Research Blog: Event of Greek and Roman Culture

Dancing culture of Orthodox faith 

In the previous posts, I talked about how I got to research about the Greek and Roman cultures and what I had found. As a student who is interested in the history of Greece and Rome, and hoping to study abroad in Italy, I gradually came to looking up their culture. To add another reason, I was interested in their history since I was young because of the myths and legends I had read from books. What I had found were the most well-known facts about the cultures, such as the religions, festivals, holidays and their culture in daily life.

Anniversary of Roma

Because of the research I did on the Internet, I know a fair amount of the cultures. However, this is because I have a lot of interest in it, in where other people do not have. I think people would like to know more about the facts I got to know because Greece and Rome have always been a popular tourist attraction, and by knowing these facts would help them when traveling around there. Another would be that what people mostly know about those cultures would be the ancient ones and the myths and legends they have, not the up-to-date information of it.


Then what kind of methods would be helpful to let the people know about Greek and Roman’s “current” culture easily? The Internet would be the easiest to do, however would have the minimum result. There are many other options, such as having a class about it, doing an event, promoting through brochures or even just bringing up the topic in conversations. If I was to promote inside the university I am going to, what I would do would be to hold an event. There are a number of students who want to participate in many events and learn something from them, so I believe this would be the most effective method.

Poster Presentations

The way I want to do the event would be to do poster presentations. I would first gather a number of people who are also interested in Greek and Roman cultures or even students and professors who are studying it. and ask each of them to make a small booth about a certain topic they are interested in about the cultures. When people get there, they would walk around to the booths such as the ones they think that looks interesting or even those which just catch their eye. The location would be in an area where is well-known to the people.


Who I would invite to the event, would be all the people in the area. Since it is limited inside the university, I would first go for the students, professors, and faculty staff. These people would be able to know about the event by making small pamphlets and posters about it and putting up around the campus. Then I would extend it to the local people who live around the campus. For these people to know, I would put up the posters on local restaurants they would possibly go and also hand out the pamphlets on the street to them.

Me at the exhibition

Compared to the past two events I had attended, one has similarities while the other doesn’t. The first one I had gone to was an opera gala, which is very much different to a poster presentation. However, the second even I attended do have some similarities and so might have affected my decision in making my event. I went to a gallery which was titled as “The Books that made Shakespeare.” All the books that Shakespeare had studied and read were displayed around the room in order, with a few of them exhibited in the middle. I thought that the exhibition was made well and that it was just a silent version of a poster presentation.

The Actors’ Guild and Rome

When I looked up for similar events, the only ones I saw were all related to the ancient culture of Greece and Rome. There ones like the “Adventure of Greece”, which had not additional information, and another called “The Actors’ Guild and Rome” that was a lecture about the Greek organization “Technitai of Dionysus.” Other than this, there seemed to be no future events, but I also found an organization in the university called “Eta Sigma Phi,” which is a national undergraduate honors society which promotes the study of ancient Greece and Rome. Having a look at this organization could be another way that could help learn about the Greek and Roman culture.

Event at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University

So wondering if I could find any similar events and get some material for my event, I looked up on the Internet of other universities’ events related with Greek and Roman culture. All of them were the same with my university, being about the ancient history and culture of Greece and Rome. In the Institute of Fine Arts in the New York University, they have a “Seminar on Greek and Roman Art and Architecture.” A “Tour of the Greek and Roman Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum” is available in Connecticut College. Lastly, at Saint Anselm College they have a series of events such as Apotheon, Ancient Roman Coin Workshop, and Roman Recipes Test Kitchen.


With my event people are surely going to learn more about the current culture of Greece and Rome, however I do want to recommend another method. It may be the expensive way, but studying abroad in Greece or Italy or traveling to it I think would be the most effective way to really understand the culture and enjoy while getting to know it.

If my event were to be made it would be the first to be about the current culture of Greece and Rome compared to the mine and the other universities. This means that no one has really thought of getting to know what’s happening now in those countries, but rather just the ancient history of it. The past is also important, yes, however it wouldn’t hurt to pay attention to the present too. After all, yesterday was where we once were and today is where we are now.  

Research Blog: Greece and Rome culture

            Continuing with my research project, this blog will be about the information about the Greece and Roman culture I have found out about. What I had mostly found was the religions, festivals, holidays, traditions and daily life of the people, with little about the myths and Mesopotamian culture. Also while researching I noticed that in all of what I looked up had their origins inside the actions they took, and almost nothing about the precise history of it. So with what I have, I will talk about Greek Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Easter, Saints’ Day, the daily life of Greece and Rome, and the myths and Mesopotamian civilization.

