

month-old daughter on his back

while “getting to know the city’s

archaeological sites, museum collec-

tions, and its welcoming modern-day

community of scholars”.

As a way of thanking Peter Bing for

allowing us to profile him, we here

provide the link to the Stratford festi-

val - a splendid season is nigh.

www.stratfordfestival.ca/

- Craig Hardiman and Christina Vester

Professor Peter Bing, Emory University

Profile of Research Associate

Peter Bing

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Thanks to a SSHRC Grant, the Wa-

terloo Institute for Hellenistic Stud-

ies hosted a workshop to explore

or further the potential for interdis-

ciplinary and international re-

search co-operations. In the open-

ing presentation, Peter Bing

(Emory University) and Andrew

Faulkner (UW) pleaded to inte-

grate fragmentary texts more

broadly in the tradition of Hellenis-

tic literature and culture, and,

more specifically to relocate epic

and hymnic poetry in their per-

formative contexts of rhapsody

and cult rituals respectively.

Craig Hardiman (UW) and Stepha-

nie Winder (University of Edin-

burgh) staged the long-standing

controversy between philologists

on the one side and archaeologists

or art historians on the other.

While some misunderstandings

could be clarified and the potential

for co-operation exemplified, it

also became clear that a marriage

of these disciplines would remain

full of tensions.

Recent Events

Workshop on

Interdisciplinary

Approaches

The research interests of Altay

Coşkun (UW), David Engels

(Université Libre de Bruxelles), and

Kyle Erickson (Trinity St David,

Lampeter) intersect in the second

Seleucid king, Antiochus Soter (281

-261 B.C.). They analysed the re-

gionally varying ingredients to the

representation of royal rule in the

largest of the Successor Empires:

the Greek cities of Asia Minor high-

ly valued the protection from Gala-

tian invaders by a ‘Saviour God’,

the Mesopotamians appreciated

Antiochus’ courting of their God

Nabu-Apollo, while the Persians

were familiar with the image of

the royal archer - all represented

on Antiochus’ newly created re-

verse type that would dominate

3rd-century Seleucid coinage (See

Antiochus figure).

James Clauss and Robin Greene

(both University of Washington)

joined forces with Riemer Faber

(UW) in reconsidering the impact

of Hellenistic culture on 3rd- to 1st-

century Rome. This has hitherto

been strongly underestimated not

least because of the abundant

claims of novelty by the Augustan

poets, who marked the culmina-

tion rather than the beginning of

the reception of Hellenistic culture

in Rome.

The lively discussions following all

of the presentations contributed

in many ways to the collaborative

publications that are being

planned. Research associates in-

terested in engaging with these

projects are invited to contact

their colleagues.

- Altay Coskun

In August 2008, the University of

Waterloo hosted an international

workshop that explored the

Posthumous coin of Antiochus Soter.

Source: wildwinds.com (cf. HL I no. 641).

Forthcoming Publication

Belonging and Isolation

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Many thanks to all the workshop

participants for a stimulating and

rewarding gathering!

- Sheila Ager

The Waterloo Institute for Hellenis-

tic Studies has been working close-

ly together with the Ambassador

of Greece to Canada, his Excellency

Mr. Eleftherios Anghelopolos, and

the Consul General of Greece in

Toronto, the Hon. Mr. Dimitris

Azemopoulos, and the whole staff

of the Consulate General to further

the aims of the Institute.

In December of 2010, the Consul

General and his colleagues attend-

ed the inaugural event of the Insti-

tute in Waterloo, which was also

attended by the President of the

University of Waterloo and many

distinguished international schol-

ars. The inaugural event coincided

with a three-day workshop, fund-

ed by the SSHRC, which focused

upon the history, literature, and

material culture of the Hellenistic

period. In January 2011, Riemer

Faber and Andrew Faulkner were

guests, at the kind invitation of Mr.

Azemopoulos, at a dinner to hon-

our the first visit to Toronto of the

Hon. Greek Ambassador to Cana-

da, Mr Eleftherios Anghelopoulos.

