Dr. Carolina López-Ruiz (Chicago) to speak on “Phoenician Religious Iconography and Its Adaptations: Resilience and Innovation in Ancient Mediterranean Religions”

Abstract: What are some of the challenges and rewards of interpreting Phoenician art and iconography in the context of cultural contact? Through two concrete case studies, this talk will illustrate the difficulties in teasing out Phoenician art from the “Orientalizing" adaptations of it made by local groups. We will also appreciate the resilience of symbolic meanings and modes of cultural contact captured in artistic expression.

Dr. Carolina López-Ruiz is Professor of the History of Religions, Comparative Mythology and the Ancient Mediterranean World at The University of Chicago.

The lecture will be held in person in 102 Weaver.