ICS Ancient Literature Seminar
Professor Peter Meineck: ‘Performing Catharsis: Enacting and Ancient Therapy’
Monday 1 June, 4.30pm – 6.00pm
Room 264, Second Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
In this illustrated talk, Professor Peter Meineck of New York University describes aspects of his new research on catharsis, which traces the development of the concept in ritual and performance in Greece by investing the usual starting point, Aristotle’s famous comments in Poetics. Instead this study, being published by Routledge this summer, traces cathartic rites and performances in mystery cults, philosophical texts, iambic and lyric poetry, Homer and of course, the Arthenian theatre and ending with Aristotle. In this way we gain a new understanding of the infamous phrase “through pity and fear [tragedy] elicits catharsis”.
Please book via this link.
Note: this is not a Classical Association event – please contact the organisers directly with any enquiries.