Making sense of the seascape: elements of cognitive mapping in the ancient Greek literary tradition

Activity: Lecture / PresentationAcademic

Description

The point of departure of my lecture is that the sea is a knowable, textured place that through senses, observations, skill and mythology can be described and mapped. As shown by anthropological research, stories and myths are crucial to give meaning to and make sense of the seascape. This type of information forms keystones in building narrative maps that could be passed on verbally to seafarers, including those who had not visited the area before. In my lecture I intend to show that ancient Greek stories and myth connected to seas and coasts contained spatial information and elements of cognitive mapping that could potentially have served practical purposes when it comes to spatial orientation and wayfinding across the seascape.
Period21 Apr 2017
Event titleThalassotopies: La mer vue de la terre, la terre vue de la mer dans l’Antiquité
Event typeConference
LocationParis , FranceShow on map