The importance of water in ancient times as a central element of community beliefs and identity was the theme of a summer symposium in Athens, Greece, led by Associate Professor of History art. Betsey Robinson.
Scholars from Albania, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States offered an interdisciplinary perspective during “Cult and Culture of water in the Mediterranean world of the first millennium BC.
Professors Sophie Bouffier and Iván Furnadó Ortega from Aix-Marseille University worked with Robinson on the July 15-16 conference, which was held on schedule despite challenges related to the economic crisis in Greece.
“Water is a precious and often very limited resource around the Mediterranean,” Robinson said. “In ancient times, water was carefully managed and its sources revered. The conference highlighted how water use evolved as diverse populations from regions such as Southern Europe, the Levant and North Africa came into contact.
Presentations on water worship explored archaeological evidence of ritual practices at springs, the use of water in sanctuaries, and the role of water in the worship of Asclepius, the god of Greek medicine antique. Cultural topics included hydraulic architecture, the depiction of nymphs in Greek art, as well as the poetics of water and its propagandistic value in pan-Mediterranean politics.
The sessions at the American School of Classical Studies and the French School of Athens were followed by a series of on-site seminars led by Greek, German and American archaeologists.
The symposium was the first in a series of events sponsored by HYDRΩMED: Management of Water Resources in the Mediterranean during the 1st Millennium BCE, an international research network funded by A*MIDEX, the Fondation Aix-Marseille Université, and directed by Bouffier.
Subsequent HYDRΩMED meetings will focus on geomorphology and hydrology, the engineering of water catchment and transport systems, and the history of water management around the Mediterranean before the Roman imperial period. Robinson, who also has appointments at anthropology And classical studieswill spend the month of April 2016 as a guest researcher at Aix-Marseille University, thanks to HYDRΩMED.
