A CLASSICAL CALENDAR FOR 2020

Throwback Thursday | Emma Puddicombe

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Happy New Year! If you’re anything like me, you believe that January is simply a test drive and the new year doesn’t officially begin until February 1st. With this in mind, it’s time to start planning your social calendar for the next 11 months. Here are some forgotten holidays and festivals from Ancient Rome and Greece to mark your calendars for 2020!

Photo courtesy of Emma Puddicombe

FEBRUARY 11 - 12: ANTHESTERIA (GREEK)

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What it is: This three day festival, in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine, celebrated the beginning of spring and the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage. It was believed that during this time the dead would also come up from the underworld and walk abroad. On the first day (Pithoigia or “Jar Opening”), the casks from the previous vintage were opened and decorations were put up. The second day, (Choës or “Wine Jugs”), was the party day, full of drinking wine, wearing bright colours and visiting friends. The third day, (Chytroi or “The Feast of Pots”), was meant to offer pots of seed or bran to the dead and remember them.

How to celebrate it in 2020: While I’m not condoning a three-day drinking binge, I suggest getting together with some friends, getting dressed up in bright colours and drinking wine! If that’s not quite your scene, some grape juice and a couple decorations at home will do as well.

FEBRUARY 13 - 21: PARENTALIA (ROMAN)

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What it is: This week-long celebration was in remembrance of the dead and was a time of quiet, personal reflection for the ancient Romans. On the last day of this week, families would visit cemeteries and place offerings on the graves of those they’ve lost. This was in hopes of stopping the dead from feeling hungry and returning to plague the living.

How to celebrate it in 2020: Think of the loved ones you have lost and spend some time remembering them and how they touched your life. You could do this by making one of their old recipes, watching one of their favourite movies, or something else to help you feel closer to them.

APRIL 21: PARILIA (ROMAN)

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What it is: While this day was originally a day to honour the god and goddess Pales, protectors of the flocks and herds, it later turned into a giant Birthday for the city of Rome. On this day, the citizens of Rome would make bonfires, hold great outdoor feasts, and, after the second century AD, take part in friendly competition by holding games.

How to celebrate it in 2020: Even though you’re not in Rome, do as the Romans do! This year, have an Italy themed party with friends, complete with a bonfire, lots of games (card, board, drinking, whichever you prefer), and have a potluck full of your favourite Italian foods.


APRIL 28 - MAY 3: FLORIALES (ROMAN)

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What it is: This springtime festival was a celebration to honour Flora, the goddess of flowers, vegetation, and fertility. Now considered an ancient ‘May Day’ (a public festival celebrated on May 1st with dancing, singing, and cake), the ancient Romans would celebrate by wearing colourful clothing, decorating everything with flowers, holding games and putting on theatrical presentations.

How to celebrate it in 2020: May Day is still a recurring public holiday in Europe, so I recommend taking part in similar festivities wherever you are. Dance to your favourite music, sing out loud, wear colour clothing and surround yourself with your favourite flowers! You can even plant some flowers or vegetables, if you want to feel a little more Roman.


JULY 23: NEPTUNALIA (ROMAN)

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What it is: This day was originally celebrated by the men who worked on the barges and docks of the Tiber river in Rome to honour Neptune, the god of the sea. In the late July heat, these men would build huts out of branches and leaves where they would spend the day relaxing, eating, drinking and amusing themselves.

How to celebrate it in 2020: While you may not be a barge or dock worker, it can never hurt to honour an ancient god. Take the day and build a fort (pillow, blanket, box, whatever you have on hand) and take some time to get away from the summer heat.

*Pro Tip: Here’s a good way to keep cool AND still have a fort.

AUGUST 23: VOLCANALIA (ROMAN)

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What it is: This holiday was in honour of Vulcan, the god of fire and was more of a precautionary celebration. The ancient Romans would build large bonfires and throw in live fish or small animals as offerings to Vulcan. This was during the time of year when forest fires were expected and there was a fear that the stored grain or crops would be destroyed.

