The Demise of Democracy? Lessons from Ancient Athens

About the Lecture:

"Our democracy is getting self-destroyed, for it abused the rights of freedom and of equality; for it taught the citizens to regard insolence as a right, illegality as freedom, impertinence as equality, and anarchy as happiness." Isocrates, Athenian orator (436-338 BC)
Democracy first emerged in ancient Athens in 507 BC following a long turbulent period of aristocracy and tyranny, when a nexus of intertwined geopolitical, sociopolitical, economic, and cultural developments led to the morphogenesis of this new political constitution. Athenian Democracy formulated the political ideology and fundamental principles that were later canonized by modern democracies, formalized defensive mechanisms against undue concentration of power and employed innovative integrative mechanisms to propagate its ideology and educate the citizens. Pathogenic traits-catalysts, however, such as the extreme polarization between mass and elite, demagogy, populism, failure of justice, apathy, and poor education caused extensive political ankylosis. Internal corrosion and changing historical conditions caused the decline and fall of Democracy three centuries later.Isocrates’ aphorism, therefore, rings alarmingly all too pragmatic and relevant today, 250 years since the resurgence of Democracy in the modern era. Are we running a similar cycle, repeating old mistakes, standing at the same juncture, heading towards the same dead end? To navigate forward, find solutions, and shape our future, we need first to study our past.

About the Speaker:

With over 35 years of experience in archaeology, teaching, and administration, Prof. Christofilis Maggidis is a faculty member at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C., President of the Mycenaean Foundation, and Field Director of Excavations at Mycenae and Lamia.

Throughout his career, Prof. Maggidis has combined academic leadership with a commitment to innovative teaching and interdisciplinary research. Having immersed himself in the American higher education system for over three decades, he is deeply committed to its values. Maggidis earned the BA at the University of Athens, the Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed postdoctoral research at Brown University.

Prof. Maggidis taught at Campus College and the University of Indianapolis, Athens, Greece, held the distinguished Christopher Roberts Chair in Archaeology at Dickinson College for two decades, and was recently appointed at the Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C. where he teaches at graduate level and directs "Hermes," the Institute's study abroad program in Greece. Prof. Maggidis has taught nearly 3,000 students, developed 70 courses, and mentored 200 undergraduate and graduate students. His teaching spans the ancient Mediterranean (Aegean, Greek, Roman), Anatolia and the Near East, covering topics such as archaeology, art, architecture, anthropology, religion, politics, society and economy, warfare, technology, urbanization, environment, cultural heritage, archaeological theory, digital applications in archaeology, archaeological science. His ‘poly-dimensional’ holistic pedagogy conglomerates mutually complementing educational, research, and experiential components to engage the students, promote interactive learning experiences, encourage synergy and interdisciplinary exploration, link theory with ‘hands-on’ practical training, and develop critical ability and original thinking. To this effect, Maggidis has pioneered interactive, hands-on learning environments, including archaeology labs and unique life-size dig simulators.

His research focuses on Minoan and Mycenaean archaeology, Classical Greek art and architecture, and archaeological methodology. With 40 years of field experience, Prof. Maggidis has led excavations at prominent sites in Greece, including Mycenae, Glas, and the Spercheios Valley, making significant discoveries and directing acclaimed field schools that trained over 450 students from 44 universities worldwide. Maggidis has secured substantial external and institutional funding for his research and fieldwork ($2.8 million), and his findings have been widely disseminated in scholarly publications and international media. His scholarly publications comprise 26 articles, numerous field reports, one book submitted for publication (The Lower Town of Mycenae I: Archaeogeophysical Survey 2003-2013) and three forthcoming books (near completion or in working progress). Furthermore, Prof. Maggidis has presented 45 international conference papers and delivered 41 invited lectures at prestigious universities and institutes worldwide.

In addition to his academic and research expertise, Prof. Maggidis brings extensive administrative experience, having served as department chair, lab director, study abroad program director, secretary of the faculty, parliamentarian, member of several all-college committees, institutional advancement and public archaeology representative, among other roles. At Dickinson, he created and chaired the Department of Archaeology, designed the archaeology academic curriculum, directed study abroad programs, and led the department from inception to success. As President of the Mycenaean Foundation, Prof. Maggidis led successful fundraising initiatives, oversaw the renovation of key facilities, established the Melathron Center for Archaeology at Mycenae, organized and directed summer study abroad programs in synergy with prestigious colleges and universities.

Please Note:

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