Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PTANOIS POSIN (Following the paths of itinerant professionals of the arts in the epigraphic sources of the Hellenistic period)
Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31
The PTANOIS POSIN project investigates the cultural movement of intellectuals and itinerant professionals of performing arts in the Hellenistic period.
In the Hellenistic cultural panorama, itinerant specialists of literature and music played a significant role. The endeavors, paths, and stories of the so-called “poeti vaganti” are mainly documented by inscriptions, allowing us to envision a cultural and popular phenomenon that run parallel to court literature. Unknown artists and accomplished intellectuals travelled from city to city all around Continental Greece, the Aegean Sea, and the coasts of Asia Minor, chasing fame, fortune, and glory. The virtuosi showed off on all the renowned stages of the Hellenistic cultural centers, delivering their performances at festivals and sacred celebrations, presenting their brand-new compositions or reperforming traditional forte, gathering regional audiences from the territory and on-occasion audiences from abroad. Although the compositions of itinerant artists are sporadically preserved, being mainly intended for oral use, epigraphy provides us with a large spectrum of valuable elements that aid in the reconstruction of both the features and gestalt of a “popular” movement and its multimodal role in impacting on cultural life and identity of the Hellenistic world.
The scientific core of this project is the idea of arts on the move that finds ratio in the travel and in the hic et nunc performance. The research reveals two distinct patterns of artistic movement: travels for extra-agonistic performances and large-scale itineraries towards contests. These two spheres, interacting together, offer us one plane upon which to obtain a general vision. The study of inscriptions shows three main osmotic levels interacting together and encompassing transversal patterns. The central point of this scenario is the Travel, as the project title indicates: the expression from an epigram for a multi-victorious herald “ptanois posin”, i.e. with winged feet, enshrines the essence of the itinerant arts. Focus on Travel leads to an investigation of Performance, studied by typology and nature, and of the Travelers themselves, their life stories and careers, traced through their movements.
The scientific objectives for this MSCA-IF-GF action fall under the investigation of artistic itinerancy, in its social dynamics, mobility criteria, and occasions of cultural life. The research objectives pertain to transversal and interdisciplinary nature of the project and revolve around the core structure of the research, according to geographical, chronological and thematic criteria. The achievement of the ROs, through the whole of TTRs and major deliverables+milestones, has disclosed the edges of a phenomenon that has by now deserved to be included to the reconstruction of the Hellenistic cultural panorama. Re-adjustment of actions due to pandemic emergency has often entailed significant enhancement, especially for activities pertaining to dissemination/communication of results.
In the Hellenistic cultural panorama, itinerant specialists of literature and music played a significant role. The endeavors, paths, and stories of the so-called “poeti vaganti” are mainly documented by inscriptions, allowing us to envision a cultural and popular phenomenon that run parallel to court literature. Unknown artists and accomplished intellectuals travelled from city to city all around Continental Greece, the Aegean Sea, and the coasts of Asia Minor, chasing fame, fortune, and glory. The virtuosi showed off on all the renowned stages of the Hellenistic cultural centers, delivering their performances at festivals and sacred celebrations, presenting their brand-new compositions or reperforming traditional forte, gathering regional audiences from the territory and on-occasion audiences from abroad. Although the compositions of itinerant artists are sporadically preserved, being mainly intended for oral use, epigraphy provides us with a large spectrum of valuable elements that aid in the reconstruction of both the features and gestalt of a “popular” movement and its multimodal role in impacting on cultural life and identity of the Hellenistic world.
The scientific core of this project is the idea of arts on the move that finds ratio in the travel and in the hic et nunc performance. The research reveals two distinct patterns of artistic movement: travels for extra-agonistic performances and large-scale itineraries towards contests. These two spheres, interacting together, offer us one plane upon which to obtain a general vision. The study of inscriptions shows three main osmotic levels interacting together and encompassing transversal patterns. The central point of this scenario is the Travel, as the project title indicates: the expression from an epigram for a multi-victorious herald “ptanois posin”, i.e. with winged feet, enshrines the essence of the itinerant arts. Focus on Travel leads to an investigation of Performance, studied by typology and nature, and of the Travelers themselves, their life stories and careers, traced through their movements.
The scientific objectives for this MSCA-IF-GF action fall under the investigation of artistic itinerancy, in its social dynamics, mobility criteria, and occasions of cultural life. The research objectives pertain to transversal and interdisciplinary nature of the project and revolve around the core structure of the research, according to geographical, chronological and thematic criteria. The achievement of the ROs, through the whole of TTRs and major deliverables+milestones, has disclosed the edges of a phenomenon that has by now deserved to be included to the reconstruction of the Hellenistic cultural panorama. Re-adjustment of actions due to pandemic emergency has often entailed significant enhancement, especially for activities pertaining to dissemination/communication of results.
