Organisers : Antony Augoustakis and Joy Littlewood
Southern Italy and Sicily (including nearby islands) are featured in Flavian literture, most prominently Silius Italicus’ Punica among others, as places with a rich Greco-Roman history, exceptional fertility and idyllic landscapes. These southern regions also offer important evidence from the material culture.
This conference builds on many recent conferences on Flavian literature and published volumes (e.g., Campania in the Flavian Poetic Imagination, Oxford 2019) and aims to explore the representation and significance of the region in the literature and material culture of the period (69-96 CE). Our conference will take place at the Exedra Mediterranean Center, adjacent to the Piazza Duomo on Ortigia. It will include academic presentations as well as visits to the archeological park and museum and various other sites in the city. We will also enjoy traditional Sicilian hospitality, with group dinners and catered lunches featuring local specialties. At the conclusion of the conference, an optional tour of relevant sites will include Piazza Armerina, Agrigento, and Selinunte.
The official language of the conference is English. Abstracts for papers should be 300-500 words in length. Paper presentations will be ca 30 minutes with discussion following. We hope the conference will result in a volume on the topic.
Please send abstracts and direct questions to Antony Augoustakis and Joy Littlewood at aaugoust@illinois.edu. Abstracts must be received by May l5, 2023.