Andrew as well spent a full day

with the Consul General and the

Ambassador and was both hon-

oured and impressed to meet the

many people in the Toronto Greek

community who work so hard to

promote Hellenic culture. In Febru-

ary, Andrew was also a guest at

the Gala of the Greek Orthodox

Community of Markham.

The Consul General has been un-

wavering in his support of the Insti-

tute's initiatives to further educa-

tion and research focusing upon

the Hellenistic period (circa 323

B.C. – 30 B.C.). We are very hon-

oured to count Dimitris, the Hon.

Consul General and his Excellency

the Ambassador amongst our

friends and we look forward to

continued close cooperation with

the Greek Consulate General in

Toronto and the entire Greek

community of Ontario and Cana-

da.

- Andrew Faulkner

theme of “belonging and isolation”

in the Hellenistic period

(workshop program and abstracts

still available online: at http://

www.classics.uwaterloo.ca/

HellenisticWorkshop.htm).

This workshop featured a number

of engaging papers in a variety of

fields, and gave us the opportunity

to meet new friends and re-

acquaint ourselves with old ones.

The papers from the workshop

have been collected and edited by

Sheila Ager and Riemer Faber, and

will be published by the University

of Toronto Press as part of the

Phoenix Supplement series. We

expect that the volume will appear

in 2012.

One of Our Supporters

Consul General of

Greece in Toronto

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One of the foundational goals of

the Waterloo Institute of Hellenis-

tic Studies is furthering research in

Hellenistic Studies. To this end, the

Institute is pleased to announce

that it is sponsoring an electronic

journal dedicated to this subject.

The journal is called Polymathia, a

name we feel reflects both the

learned nature of the Hellenistic

Age as well as the interdisciplinary

nature of the articles we hope to

publish. Our goal is to publish arti-

cles in all fields and sub-disciplines,

and we also plan on publishing

occasional “theme” issues. The

first issue should be published by

the autumn of 2012 and will fea-

ture an array of senior scholars

who are recognized experts in the

field of Hellenistic Studies.

In addition to the innovative schol-

arship appearing within, Poly-

mathia will itself be innovative as

an on-line e-journal. We feel that

this mode of dissemination will

reach the widest possible audi-

ence. Polymathia will utilize the

technical expertise of the library at

the University of Guelph, a locus of

electronic journal publication in

Canada. This is another example

of the Institute’s desire to function

as a bridge between scholars and

institutions to create and maximize

synergies. Polymathia will be of a

high calibre with a rigorous double

-blind review process for all sub-

missions. To this end, we ask

whether any of our research asso-

ciates are willing to act as external

readers within a given subject ar-

ea. We have an editorial executive

at the University of Waterloo, but

welcome all help and input. If you

are interested, please email the

editorial executives at hellenis-

tic@uwaterloo.ca. Please watch

for further announcements on this

exciting project.

- Craig Hardiman and Christina Vester

The collaborative research initia-

tive, Kings & Dynasts of the Hellen-

istic World (KDHW) aims at creat-

ing a fully searchable database of

prominent individuals of the Greek

speaking world. Its chronological

scope will range from the con-

quests of Alexander the Great to

the death of Queen Cleopatra VII

(336-030 B.C.). By 2018, the data-

base will comprise some 2,000 to

2,500 data sets on the biographies

of the aforementioned persons.

It will be freely available through

the website of the Waterloo Insti-

tute for Hellenistic Studies (WIHS).

Compared with currently available

encyclopaedic works in print or in

digital format, KDHW will not only

offer much broader coverage and

detail, but also several addition-

al research tools. The Database is

supervised by Altay Coskun (UW)

and edited by him, Sheila Ager

(UW), David Engels (Université

Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium), and

Andreas Luther (Christian-

Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Ger-

many).

- From Our Webpage

WIHS Database Project

Polymathia:

A New Electronic

Journal of Hellenistic

Studies

Mithradates VI. Eupator of Pontus

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

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Contact Us

Director Dr. Riemer Faber,

Department of Classical Studies

University of Waterloo,

200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1

Email: hellenistic@uwaterloo.ca