In the ancient Greek world board games were not always simply board games. Through a mythological lens such apparently simple and pedestrian daily pursuits could be elevated to the heroic realm where questions of Fate, life, and death could be examined, and examples for correct social behaviour could be established. An array of iconographic, literary and artefactual evidence will be presented in this lecture so as to gain a deeper understanding of what board games may have meant to the ancients both in life and death.

This event will be held in-person at the Nelson Meers Foundation Auditorium, Chau Chak Wing Museum.

Stavros Paspalas' research interests include the Greek world’s links with Lydia and the Achaemenid Empire, the archaeology of the northern Aegean during the Archaic and Classical periods, and the Early Iron Age Aegean. He has published on the cultural exchanges between Greece, especially Macedonia, and its eastern neighbours, ceramic studies, and matters related to the iconography of the ancient world. In his current role of Director of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) he oversees the operations of the Institute, coordinating its various research and outreach programmes both in Greece and Australia, and working with staff, governance and supporters to ensure its continuing success and growth.

You can also join us for this lecture online via Zoom; register here.

Image: Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora, attributed to the Medea Group (detail), c. 510 BC. Getty Museum 71.AE.441