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Queensland Friends of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens
Inc.
NewsletterNo70December2016
1
BursaryWinner’s
RewardingYear
Firstly,Iwouldliketoexpressmyappreciationand
gratitudetoyouallforawardingmethisbursarylast
year.Ispentthemoneyonvariousbooksrelatingto
ancientGreek,andeachoneassistedme,insomeway
oranother.Thisbursaryhaswithoutadoubtbeenan
immensehelpformystudiesinAncientGreekwhileI
wasundertakingmyhonoursinClassicalLanguages
thisyear,whichIjustcompleted.
Inmythesis,Idiscussedtheuseofmaritime
materialsinmagicaltextsfromtheGreekMagical
Papyri.Ithoroughlyenjoyedresearchingthistopic,
andthroughouttheyearIlearntsomuch.Itranslated
andanalysedsixteentextsfromtheGreekMagical
Papyri,allofwhichhadtheirownuniqueand
interestingqualities,whetheritbethelanguageused,
thematerialsrequired,ortheformulaitself.
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Throughthestudyofthesetexts,Ialsohad
theopportunitytoinvestigateawholenew
sectionofhistorythatIhadnotpreviously
studied,inregardstobothtimeandplace.The
textsthatIlookedatwerefromRomanEgypt,
datedtothe2nd–5thcenturyADanddealt
withGreek,Egyptian,Jewish,andNearEastern
cultures.Thiswasindeedsuchaninteresting
timeperiodtolookatandIhavelearnedso
muchaboutthistinybutfascinatingareaof
history.
ThefirstbookIboughtwasHansDieter
Betz’seditionofTheGreekMagicalPapyriand
thiswasthebookthatstartedoffmyhonours
year!Ireadthroughthewholebookacouple
oftimeswhileselectingthesectionsthatI
neededandwithoutadoubtitisafascinating
collectionoftexts.Itismadeallthemore
interestingassomanyofthespellsand
charmsinitrelatetothesameconcernsthat
peoplehavetoday.Therearemanylove
charms,spellsforvictoryorsafetyandalso
cursestoperformuponone’senemies.
Althoughthesespellsandcursesarenot
practisedorusedtoday(Iespeciallyhopethis
istrueinregardstothecurses),they
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demonstratethattheunderlyingemotions
thatdrivepeoplehavenotchangedthatmuch
in2000yearsandIfeelthisprovidesa
connectiontothesepeopleinAntiquity,soas
nottoviewthemaspeoplefromadifferent
timeandculture,butpeoplewhohavethe
samedreamsandfearsaswedotoday.
PossiblythemostimportantbookIbought
thisyearwastheLiddellandScottGreek
Lexicon.Thislexiconwasabsolutelyessential
formyhonoursyearanditwouldhavebeen
impossibletotranslatethetextsofthepapyri
withoutit.Ihavecomeacrossmanyobscure
words,somebeingingredientsforspells,
othersnamesofplantsormaterialsandsome
justbeingverbsIhadneverheardof.Ithink
everytextItranslatedformythesishadwords
thatwerenotinmysmallerabridgedlexicon,
sowithoutthepurchaseoftheproperGreek
LexiconIwouldn’thaveevenbeenabletoget
pastthefirststageofmyhonours.
Asidefromwritingmythesisthisyear,Ialso
hadtotaketwosemestersofthirdyearGreek.
Inthefirstsemester,wecoveredthemajority
ofbooksoneandtwoofXenophon’sHellenica,
whichIthoroughlyenjoyed.IboughttheLoeb
editionofXenophontouseinclassandfor
weeklytranslations,aswellasusingittowrite
myassignmentsforthesemester.Xenophon
wroteaboutsuchaninterestingpartof
history,indeedoneofmyfavouritepartsof
historyandIverymuchenjoyedimmersing
myselfinhisworkforthatfirstsemester.
