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Parthenon Symposium: Music, Healing and Sacred Space in Classical Greece

Presented by The Parthenon at The Parthenon

January 24, 2012

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Music, Healing and Sacred Space in Classical Greece: A New Interpretation of the Thymele* of Epidauros – Dr. Peter Schultz, Concordia College

A mysterious, elaborate round building at the healing sanctuary of Asklepios near Epidauros has puzzled scholars since its excavation in the nineteenth century. Part of a massive building program begun around 380 BCE, this circular structure with a labyrinthine infrastructure below was known as the thymele* in ancient sources.

Interpretations over the years have ranged from the tomb of Asklepios to a framework for an altar, a library, an astronomical tool, a dining room—even a house for the god’s sacred snakes. In his lecture at the Parthenon on Tuesday, January 24th, Dr. Peter Schultz will offer another solution to this puzzling building. It is possible that, in addition to other functions, the thymele served as a space for musical performance and that the elaborate substructure served to amplify the sacred music and increase its resonance. This argument complements a growing body of scholarship on the acoustics of ancient structures, a field of study known as archaeoacoustics, and seeks to place the thymele at Epidauros within a dynamic living past.

Dr. Peter Schultz is the Olin J. Storvick Chair of Classical Studies at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He received his MA in Art History from Vanderbilt University and his PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Athens. He has published numerous books and articles, and among his various research interests are the social history of art; the topography of early Greece; the archaeology of death, ritual and cult; and the study of early, medieval and contemporary Greek dance, music, poetry and landscape.

The presentation will take place at the Parthenon at 7:00 p.m., with a reception following. Admission is free, but reservations are required (862-8431). The Parthenon Symposia are sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America and the Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park.

*pronounced thi meh’ li (soft th, as in thimble)