War Games. Animation and the life of off-duty soldiers in Greek antiquity (Dr Sonya Nevin, University of Cambridge)
Much of army life involves waiting. This talk will explore some of the pass-times and customs of off-duty soldiers in Greek antiquity: the games, sports, and other activities that formed a key part of campaign life. We will also look at how ancient representations of ancient military leisure time have been adapted via animation by the Panoply Vase Animation Project. Panoply’s ancient historian will discuss some of the ideas that inform this type of ancient iconography and their transformation into modern animations.
Why did Greek hoplites decorate their armour? (Dr Cezary Kucewicz, University of Gdańsk / University of Cambridge)
Few images are more iconic of ancient Greece than the hoplite warrior, easily recognized by his round shield, plumed helmet, and bronze cuirass. Among the most familiar elements of a hoplite’s panoply was the shield blazon, which often displayed the first letter of the warrior’s polis (for example, L for the Lacedaemonians/Spartans). Less well known, however, is that other parts of the panoply were also adorned with often elaborate decorations. In this talk, I will discuss how and why Greek hoplites decorated their armour. Focusing particularly on the evidence of decorated shield-bands – catalogued in the recently launched Gdańsk Decorated Armour Database (www.dad.ug.edu.pl) – I will suggest that armour decorations provide us with a unique world of personal images and stories that hoplites carried with them into battle.