Religions

Greek Orthodox Church

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Before we get into any of the holidays, festivals, traditions and culture, first we need to know about the religion. In both of these countries, religion takes a large part in everything the country goes through, such as economics, businesses, communications, holidays, and entertainment. For Greece, they have the Greek Orthodox Church. This is “A branch of Eastern Orthodoxy, which formally broke with the Western (or Roman Catholic) Church in AD 1054” (gotquestions.org). Although the Greek Orthodox Church is different with Catholicism, they have many practices that are similar such as the veneration of saints. Other practices that are not in the evangelical Christianity would be the Holy Communion, Salvation, using Scripture, and having feasts and holy days.

Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

Also known as the Catholic Church, with more than 1.27 billion members around the world it is the largest Christian church. The church is led by the pope, the Bishop of Rome, and it is well known by the sacred tradition and seven sacraments within Western Christianity. What the church teaches is that Jesus Christ had founded one true church, and the pope was the successor of Saint Peter and the bishops there were the successors of Christ’s apostles. The current head of the church is Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013, and there is also a website of it called ‘Holy See’.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church)

Festivals

Greek Easter

Greeks roasting lamb meat

Rather known as Orthodox Easter, it is one of the most well-known and important holidays and festivities in Greece. This is celebrated for a whole week called The Holy Week, and it has Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday as public holidays. This year’s Holy Week started on April 29^th, with Easter Sunday on May 1^st. Next year, in 2017, Easter Sunday will be April 16^th, starting on April 14^th. On Orthodox Good Friday, in the morning the girls and women would decorate Christ’s funeral bier replica (or “epitaph”) with flowers, which would altogether become “The Epitaph Mass.” Good Friday is a day to mourn for the dead and set up flags everywhere in remembrance of them. Next, on Orthodox Easter Saturday, known as The Resurrection or “Anastasis”, people would gather at churches and squares of the village with big white candles and light it up at 11pm, and at midnight would celebrate while offering salutation. Orthodox Easter Sunday would mainly be about the Easter Sunday dinner, where in honor of the lamb of God a feast of lamb would be served. After all the festivities during the week, Orthodox Easter Monday would be a public resting day for all the people.

(Source: http://publicholidays.gr/easter/)

Rome All Saints’ Day

Children lighting candles on All Saints' Day, in Banja Luka

            “All Saints’ Day is solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually on November 1^st” (catholic.org). Pope Boniface IV had made this day along with the All Souls’ day which is on November 2^nd in 609 AD. It is day that is dedicated to the saints of the Church, and although it does involve the people who had become saints this day focuses on the known saints of the Catholic Church. There are all kinds of traditional practices in the world, such as the performance “Don Juan Tenorio” in Portugal, Spain and Mexico, while across Europe flowers are left upon the graves to commemorate. Candles instead of flowers are lit on the graves in eastern Europe, and in the Philippines graves would be repaired and painted by the family members. A similar holiday is in Mexico, called “The Day of the Dead”, which is from October 31^st to November 2^nd to go along with both American and Catholic days.

(Source: http://www.catholic.org/saints/allsaints/)

Culture

Greece

            So there a few things that I found interesting about Greece’s culture in daily life. One would be that they have a concept of “Philotimi,” which are gatherings considering public honor, social responsibility, and hospitality and has the goal to attain the happy and relaxed feeling “kefi.” It would be parties with all the liveliness, music, eating, drinking, dancing, but without become drunk. Another would be that during funerals the mourners would eat boiled wheat with sugar and cinnamon. On New year which is celebrated on St. Basil’s Day, a cake with a coin hidden inside would be baked called “vassiloptia,” and whoever got the coin was known to receive good luck from finding it. Last, as a mentioned right above, hospitality is very crucial to the Greeks, considered a pleasure and a responsibility. Mostly, there would be generous hosts welcoming guests (including foreigners) receiving only token protests, but nowadays has decreased due to deluge of travelers or improper behavior of tourists.

(Source: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/social-culture-greece-17532.html)

(Source: http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Greece.html)

Rome

            Rome has a few things in common with Greece, while also having its own culture. Similar to the gatherings “Philotimi”, the Romans have those too but mostly with their families. Their culture considers family a very important factor in their life, and also still prefer the extended family rather than the nuclear family in the west. Due to this, there are also a number of small or mid-sized businesses which are run by single families. Another would be that in the food culture, which also occupies a large part in Italy, that each area eats their own special Italian dish. In the North there would be fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, pork, and cheese, while in the South tomatoes, capers, peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, eggplant and ricotta cheese take place.

