Greetings All,
Is anyone planning on attending any of the following:
Persian Coinage Through The Ages Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Through January 30
Heroes and Kings of the Shahnama Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Through March 20 (There is also an exhibit planned for April in Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C., Shahnama: 1000 Years
Regards,
Sikander
Exhibits
Moderator: pothos moderators
Re: Exhibits
Hi Sikander - and thanks for breaking the January silence here at Pothos!sikander wrote:Greetings All,
Is anyone planning on attending any of the following:
Persian Coinage Through The Ages Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Through January 30
Heroes and Kings of the Shahnama Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Through March 20 (There is also an exhibit planned for April in Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C., Shahnama: 1000 Years
Regards,
Sikander
I didn't know about the Cambridge one - unfortuanately, despite my desire to go, I won't have a chance to get there before it closes. I definitely won't be able to get to Dublin before the end of March, although that sounds good, too!
HOWEVER ... English (in particular) Pothosians should remember / be aware that the "Treasures of Afghanistan" exhibition opens at the British Museum at the beginning of March. Some time in April there's the expo at the Ashmolean in Oxford on finds of Aegae. There's also an expo starting very soon at the Hermitage in Amsterdam, on depictions of Alexander from the Hermitage collection.
In addition, I'd like to add that the National Army Museum in London currently has an exhibition about the British in Afghanistan, 1842 to the present day. Not directly related to Alexander, of course, but in terms of lessons learned (or not learned) ...
Any more in the pipeline that people are aware of?
ATB
Re: Exhibits
Happy New Year people! 
Nothing nearly as exciting happening over here unfortunately. I get to go to this next month though -
"Oliver Stone’s 'Alexander': the Adaptation of History and Historical Adaptation
A public lecture by Professor Arthur J. Pomeroy, "Oliver Stone’s Alexander: the Adaptation of History and Historical Adaptation".
When Oliver Stone made his film of the life of Alexander the Great, he saw this as his masterpiece, the application of what of he had learned from making movies about modern political events and politicians to the life of the most charismatic European leader whose military achievements left a lasting mark on global history. However, the film, while not a box-office disaster, did only respectable business and Stone himself re-edited his footage twice in an attempt to make amends for ‘having failed Alexander’.
Explanations for Alexander’s lack of success abound: too many special interest groups felt they owned the subject for international success (Gideon Nisbet); Stone’s confused treatment of Alexander’s sexuality overshadowing the (politically shaky) tale of successful western imperialism (papers in Berti/Morcillo and Cartledge/Greenland); an excessive concern with the problems of the historical tradition (encapsulated in the film in the figure of Ptolemy) and an outdated, romantic slant underpinned by the film’s historical advisor, Robin Lane Fox.
Instead, I would like to situate Stone’s project within the traditions of Hollywood film-making, with particular regard to three forms of adaptation that have a profound effect on the film and indicate the difficulties in reconciling these: the cinematic tradition, represented by Robert Rossen’s Alexander the Great; the historical novel, represented by Mary Renault’s Alexander trilogy; the romantic ancient tradition whose standard-bearers are Plutarch (Life of Alexander) and Arrian.
Arthur J. Pomeroy
Arthur Pomeroy is a distinguished scholar and an award winning teacher. His publications include: Roman History: A Sourcebook (with T.G. Parkin, University of Manchester) Routledge 2007 and Then It Was Destroyed by the Volcano: Classics on the Large and Small Screen (Classics in cinema/film) Duckworth 2007."
Nothing nearly as exciting happening over here unfortunately. I get to go to this next month though - "Oliver Stone’s 'Alexander': the Adaptation of History and Historical Adaptation
A public lecture by Professor Arthur J. Pomeroy, "Oliver Stone’s Alexander: the Adaptation of History and Historical Adaptation".
When Oliver Stone made his film of the life of Alexander the Great, he saw this as his masterpiece, the application of what of he had learned from making movies about modern political events and politicians to the life of the most charismatic European leader whose military achievements left a lasting mark on global history. However, the film, while not a box-office disaster, did only respectable business and Stone himself re-edited his footage twice in an attempt to make amends for ‘having failed Alexander’.
Explanations for Alexander’s lack of success abound: too many special interest groups felt they owned the subject for international success (Gideon Nisbet); Stone’s confused treatment of Alexander’s sexuality overshadowing the (politically shaky) tale of successful western imperialism (papers in Berti/Morcillo and Cartledge/Greenland); an excessive concern with the problems of the historical tradition (encapsulated in the film in the figure of Ptolemy) and an outdated, romantic slant underpinned by the film’s historical advisor, Robin Lane Fox.
Instead, I would like to situate Stone’s project within the traditions of Hollywood film-making, with particular regard to three forms of adaptation that have a profound effect on the film and indicate the difficulties in reconciling these: the cinematic tradition, represented by Robert Rossen’s Alexander the Great; the historical novel, represented by Mary Renault’s Alexander trilogy; the romantic ancient tradition whose standard-bearers are Plutarch (Life of Alexander) and Arrian.
Arthur J. Pomeroy
Arthur Pomeroy is a distinguished scholar and an award winning teacher. His publications include: Roman History: A Sourcebook (with T.G. Parkin, University of Manchester) Routledge 2007 and Then It Was Destroyed by the Volcano: Classics on the Large and Small Screen (Classics in cinema/film) Duckworth 2007."