Insemestertwo,wecoveredbooks6and7
oftheOdysseyandIboughtJanetWatson’s
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editionofthesebookstoonceagainuseinclass
andformyassignments.TranslatingHomeris
absolutelywonderfulandheisoneofmyfavourite
authorstotranslate.Homer’suseoflanguage,
throughadjectives,verbs,similesandepithets,is
beautifulandallthemoreimpressivethat
everythingfitsperfectlyintohexameter–whichis
anotherenjoyableaspectoftranslatingHomer.Itis
throughreadingHomerintheoriginalGreekthatI
believethetruebeautyofhisworkisrevealed.
Becauseofthis,Ialsoboughtcompleteversionsof
theIliadandtheOdysseyandamhopingtooneday
readthroughthembothfromstarttofinish.
TranslatingXenophonandHomerthisyearalong
withthetextsfromtheGreekMagicalPapyrihas
beenreallygreat,asI’vegainednotonlymore
experienceintranslatingAncientGreek,buthave
alsohadmoreexperienceintranslatingavarietyof
textsfromdifferentliteratures,authors,andtime
periods.
ApartfrombuyingtheOdysseyandtheIliadfor
myreadingpleasure,IalsoboughtHarryPotterin
AncientGreek–ἍρειοςΠοτηρκαὶἡτοῦφιλοσόφου
λίθος.However,Ihaven’thadachancetostartit.
HopefullyI’llgetintoitovertheholidays!
IalsopurchasedGoodwin’sGreekGrammarand
TheSyntaxoftheMoodsandTensesoftheGreek
Verb.Thesebookswereusefultohaveathand
whenIneededsomeclarificationofacertain
grammarpointandhavehelpedmebyproviding
specificexamplesofhowsuchacertaingrammar
pointmightbeused–whichwasveryusefulfor
translatingHomeraswellassomeofthetextsfor
mythesis.
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5
Finally,touseuptherestofthebursary,Iam
abouttobuytheHistoriesofHerodotus,aswell
ascommentariesthataccompanyhisworkfor
mystudiesnextyearwhenIwillbestartingmy
MPhil.Iwillbediscussingtheevidenceof
maritimereligionfoundinHerodotus’Histories,
aswellasresearchinganddiscussingthe
maritimereligionofGreeknavalforces,sacred
prostitutionofthecultsofAphrodite,the
relationshipofGreekmaritimereligiontothatof
CyprusandtheNearEastandtheroleof
maritimereligioninfifthcenturyBCGreek
coloniesandtheirGreekmothercities.Thisis
suretobeaveryinterestingtopic,whichI’m
veryexcitedtobegin.
Ibelievethatthisyearhastaughtmetheskills
tosetmeupformyMPhilandhasgivenmealot
moreexperienceintheGreeklanguage,in
translating,inresearchandwritingandIam
veryexcitedtobeundertakingthisnewtopic
andresearchadventureoverthecomingtwo
years.
Yourgenerouscontributionhasenabledthis
andprovidedmewithmanymoretranslating
toolsintheformofgrammarbooksandthe
GreekLexicon.Ithasalsobeenagreathelpfor
buyingbooksformystudies,forcoursework,my
HonourstopicandmyMasterstopic,aswellas
beingabletobuybooksinAncientGreektoread
andenjoyinmyowntime,whilestillgaining
experienceindifferentgenresofGreekwriting.
Sooncemore,thankyouallsomuchfor
awardingmethebursary,itreallywasagreat
helptomeandIgreatlyappreciatethisgenerous
contributiontomystudiesinAncientGreek.
Ed.ThankstoNileDeJongforallowingthe
reproductionofherspeechfrom27Nov.
6
Fromthepresident…….
