The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion organizes on Wednesday 7 May 2025 a lecture in the framework of the archaeological temporary exhibition EKATOMPOLIS: The World of Archaic Crete.

The speaker will be Angelos Haniotis, Professor of Ancient History and Classical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, USA and co-director of the excavation at ancient Lyttos.

Systematic archaeological research allows us to compile a picture of the material culture of Crete – the settlements, the sanctuaries, the cemeteries, the artifacts – from the 7th to the 4th century BC. The written evidence – mainly legal inscriptions and a few historical sources – are helpful in the effort to understand the history of this period. To date, the study of the texts has focused on investigating the social structures and institutions of the communities.

More difficult, but no less seductive, is the attempt through the texts to identify people: not communities, but physical persons. The relevant material is limited: some recollections in later writers of personalities who move between legend and history, and a few inscriptions that echo the voices of their contemporaries.

This speech responds to a challenge: Can we use this material to reach people who lived in Crete at that time and trace attitudes, values and feelings?

Date: Wednesday 7 May 2025

Hour: 18:30

Venue: Archaeological Musuem of Herakleon – Lecture Hall

Admission is free

There is going to be a live broadcasting through YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/LDZMZt5ACzE