The Future of Palmyra in the Digital Age
Saturday, February 2, 2019, 2pm–4:30pm
Protecting Palmyra’s cultural heritage in the wake of deliberate destruction and preserving its remains are daunting challenges. Can 3-D printing and virtual reality help reconnect us to its history and bring back what was lost? Discover how artists, researchers, and technologists are seeking to build a “new” Palmyra and grappling with issues of aesthetics, authenticity, and ethics. This program complements the exhibition Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance on view through May 27.
Participants include Alexy Karenowska, director of technology at the Institute for Digital Archaeology at Oxford University, United Kingdom; Amr Al-Azm, professor of Middle East history and anthropology at Shawnee State University, Ohio; Elly Harrowell, research associate at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, United Kingdom; and Erich Hatala Matthes, assistant professor of philosophy a Wellesley College, Massachusetts.
Bacchus Uncorked: Love, Loss, and Libations
Saturdays, February 9 and 16, 2019, 4–7pm
Celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day exploring love, art, and wine at the Getty Villa. Start with a gallery tour highlighting famous lovers from classical mythology and the gods and mortals whose passions took them to Hades’s realm. Then join wine educator and sommelier Giammario Villa to sip and learn about wines from volcanic regions of Southern Italy, considered entry points to the Underworld. Tickets are $75 and includes complimentary parking. Must be 21 years of age or older.
This program complements the exhibition Underworld: Imagining the Afterlife on view through March 18.
Imagining the Underworld: Life after Death in Ancient Greek Religion
Sunday, February 10, 2019, 3pm
Ancient Greeks often imagined the souls of the dead leaving the body for another existence. Where did they think the dead were going, and what awaited them? Classicist Radcliffe Edmonds explores myth, art, and texts to reveal diverse and sometimes conflicting Greek ideas about life after death. An expert in Greek mythology, religion, and magic, Edmonds presents aspects of this continued existence, from punishment and reward in a physical underworld to a grander cosmic connection between mortals and immortals.
This program complements the exhibition Underworld: Imagining the Afterlife on view through March 18.
Beyond Death: Visualizing the Afterlife in the Ancient and Early Modern World
Sunday, February 17, 2019, 1–4pm
Throughout history, the prospect of death has inspired diverse beliefs about what is to come. Ideas about the next world and moral judgement have provoked creative visions from artists around the globe. Learn from experts about the ways the afterlife has been imagined in a variety of cultures and religions, from depictions of eternal suffering to blissful ideals of paradise.
This program complements the exhibition Underworld: Imagining the Afterlife on view through March 18.
Silk, Spices, and Silver: Palmyra and the Ancient Luxury Trade
Wednesday, February 20, 2019, 7:30pm
The people of ancient Palmyra in Syria became wealthy through luxury trade to the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean world, and the remotest parts of China. In the first centuries of our era, merchants transporting silk, pearls, gemstones, and other precious items crossed the desert from east to west through this thriving commercial hub. Hear from Roman archaeologist Katia Schörle about this famed caravan city and how the convergence of trade and social networks made it one of the most prosperous cities of the ancient world.
This program complements the exhibition Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance, on view through May 27.