The Summer School
The Summer School in Classics at the University of Crete offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Cretan culture and history, while enjoying the stunning beauties of the island. It includes the study of ancient literary texts and inscriptions, organised visits to major archaeological sites, and group activities in a multicultural environment.
Right at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, on the crossroads of the trading routes that connect south Europe with north Africa and the near East, Crete developed a marvellous civilisation in the Bronze Age. The island’s rich history and culture exercises an enduring fascination: the famous myths of gods, heroes, and monsters, and of tragic love affairs have inspired art and literature throughout the centuries. Surviving material culture attests to the island’s rich past: the exquisite art produced during the Bronze Age, including elaborate pots and abundant pieces of gold jewellery, are a marvel to see in the renewed collection of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. The famous Minoan palaces have been a source of inspiration for scientists investigating the natural phenomenon that brought the Minoans to their legendary fall. The earliest and most substantial surviving documents of ancient Greek law outside Athens come from Crete. Byzantine and Ottoman monuments are tokens of the island’s diverse heritage.
This year’s summer school is entitled “Crete on Stage” and will explore ancient theatre in Crete and beyond, Cretan myths, and the most important archaeological sites of the island. Our guest speaker in this year’s Summer School is Professor Costas Panayotakis, who teaches Classics at the University of Glasgow. He will give a two-hour session on “Roman drama in performance”, in which he will present images associated with the material culture of Roman theatre in its various forms. He will talk about the theatre-related mosaics and the inscriptions of mime-artists found in Crete as well as about the ancient theatre of Aptera to the east of Chania which the students will visit with him and other instructors during the Summer School. Costas will also lead a two-hour workshop with the students on “Crete and the Cretans in the Roman literary imagination”. This year’s program also includes aThis year’s program also includes a halfhalf–day handsday hands–on seminar on AI and Classics conducted by on seminar on AI and Classics conducted by Maria Papadopoulou, Maria Papadopoulou, Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities and Classics, University of Crete Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities and Classics, University of Crete & TALOS Lab Director (UCRC, UoC)& TALOS Lab Director (UCRC, UoC),, and members of the Talos Lab. and members of the Talos Lab. This handsThis hands–on workshop on workshop will introducewill introduce students to knowledge graphs, focusing on the practical application of knowledge students to knowledge graphs, focusing on the practical application of knowledge representation of Ancient Greek texts. Specifically, the session will center on manually extracting representation of Ancient Greek texts. Specifically, the session will center on manually extracting and structuring information from Ancient Greek summaries of Classical tragand structuring information from Ancient Greek summaries of Classical tragedies edies.
Click here for the poster of the summer school
Click here for the program of the summer school
Click here for more information of the summer school (classes/selection criteria/etc)
