Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies

58 Prospect, Room 107
Cosponsored by the Program in Jewish Studies

I shall discuss the construction of the Jew in a number of texts by Greek prose writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A close reading of these texts reveals a dichotomy of feelings towards the Jews. The Jew, in the words of the leading poet Kostis Palamas "can be, according to the circumstances, the highest prophet, and the most ignominious usurer."

My aim is to examine this ambivalence not on a basis of eternal myths of the Jew, but in relation to writers literary and political concerns, as well as to their inner conflicts.I shall examine works of fiction related to the "evraika," an accusation for ritual murder in Corfu (1891), followed by a riot in the jewish quarter: Xenopoulos relates this tragic event in order to put forward the problematic symbiosis between Greeks and Jews; Papadiamantis recounts it as relevant to the dark and mysterious area of human mind: while an anonymous writer refers to it in a virulently antisemitic popular novel published in Thessaloniki in 1930.

I shall argue that the presence of a jewish character in a narrative can signal not only antisemitic or xenophobic feelings, but also the author's concern with his or her own identity. For some writers the fluidity of the image of the Jew parallels that of Greek national identity, participating in the West in a very ambiguous way, as nation-state under formation and as cradle of Western civilization. Some writers working with biblical and oriental myths are expressedly judeophilic, ascribing Greek and Jewish cultural identity to common ancient origins. Others express antagonistic feelings towards the Chosen People, using explicit or implicit scapegoating techniques. In conclusion, I shall examine strategies of writers who deconstruct the binary opposition between Greeks and Jews in highly reflexive works, by representing national identities as equally mutable, approximate and relative.
 

FRAGISKI AMPATZOPOULOU is Professor of Modern Greek Literature, University of Thessaloniki. She is the author of several books on the Greek avant-garde and surrealist movements. Since 1990, she has worked on the image of the Jew in modern Greek literature and on the study and publication of testimonies of Greek Jewish Holocaust victims. The results of her research are included in her most recent book, The Other Persecuted: The Image of the Jew in Modern Greek Literature, in which she also discusses the representation of the Holocaust in fictional works of Greek writers. Her works include studies on women's voices in Holocaust testimonies.  [Last Updated 2002]

Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki; Visiting Fellow, Program in Hellenic Studies
PLACE: McCormick Hall, Room 106
Cosponsored by Art and Archaeology

Glazed pottery flourished in Cyprus from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, coinciding with the period of Latin rule (1191-1572), and particularly Frankish rule (1192-1489). Cypriot glazed pottery should be considered and studied as a branch of Byzantine glazed pottery displaying the same technology and decorative techniques of pottery in Byzantium. Owing to the islands historical fortunes under the Franks (1192-1489) and the Venetians (1489-1572), as well as its geographical position in the eastern Mediterranean, it would be expected that Cypriot glazed ware should have a style of its own. It is especially interesting to study the iconography of its decorative themes and to trace their provenance: a number of them closely resemble the thematic repertory of Byzantine pottery. Others reflect the latters development, with decorative subjects incorporating Western elements; while other features reflect the influence of pottery from the neighbouring Middle East. The study of the development of Cypriot glazed pottery - everyday wares, a significant element of Byzantine material culture, with none of the restrictions imposed upon religious art - gives us an insight into Medieval Cypriot society and culture, between East and West.

Demetra Papanikola-Bakirtzis received her Ph.D. from the University of Thessaloniki. She has published extensively on Byzantine ceramics, archaeology and art; her publications include Ceramic Art from Byzantine Serres (with E. Dauterman Maguire and H. Maguire, 1992) and Medieval Glazed Pottery of Cyprus: Paphos and Lapithos Ware (1996). Dr. Papanikola-Bakirtzis has excavated in Cyprus and Greece and has curated a number of exhibitions on Byzantine Art and Archaeology, including most recently: "Byzantine Medieval Cyprus" (1998), "Byzantine Glazed Ceramics: The Art of Sgraffito" (1999), and "Byzantine Hours: Everyday Life in Byzantium" (2001). She is presently Chief Curator at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki. Her current research addresses cultural and economic interactions between East and West as documented in ceramic production of Medieval Cyprus.  [Last Updated 2002]

Betts Auditorium, School of Architecture

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58 Prospect Avenue, Room 107

58 Prospect Avenue, Room 107