The 36-months WP consists of six major research blocks organized over the axes of scientific research and arranged on geographical criteria and sub-tasks addressed to pursue main deliverables (academic presentations; publication of research results; planting seeds for career-development plan) and milestones planned for the whole action. Throughout the whole action, two main milestones were addressed: a twofold volume publication and a digital presence.
The Poeti Vaganti Database (https://poetivaganti.chs.harvard.edu) organized on spatial-narrative criteria, has been realized in collaboration with the CHS Harvard web development team.
Scientific research has led to high-quality-science project publications (issued or forthcoming) on areas rich in testimonies and in perspectives of analysis (Athens, Delphi and Phocis, Boeotia, Crete, Delos and the Cyclades): 2 conference proceedings; 6 peer-reviewed journal articles; 3 chapters in collective volumes; 1 encyclopedia lemma; two-volumes monograph; 1 collective volume edition (CHS Harvard Classics@ Issue 19); two-volumes monograph (Quasar ed.). The first issue of the two-volumes monograph “ΠΤΑΝΟΙΣ ΠΟΣΙΝ. Poeti vaganti, intellettuali e musici del periodo ellenistico, I. Delo e le Cicladi”, «Quaderni dei Seminari Romani di Cultura Greca» 31, Quasar ed., 2022, received the Prize “G. Susini”, VI edition 2022, proclaimed at the CIEGL Conference in Bordeaux (Sept. 2022).
Project’s WPs sought to build advanced skills with digital research methodology and communication strategies; to mature an academic teaching portfolio in order to transit the TTR know-how back to the beneficiary; to develop soft-skills aimed at the correct management of the project’s requirements. Throughout the whole action, the project’s results were exploited for educational purposes; in dissemination and communication activities; for high-quality science and career perspectives.
Results attained are significant and set the foundation for continuation of study with further adding geographically organized and proper expansion of the research field, in order to obtain an overall panorama of the cultural life in the Hellenistic period.
The Poeti Vaganti Database (https://poetivaganti.chs.harvard.edu) organized on spatial-narrative criteria, has been realized in collaboration with the CHS Harvard web development team.
Scientific research has led to high-quality-science project publications (issued or forthcoming) on areas rich in testimonies and in perspectives of analysis (Athens, Delphi and Phocis, Boeotia, Crete, Delos and the Cyclades): 2 conference proceedings; 6 peer-reviewed journal articles; 3 chapters in collective volumes; 1 encyclopedia lemma; two-volumes monograph; 1 collective volume edition (CHS Harvard Classics@ Issue 19); two-volumes monograph (Quasar ed.). The first issue of the two-volumes monograph “ΠΤΑΝΟΙΣ ΠΟΣΙΝ. Poeti vaganti, intellettuali e musici del periodo ellenistico, I. Delo e le Cicladi”, «Quaderni dei Seminari Romani di Cultura Greca» 31, Quasar ed., 2022, received the Prize “G. Susini”, VI edition 2022, proclaimed at the CIEGL Conference in Bordeaux (Sept. 2022).
Project’s WPs sought to build advanced skills with digital research methodology and communication strategies; to mature an academic teaching portfolio in order to transit the TTR know-how back to the beneficiary; to develop soft-skills aimed at the correct management of the project’s requirements. Throughout the whole action, the project’s results were exploited for educational purposes; in dissemination and communication activities; for high-quality science and career perspectives.
Results attained are significant and set the foundation for continuation of study with further adding geographically organized and proper expansion of the research field, in order to obtain an overall panorama of the cultural life in the Hellenistic period.
The PTANOIS POSIN research impacts history, performative arts, and society, capturing multiple glimpses of the Hellenistic world. Inscriptions allow us to reshape our idea of Hellenism, pushing towards grey areas the frontiers of our assessed perception and casting light on essential aspects we otherwise would not be able to acknowledge. The progress of this project consists in spacing throughout different research methodologies for providing a reassessment of the ongoing discourse on the cultural production of this period by means of two focuses embracing the transversal and interdisciplinary nature of the project: space of the Hellenistic world and narrative of arts on the move. Original knowledge is created by a holistic approach to testimonies and new understandings of systems of circulation for culture are emerging by in-depth analyses geographically and thematically organized. These research threads are preparing the post-project phase according to parallel impact of this MSCA-IF-GF residing in fostering the career development of the ER. Measures adopted to exploit the actions’ results, along with the Open Science strategies guaranteeing openness to results, show that one priority for this project has been promoting access to culture and making its core idea and main results a recognized statement: a phenomenon of the Hellenistic period regarding culture and society at different interconnected levels can be reconstructed by means of epigraphic documents. In order to maximize the project’s impact and to promote intercultural dialogue and synergies among cultural sectors, the main perspective of this action for the post-project phase consists in broadening the discourse to other disciplines fruitfully conversing with the epigraphical panorama. The post-project action will sprout from the core of the research so far pursued and will have as a foundation the milestones attained. Besides, another expected overarching result beyond the end of the project focuses in creating further collaborations among institutions involved and in continuing at engaging students and artists’ creativity around the idea of the research.