March 9, 2022
Nessun dorma! Ancient Greece between Dusk and Dawn
Angelos Chaniotis
Professor of Ancient History, Institute for Advanced Study
Henry Von Kohorn, Introducer, and Angelos Chaniotis
Minutes of the 23rd Meeting of the 80th Year
Vice President John Cotton presided at the meeting, with 130 viewers in attendance. Costa Papastephanou, guest of Ralph Widner has applied for membership. The minutes for the previous meeting were read by Bernie Miller.
Henry Von Kohorn introduced Angelos Chaniotis, professor of ancient history at the Institute for Advanced Study. His topic was “Nessun Dorma! Ancient Greece Between Dusk and Dawn.” Nessun Dorma, or none shall sleep, is a reference to the powerful Puccini aria and speaks to the professor’s investigation of the evolution and human social colonization of the night from the time of Alexander the Great, mid 400s BCE, to 400 CE in late Greek antiquity.
Two paintings inspired by Greek mythology were used to define the night as the period between the last light of sunset and the first light of sunrise. One painting was a static snapshot; the other, a depiction of motion; both paintings contained oppositions:
The paintings also epitomized some of the salient issues addressed in the talk:
A core issue in analysis is that the movement of time is circular, day to night, and the advance of history is viewed as linear.
Night can be seen as a cultural phenomenon; historically, studies look at day activities: politics, battles, art and theater, religion, gymnasium activities.
All these daytime activities experienced expansion in participation requiring hostels for sleep and banquets for food; even healing places required incubation halls such as the abaton in Epidarus. The main requirement for understanding the night is that, as a cultural phenomenon, it is subject to change. Separate experience of nocturnal activity depends on species, age, gender, and social position. The example used was that of a banquet experienced differently by the guests, the host, the slaves, and the entertainers.
The invention of the glass lamp in the 4th century CE changed night life on a scale similar to the advent of electricity in more contemporary history.
To demonstrate the contrast of night perception and a continually changing reality, a favorite Cole Porter song was drafted, “Night and Day,” (the Ella Fitzgerald version) to enhance the expression of desire by perhaps more than half.
A series of slides showing Greek mythological and societal activities was shown on various amphora to demonstrate how Greeks depicted night with the limited tools of antiquity:
From the mid 4th century BCE onward, nocturnal activities increased, becoming mainly religious. Free time activities, such as baths, gymnasia, and private and public dinners, rapidly grew into nocturnal space.
These activities required that safety be addressed in a more systematic way. Law in the 4th century CE provided more severe punishment for similar crimes committed at night. Another factor needing security was the social phenomenon of clubs, at first private and, by extension, public clubs, which supplied togetherness in large cities. Membership was often opened to the lower social strata. This created an opportunity for wealthy benefactors to ingratiate themselves with the potential constituents by hosting nocturnal events.
Finally, we find for the first time a literature specifically connected to the night; the interpretation of dreams and formulas for inducing preferred dreams were popular. Handbooks on the challenges of night sieges and tactics took advantages offered by the dark. The late 4th century BCE showed a marked increase in night activity from festivals, and even the practice of magic became a popular nocturnal event.
The increased number of night events brought even more focus on the issues of security, trade, and improvements in technology for measuring time and artificial illumination to observe the stars. Water-powered clocks appeared; however, artificial light improvement dwarfed other improvements with elaborate lamps and lanterns. Street lighting in urban areas like Antioch occurred in late antiquity, and there is earlier evidence of torches used to light shops, houses, and baths. In the first century BCE torch-lit streets in urban areas are of historical record.
In his True History, Lucian narrates a visit to Lychnopolis, a city inhabited only by lamps, documenting the importance of light’s possibility in the 2nd century C.E. A contemporary comparison would be a city inhabited by smartphones. The talk ended with the question, “Do we have nightlife because of technology, or do we have technology in order to expand the colonization of activity beyond sunset?”