How to celebrate it in 2020: You have two options here. First, you can simply have a bonfire with friends and consider it a precautionary celebration to prevent the metaphorical fires of going back to school in September. The second option, if you want to take it up a notch, is to throw in a few offerings (goldfish/animal crackers) and say a prayer of protection for locations around the world that are threatened by forest fires every year.


DECEMBER 17 - 23: SATURNALIA (ROMAN)

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What it is: This week-long festival was in celebration of the Roman mid-winter solstice. It began with a sacrifice at the temple of Saturn, followed by a public feast and gift-giving (sound familiar?). The ancient Romans would wear beautiful holiday clothing, decorate their homes, and exchange gifts. Most notable, slaves were absolved of their duties and would switch roles with their masters.

How to celebrate it in 2020: During this week in December, pick a night and have Friends-mas! Get together with your friends and celebrate the holiday season together by decorating (either an actual house or a gingerbread house) getting all dressed up in fancy clothes and exchanging gifts with one another.

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Remember, being successful doesn't mean working yourself half to death. Be sure to set some time aside to relax and take in the new year with the people who make you happy. While many of these festivals and holidays from antiquity were meant to honour specific gods, they were also meant to be celebrated with others and connect people with one another. If you are to take anything away from this article, hopefully, it's this!

MORE THAN JUST BROKEN ARTIFACTS

Conservation Tips & Tricks | Selin Kahramanoglu

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Imagine if the wings of Winged Victory were smashed into so many little pieces that it was impossible to recover. It is true that the statue’s head and arm are already missing, but the artwork is made famous by its wings. Currently housed at the Louvre, and dated to almost the 2nd century BCE, this statue demonstrates the essence of Hellenistic marble and artistry. The wings are the iconic part of the statue. They are at the very core of the statue’s significance. The wings are everything.

For conservators, this is a critical moment.

Do they make plaster replicas of the wings, and add it back to the statue so that it is whole again?

Or, do they leave it the way it is?

Statue of Winged Victory, also called Nike of Samothrace. Source.

When it comes to restoration, some of our conservation decisions will be questionable. People will agree with us, and people will certainly disagree too. Still, these tough decisions need to be made. Who is to stay which choice is right? In this post, we think about the general advantages and disadvantages to the restoration of artifacts, and how they are more than just broken objects. 

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Advantages

There are a lot of reasons why we might choose to restore a damaged artifact. Especially if it is within the museum’s budget, expertise, and resources to do so, why wouldn’t we try to rescue it? The whole point of conservation is to try to keep the original state of the artifact as much as possible, so of course, conservators would try their best to accomplish that. 

To add, if an artifact is damaged while under the protection of the museum, the institution may wish to erase any evidence of the incident. A museum’s reputation is at risk when pursuing future acquisitions, if the museum has a history of not keeping good care of its artifacts. 

Generally, restoration helps…

• visitors envision the historical, original state of the artifact on display 
• forget that the artifact was ever damaged
• show that the museum has sufficient and up-to-date resources to assist conservation efforts
• demonstrate the knowledge and skill of the conservator 

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Disadvantages

Here's where things get fuzzy. Choosing not to restore an artifact can be considered brave, forward-thinking, or more often, risky. If a museum decides to keep a damaged artifact on display, this might show visitors that the incident is now a part of the object's biography. Conservators might say that the damage has been done, and we need to acknowledge this history, not erase it.

Many people might disagree with this tactic, because the sight of the damage could overwhelm the entirety of the artifact. Perhaps, the broken outline is all you see, and any hope at restoring the whole artifact fades. Sometimes, visitors might be angered when seeing the damaged artifact on display, because it reminds us of the damage that had been unwillingly inflicted. However, should we try to subdue this anger? Couldn't this frustration add more significance to the artifact?

Briefly, the lack of restoration means...

• acknowledging the incident that caused the damage
• accepting that the original state of the artifact is now unattainable
• possibly insinuating that the museum does not have the conservation resources to restore it
• allowing visitors to think critically about not restoring every artifact

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Whether we choose to save a damaged artifact, or not, the decision is difficult and with some consequences. The next time you visit a gallery with a damaged artifact on display, or an object that has had obvious repairs made, let's consider why a conservator might choose to present the object in that way. Maybe, there's more to the story?

See you next month for the next post!

