Kathleen Lynch

Associate Professor of Classics and Classical Archaeologist Kathleen Lynch to Give the Hoyt Lecture at W&L   Lexington, VA (Feb. 22, 2017) - Kathleen Lynch, associate professor of classics at the University of Cincinnati, will give the 2016-2017 Hoyt Lecture at Washington and Lee University on March 7 at 7 p.m. in Staniar Art Gallery, Wilson Hall, at W&L. She will be speaking on “The ‘End’ of the Greek Symposium?” The talk is free and open to the public. Her talk is sponsored by the Classics Hoyt Fund and the Department of Classics. There will be a book signing following the lecture. “The symposium was a defining cultural activity of Archaic and Classical Greece,” said Lynch. “Men gathered in the home of a friend for an evening of wine drinking and talk. The structure and activities of the evening emphasized equality of all guests, shared cultural values, and the activities forged bonds among the guests. “When and why the symposium originates continues to be debated, but it was a common social activity of the Archaic and Classical periods (8th through 4th centuries B.C.),” Lynch continued. “During the Hellenistic period (323-31 B.C.), the symposium changes character into a banquet at which the host gains honor by providing a lavish feast to a large group of guests, who in turn are in his debt. This shift in values, visible in the archaeological and literary evidence, thus marks the end of the symposium, even though Greek-inspired dining continued in the Roman and Christian eras.” Lynch is a classical archaeologist, with a focus on ancient Greek ceramics. Having worked on archaeological projects at sites in Turkey (Gordion, Troy), Greece (Athenian Agora, Corinth, Pylos), Italy (Morgantina) and Albania (Apollonia), her research considers what ancient ceramics can tell us about their use and users. Athenian figure-decorated pottery from Athens is her specialty, and her recent book, “The Symposium in Context” (2011), won the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) 2013 James R. Wiseman Award for best publication in archaeology. The book explores the kitchen cupboards of an archaic Athenian house. Lynch co-edited “The People of Apulia: New Evidence from Pottery for Workshops, Markets and Customs” (2014) and “Drinking Cups and the Symposium at Athens in the Archaic and Classical Periods” (2014), which appeared in “Cities Called Athens”.

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