2016willfinishasamemorableyear.Thehigh
pointwastheverysuccessful30thanniversary
lunchattheGreekClubwith3guestsfromthe
Instituteand40friendsandguestsfromBrisbane’s
Greekcommunity.WeenjoyedhearingScott
McPherson&BeatriceMcLoughlinrecounttheir
experiencesfromTorone&recalltheexperiences
ofstudentsfromUQwhilstonthedig.These
studentsnowhavesuccessfulcareersinClassical
archaeology&otherfields.
DrStavrosPaspalas,actingdirector,spokeonthe
historyofToroneandtheprojectsundertakenby
theInstitutesubsequently.ThevisionofProf.
Cambitoglouwasthedrivingforcebehindthisdig&
thefoundationofourgroup.
TheGreeklanguagebursarywenttoDerekScott,a
secondyearstudent.Theothercandidate,Rachel
Dowe,isundertakinganMPhil.Bothhadexcellent
academicrecords.Theselectioncommitteehada
difficultjobdecidingawinner.Congratulationsto
both.Wewillfollowyourprogresswithgreat
interest.(belowltor:Rachel,Derek,ProfMilns,and
DrBrown)
Theyearendedwiththe‘Bob&ConShow’.The
themewas‘Air’.Thepairpresentedworksfroma
rangeofsourcesincludingOvid,Lucretius,William
Golding,RussellSchweikart(anastronaut)&Jena
Woodhouse(AAIAcreativeresidentawardee
2015).
4
Theshowconcludedwiththeperformance
of‘Pyramus&Thisbe’from‘AMidsummer
Night’sDream’.Thiswasatributetoourdear
friendJacqueNoyeswhodiedthisyear.
Noshowwouldbecompletewithouta
selectionofartworktoaccompanythestory
telling.Againtherangeofsourceswas
inspiring.AristideMaillol‘L’Air’,William
Robinson‘CreationLandscape’,Antiquemaps
showingthe‘WindRose’,Titan’s‘Diana&
Callisto’&Boccaccio’s‘Pyramus&Thisbe’.
OurthanksgotheBob&Conwhowere
accompaniedbyLynMilns&RoseO’Brienin
thefinale.Congratulationstoallfour.May
yourenergy&inspirationcontinueformany
moreshows.
Onbehalfofthecommittee,Iwishallour
membersapeacefulandsafeChristmas&
NewYearandlookforwardtoseemanymore
ofyouin2017,our31styear.
ImportantDatesfor2017
Pleasenotethesedatesfornextyear.
19February:ProfBobMilns,Cavafythepoet
30April:PossiblespeakerDrStavros
Paspalas.
25June:AGM+guestspeaker
Aug/Sept:AAIAvisitingprofJimWrightfrom
theAmericanSchoolatAthens
15October:Guesttobeannounced
3December:‘Bob&ConShow’
Atasteofthe‘Bob&ConShow’.AirAirfromyourlipsmakesmevibrate,Whoamatubeofair,AndImakerippleswhereSinging,singing,Ispeakofjoyandsoothetheerraticpulseofhate.Airfromtheskypastmyarms,AndbuoysmytubeofairAndthrustsmeforwardwhereWinging,wingingIsoaraboveallearthlyfrenziesandalarms.Iamthestuffofdeathandbirth,Ofwreckandofdespair,Theunseenskinofair-Clinging,clingingTowrapandsaveforlifetheinjuredcrustofearth.VikramSeth
Conread‘NoFrames,NoBoundaries’byUS
astronautRussellSchweikartwhowasorbitingthe
EarthinMarch1969.
Itisnotpossibletoreproduceitall.
Ifyousearchfor‘NoFrames,NoBoundaries’onthe
Internetyoucanreadthisinsightfulprose.
Theseareitsopeningsentences;
BUT UP THERE you go around every hour and a half, time after time after time. You wake up usually in the mornings, over the Middle East and over North Africa. As you eat breakfast you look out the window and there’s the Mediterranean area, Greece and Rome and North Africa and the Sinai, that whole area. And you realize that in one glance what you’re seeing is what was the whole history of humankind for years – the cradle of civilization.