Benaki hosts conference on Roman Athens
The Roman era’s impact on everyday public and private life in Athens will be the focus of a three-day international archaeological conference from tomorrow to Saturday at the Benaki Museum in the Greek capital. The event’s theme will be supported by presentations of new discoveries and evidence from recent excavations by Greek and visiting archaeologists. Athens’s urban structure will be examined, as will developments in artistic production in domains such as sculpture, ceramics, and architecture during the Roman era. The conference will open with the talk «Athens in the Early Imperial Period – a Plan of Emperor Augustus?» to be presented by Ortwin Dally. It will be followed by a two-part session on the Library of Hadrian with presentations of archaeological evidence and architecture from Alkistis Choremi and Ioanna Tigginaga. The latest findings from the Roman Forum will be the focus of a presentation by Dimitris Sourlas, also on opening day. Polyxeni Bouyia will talk on «Late Roman Sanctuaries of the Mother of the Gods in Athenian Building Complexes.» This will be followed by a presentation on the topic «Urban Planning in the South Part of the Ancient City of Athens during Roman Times» by Stamatia Eleftheratou. Also on opening day, to run between 9.30 a.m. and 7.40 p.m., Nicoletta Saraga will present «A Roman Building with a Grain-processing Installation» and Ismini Trianti will discuss «Eastern Gods from the South Slopes of the Acropolis.»
