Material Culture(s) and the Second Sophistic

Workshop “Second Sophistic”, Graz, 18th-19th January 2024

Alice Landskron / Markus Hafner, University of Graz, Institute of Classics

MATERIAL CULTURE(S) AND THE SECOND SOPHISTIC (Programm)

Archaeological, epigraphical, and philological perspectives on urban and domestic space in the Imperial period

Sophistic representation and the performance of contemporary culture within the Roman Empire took place primarily in urban spaces. In addition to public places such as theatres, temples, gymnasia, fora and other meeting places, aristocratic houses could also serve as spaces of representation and performance of paideia. Especially public speech before an audience could be effectively celebrated in the architectural context of an urban environment. A great number of monuments and inscriptions testify to the special role of the sophists and their euergetism.

Materiality in the context of the Second Sophistic expresses itself particularly in the decorative design of urban spaces and buildings, including statues, sculptures or representations from myth and history,…