Seen on Anahita-l
TWO BOSTON AREA LECTURES:
“The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece”
Presenter: Marguerite Rigoglioso, Ph.D.1) A Fall 2009 James C. Loeb Lecture, sponsored by the Department of
the Classics at Harvard University
DATE: Friday, October 16, 2009
TIME: 5 p.m.; free and open to the public
PLACE: Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall, Harvard Yard, Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA. This is located just off Massachusetts
Avenue in Harvard Square; see map at http://map.harvard.edu/level3.cfm?mapname=&tile=F7&quadrant=C&series=N. Note also that this will be the start of the Head of the Charles
weekend celebration, so please allow enough time for navigating and
parking.2) Public lecture sponsored by the Women’s Studies Research Center at
Brandeis University
DATE: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
TIME: 12:30 ~ about 2 p.m. (lecture is 50 mins. followed by Q&A);
free and open to the public
PLACE: Lecture Hall at the Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis
University, 515 South Street, Waltham, MADESCRIPTION OF TALKS:
Ancient Greek lore is filled with unusual stories of women bearing the
children of gods, of the impregnating power of snakes and deities in
the healing cult of Asclepius, of the divine conceptions of historical
figures, of the basilinna’s yearly sexual rite with Dionysus –– and
more. In this provocative lecture, Marguerite Rigoglioso, author of
the pioneering book The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece,
provides evidence that such tales reflect the existence of actual
cultic practices in which holy virgins were once believed to be active
seekers in miraculously conceiving those who would become the
political and spiritual leaders of Greek civilization. The work
suggests virgin priestesses may have been considered far more central
to the founding of Greek culture than ever imagined, and has
provocative implications for the study of the Virgin MaryFor more information on The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece,
visit http://cultofdivinebirth.com
rogueclassicism 