Photo by Tebben Gill Lopez/The Mirror
International representatives, faculty and students packed the Multimedia Room in the Dimenna – Nyselius Library on Monday to hear a guest lecture by Dr. Jenifer Neils, professor of art history at Case Western Reserve University.
Neils, an art historian, is currently collaborating with Dr. Katherine Schwab, professor of art history at Fairfield, on a project to recreate an important piece of art from Ancient Greece for publication and potential exhibition: the shield of Athena Parthenos.
The last time the shield was recreated by historians was during the 1940s. Neils said that the project is “in its beginning stages, but we have an idea.”
The Athena Parthenos was a great and extravagant gold and ivory statue depicting the ancient Greek goddess Athena. According to Neils, it is believed by historians that it once stood in the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, a building famous for its Ancient Greek architecture.
The shield was a central component to the statue as a whole. Neils explained that long ago the statue was deconstructed for the intrinsic value of its materials.
However, historians have small-scale copies of the statue, which were very crude compared to the original, said Neils. According to Neils, “for the shield of Athena Parthenos, we do have a lot more evidence because we have these Roman reliefs,” or art that depicts what the shield probably looked like.
“We know the scale, so we’re actually better off with the shield than we are with the whole statue,” said Neils.
The reconstruction of classical art is not normally a primary focus in Neils’ field of study. However, Neils strongly feels that “in the case of a monument that’s so important … we need to recreate it to understand much of later art.”
The lecture took place on Oxi Day, an important national holiday in Greece celebrating the nation’s refusal 73 years ago to allow Axis powers to occupy Greece during WWII.
Students resorted to sitting on the floor as the venue quickly exceeded capacity.
Senior Alexandra Havranek attended the lecture because it was required for her art history course with Dr. Schwab.
“I thought it was fascinating to be able to relate what I’m learning in class about ancient Greece to the work of a professor from another university,” stated Havranek.
“The lecture was co-sponsored by the Bellarmine Museum of Art, the Art History program, and the Classical Studies program,” said Dr. Marice Rose, associate professor and director of the art history program at Fairfield.
In attendance were many prominent figures, including Rev. Jeffery P. von Arx, S.J., president of Fairfield University, the Honorable Mr. Georgios Iliopoulos, Consul General of Greece to NYC, and his wife, Mrs. Anthoussa Diakopoulos-Iliopoulos, a historian of 19th century Greece, also attended the lecture.
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