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GREEK (NUDE) GODS, AND THE IDEALIZED FORM

Collections Corner | Carly Hall

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One of my favourite spaces at the Royal Ontario Museum is the Gallery of Greece. I never get bored of walking through the marble statues, or watching figures chase each other in the scenes depicted on red-figure and black-figure pottery. The Gallery features approximately 1500 artifacts, showcasing the artistry of the Archaic (700-500 BCE), Classical (500-323 BCE), and early Hellenistic (323-31 BCE) periods. However, for this week’s article, I want to focus on one object in the collection: the Torso of Aphrodite.

Torso of Aphrodite. Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

This sculpture of Aphrodite is a Roman copy of a Greek type during the late 2nd century BCE. The original sculpture, attributed to Praxiteles, was highly popular in the late Hellenistic and Roman periods. Due to its popularity, numerous copies were made, with some variations on the theme. In this example, dated to the 1st – 3rd century CE in Rome, the goddess was depicted adjusting her hair.

Aphrodite is an interesting Goddess. There are two myths associated with her conception. According to Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione. Hesiod gives a different account of her birth. When Kronos severed his father Uranus’ genitals off the coast of Cythera, Aphrodite was born from the foam. Despite the different genesis stories of Aphrodite, the Greeks and Romans believed the goddess to be the pinnacle of femininity, and an example of divine beauty which was unattainable for mere mortals (except maybe Helen of Sparta/Troy). As I was looking at this sculpture, I overheard a conversation about the inherently damaging idealism and sexualization of the sculpture, and in the art world in general.

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A part of me can certainly get behind this. Depending on one’s social standing, ancient women faced a multitude of injustices, and certainly did not enjoy the social liberties women have now. And the emergence of female nudity over the centuries has sparked contemporary discussions on patriarchal sexism and the male gaze in Western art. In fact, Praxiteles was one of the first Greek sculptors to present female nudity, and his bold innovations changed the course of the aesthetics of beauty. However, I think to fully understand the Torso of Aphrodite (and the Greek nude in general), we need to understand the context of Greek and Hellenistic sculpture.

To say Aphrodite represents idealism and sexuality is absolutely correct, by simple virtue of the goddess’ very nature. The Greek Pantheon represents the pinnacle of absolute beauty, because they are all immortal. They have no mortal equal, and their beauty was said to be so devastatingly glorious it could blind mortals who dared to look upon them. As the goddess of love, and feminine beauty (among other things), it makes sense that the goddess is depicted as an idealized nude. Typically, Greek deities are recognizable by their conventional attributes; for example, Poseidon has his trident, and Artemis has her bow and arrows—maybe even a deer or hunting dog by her feet. Aphrodite has her unmatched beauty, and many sculptors capture this through a deified presentation of the female form, be it fully or partially nude. The Venus de Milo, for example, depicts a partially clothed Aphrodite, with an elongated and athletic physique.

Venus de Milo. Source.

One of the things I learned about the Ancient Greeks during my Classics undergrad was that they were obsessed with the idea of beauty, both aesthetically and philosophically. It wasn’t only the female form the ancients were captivated with; many male gods and heroes are also shown in the nude. Take the Artemision Zeus or Poseidon for example. Here the god is shown in all his idealized glory. The statue captures the moment of throwing a lightning bolt or trident, muscles braced to demonstrate the favourable aesthetics of an athletic form (notice a similarity in the torso of the Venus de Milo?).

Artemision Zeus or Poseidon. Source.

In a philosophical sense, ancient sculptors would have depicted gods/goddess and heroes as idealized nudes to demonstrate their celestial, superlative nature. It was in praise not only of their divinity, but also for the potential greatness of the human form. Personally, when I see a nude sculpture of a Greek/Roman deity, I think about the divinity and representation of that god/goddess. I think about where the sculpture would have been housed, whether it be a villa owned by a member of the aristocracy, or a temple dedicated to a specific deity. The way I view Torso of Aphrodite is totally different from how I perceive Rodin’s study of a nude female figure. Perhaps I’m being a little idealist myself, distancing female nudity in Ancient Greece and Rome from nudity in the overarching art world.

What do you think about artistic nudity?