Posted by vrcvanderbilt on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 in Events, HART, Lectures, VRC.

Kim Shelton, associate professor of classics and director of the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology, University of California, Berkeley, will deliver the Archaeology Institute of America lecture entitled “Nemea and the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Zeus,” on Thursday, March 30, at 6 pm in the Nashville Parthenon. Shelton will present the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea and the history of the pan-Hellenic festival and games celebrated there from the 6th to the 2nd centuries BCE.

Life on the site began much earlier with habitation during the prehistoric period. Shelton will discuss this evidence along with the possibility of continuity of cult to the establishment of a hero shrine and the establishment of the pan-Hellenic sanctuary in the 6th century BCE. She will examine in detail the festival and games, best known from the 4th century BCE, as well as the unique features and structures of Nemea discovered through excavation by the University of California at Berkeley, especially the initial results of the renewed research on the site during the 2010-2012 seasons under her direction.

Shelton oversees and coordinates the teaching, research, and education activities of the Nemea Center. The central activity of the Center is the excavation, study, conservation, and public presentation of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea, including the Hellenistic Stadium. Among Shelton’s interests are classical archaeology, the Bronze Age Aegean, ceramics, ancient religion and mythology.

This lecture, free and open to the public, is cosponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America, the Vanderbilt University Program in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, and The Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park. Those who plan to attend the AIA lecture are encouraged to call the Nashville Parthenon at 615.862.8431 to reserve a seat.