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Coghan
Henry Von Kohorn introduced Angelos Chaniotis, professor of ancient history at the Institute for Advanced Study. His topic was “Nessun Dorma! Ancient Greece Between Dusk and Dawn.” Nessun Dorma, or none shall sleep, is a reference to the powerful Puccini aria and speaks to the professor’s investigation of the evolution and human social colonization of the night from the time of Alexander the Great, mid 400s BCE, to 400 CE in late Greek antiquity.
Two paintings inspired by Greek mythology were used to define the night as the period between the last light of sunset and the first light of sunrise. One painting was a static snapshot; the other, a depiction of motion; both paintings contained oppositions:
- Dark and light
- Calm and restraint
- Inertia and erotic desire.
The paintings also epitomized some of the salient issues addressed in the talk:
- Perception and reality of the night
- Sleep and dreams
- Erotic desire and anxiety
- The importance of light and the function of darkness as an enhancer of emotions.
A core issue in analysis is that the movement of time is circular, day to night, and the advance of history is viewed as linear.
Night can be seen as a cultural phenomenon; historically, studies look at day activities: politics, battles, art and theater, religion, gymnasium activities.
All these daytime activities experienced expansion in participation requiring hostels for sleep and banquets for food; even healing places required incubation halls such as the abaton in Epidarus. The main requirement for understanding the night is that, as a cultural phenomenon, it is subject to change. Separate experience of nocturnal activity depends on species, age, gender, and social position. The example used was that of a banquet experienced differently by the guests, the host, the slaves, and the entertainers.
The invention of the glass lamp in the 4th century CE changed night life on a scale similar to the advent of electricity in more contemporary history.
To demonstrate the contrast of night perception and a continually changing reality, a favorite Cole Porter song was drafted, “Night and Day,” (the Ella Fitzgerald version) to enhance the expression of desire by perhaps more than half.
A series of slides showing Greek mythological and societal activities was shown on various amphora to demonstrate how Greeks depicted night with the limited tools of antiquity:
- Torches
- Someone holding a lamp
- Scenes with reclining symposiasts and or banquet participants
- Satyrs approaching sleeping nymphs
- Mythological scenes of the sacking of Troy assumed a knowledge of the narrative by symposia that these scenes occurred at night.
From the mid 4th century BCE onward, nocturnal activities increased, becoming mainly religious. Free time activities, such as baths, gymnasia, and private and public dinners, rapidly grew into nocturnal space.
These activities required that safety be addressed in a more systematic way. Law in the 4th century CE provided more severe punishment for similar crimes committed at night. Another factor needing security was the social phenomenon of clubs, at first private and, by extension, public clubs, which supplied togetherness in large cities. Membership was often opened to the lower social strata. This created an opportunity for wealthy benefactors to ingratiate themselves with the potential constituents by hosting nocturnal events.
Finally, we find for the first time a literature specifically connected to the night; the interpretation of dreams and formulas for inducing preferred dreams were popular. Handbooks on the challenges of night sieges and tactics took advantages offered by the dark. The late 4th century BCE showed a marked increase in night activity from festivals, and even the practice of magic became a popular nocturnal event.
The increased number of night events brought even more focus on the issues of security, trade, and improvements in technology for measuring time and artificial illumination to observe the stars. Water-powered clocks appeared; however, artificial light improvement dwarfed other improvements with elaborate lamps and lanterns. Street lighting in urban areas like Antioch occurred in late antiquity, and there is earlier evidence of torches used to light shops, houses, and baths. In the first century BCE torch-lit streets in urban areas are of historical record.
In his True History, Lucian narrates a visit to Lychnopolis, a city inhabited only by lamps, documenting the importance of light’s possibility in the 2nd century C.E. A contemporary comparison would be a city inhabited by smartphones. The talk ended with the question, “Do we have nightlife because of technology, or do we have technology in order to expand the colonization of activity beyond sunset?”
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Coghan