(Source: http://www.livescience.com/44376-italian-culture.html)

So far we’ve looked over the most well-known information about Greece and Rome’s culture. One thing we haven’t looked at is the myths and legends of those cultures, however this is difficult because they had religious or educational purposes, but mostly just for the entertainment too. So it is hard to look for any current culture fact which is relevant to the myths and legends. Also, the Mesopotamian civilization would have a lot in common with these cultures, however, as it existed such a long time ago and also does not only connect with only Greece and Rome but with also different countries, it is difficult to find any traces of it in the culture of today.

Research Question: Greece and Rome

            Among the countries that you would know, there is not one that does not have a unique culture of their own. They have their traditions, basic etiquettes, old architects and many more. But where does this all come from? Did it all just appear out of nowhere and seep into people’s lives? No, because behind all of this lies that country’s history. Without its history, a country would not have been able to make their culture and find their characteristics. Also, the longer the history, the more that country’s culture is clear and distinct compared to the others. The research question I am to do is related with this, especially with the history part.

            What kind of cultures do you think are unique in their way? Or what culture can you think of at the moment? There could be the tea time people have in England, the festivals that happen in China or Spain, or even the fact that in Australia sheep is the main domestic animal. As I said before, it was the history which had led these countries to do those kind of cultures. A culture, or two, that I am currently interested about right now is about Greece and Rome. Yes, these cultures are considered to be from one of the oldest civilizations, the Mesopotamia or Sumer. As a student studying about its history, a thought occurred to me, if history and culture were related so deeply with each other I could be able to find examples about it from the Greece and Rome cultures. This would prove that learning about a country’s history could help people understand about their culture too. Another reason about doing this research question is if I get to know about their culture more through history, I might be able to use those facts when I travel or study there. One of the future goals (and wish) I’ve had in mind was to study abroad in Italy for a year. So by doing research about Greece and Rome’s history and their culture I would be able to adjust to the environment when I live there more easily than not knowing anything about it. In order to answer this question, I will look up the most well-known facts about their culture, and then look up the history behind it. These facts could vary from small ones such as how people greet each other, to enormous festivals that take place.

Poseidon

            Normally when we think about Greece and Rome, the famous myths come to our minds. The ones where Zeus and Hera, Aphrodite and Ares, and many more gods would appear, with also mythical creatures and mortal heroes. What I know right now is that myths had been a pretty big part of the history of Greece and Rome. It’s almost like without the myths, it would have been very difficult to explain about their culture and understand it. The Greeks and Romans, in the past, would have shrines built for the gods, had people who worked there or spoke to the gods, and even reveal prophecies they said they had received from the gods. Festivals that were held there were mostly for the honor of a particular god, or to please one for good weather to farm or the well-being of their family. The gods were a part of their daily lives. Also, not only the gods but even heroes, who were just the same human as they, had a big role in history. Some heroes had contributed in founding the country, or winning wars, communicating with different countries or even establishing the traditions that still exist today. Many famous architects, which also shows their culture, are also mostly related with the gods and heroes inside those myths and legends.

Drawing of Pegasus on pottery

            As I said in the first paragraph, by answering this research question I would like to know about the relation between the history of Greece and Rome and the culture, while also obtaining knowledge which would be helpful when either traveling or studying there. To achieve all of this, I would first have to learn about the history first. However, since it’s history is too long and contains too much information, I decided to narrow it down to the famous myths and legends they have. After choosing a few specific stories among them, I will do research about the background and also if there are any traditions or typical cultural actions people still do today. Or another way I could do would be to look up famous traditions or cultural info and then go deeper inside it by searching the related history. There could be famous festivals in certain areas that happen at a certain time of the year, a type of unique animal which are bred somewhere, and even the architects that are currently famous tourist attractions. Moreover, if I wanted to learn more about just the daily life of the people which I could use when traveling or studying there, I could search about it and the background and history behind it. By doing all of this, I would be able to understand more about this culture, how history and culture is inseparable, and also get some useful tips on how to adjust there.

            One thing that I would have also like to do some research about was about just the ancient Mesopotamia civilization. It is considered to be the basis of many cultures which exist right now, and so learning about it might let me understand more about the countries’ cultures. The languages of those countries was also what I was considering about looking up, because just the language itself can also show us the history and culture inside it. However, the information about the civilization is too much and with not much time, I decided to narrow it down to one which I was mostly interested about. I do wish that through this research process I would achieve the knowledge I had desired, and if lucky even more than that.