Second Group – Analytical Symposium of Ancient Dodona
“Connecting Ancient Greek with Psychoanalytic and Group-Analytic Thinking: Unconscious Group Dynamics in Antiquity and Today“
7 & 8 September, Ancient Dodoni
8th Announcement
The Municipality of Dodoni, the Institute of Group Analysis “S.H. Foulkes” (I.O.A.F. – member EGATIN) and the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Dodoni, in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina , organize the 2nd Interdisciplinary Symposium of Ancient Dodoni on the theme: “Connecting Ancient Greek with Psychoanalytic and Group – Analytic thinking. Unconscious Group Dynamics in Antiquity and Today“, which will take place in Dodoni on September 7 & 8, 2019.
Starting from the complex role of the sanctuary of Dodoni during Greek antiquity, the Symposium aims to explore the connections between Ancient Greek and Psychoanalytic and Group-Analytic thinking, focusing on the unconscious group dynamics in Antiquity and today.
Group-analytic thinking based on a holistic perception of things, condensing past, present and future, can potentially contribute to new conceptualizations, as well as to the emergence of new perspectives for approaching our ancient heritage and highlighting its value, in the global realm.
Founding member of IOAF, Nikos Lamnidis, introduces us to the spirit of the conference as follows:
“Unconscious group dynamics were formed under a series of anthropological conditions, social, relational and cognitive, culminating in the incipient development of what social epistemology calls epistemic trust.
We possess epistemic faith (in the “trade faith” sense), either as a society or as members of it, when we can somehow accept that, in the end, every matter is decided by the epistemologists (Wittgenstein). Epistemic faith (like basic trust, Erickson), inscribes itself in the fundamental (group) matrix (foundation matrix, Foulkes) when human societies are in some equilibrium, dialogue and impersonal fellowship (impersonal fellowship, Pat de Mare).
The development of epistemic faith in turn leads to the enhancement of social (societal) and societal communication and trust and thus makes human psyches more available to processes of introspection (Ferenczi), internalization and identification (Freud). This epigenetic series of preconditions (…> social + cognitive + relational > epistemic belief > communication + trust > intrusions, internalizations, identifications >…) ultimately results in the further development of en-cognition (Fonagy), unconscious representations (Klein) and formations (Elias) in people’s individual and social unconscious. The evolution of the culture of societies (Elias) proceeds in parallel with the degree of capacity for internalization, en-intellectualization and symbolization.
The Symposium will attempt to focus on similar and different forms of unconscious group dynamics and processes in Greek Antiquity and the present day. For example, what were the relationships between teachers and students like then and now? Parental prohibitions? Fears of wars and (natural) disasters or death? What was and is the significance of holidays and festivals? How did or do collective experiences function in religion, theatre, political life?
We could focus our interest on questions about the transmission of tradition and knowledge, and thus also on the (unconscious) transmission from generation to generation of unspeakable and traumatic elements (Hopper), which in the final analysis are none other than the central contents of the unconscious, individual and social.*”
The venue of the Symposium will be the Archaeological Site of Ancient Dodona and the nearby hotel “Prytaneion”.
The programme includes:
- Short presentations by Group Analysts, Archaeologists and Historians, which will be concluded through dialogue with the audience.
- Groups (Small and Large) of experiential participation and discussion.
The Symposium is open to the interested public. We note that it will be more creative for participants to take part in all the activities of the Symposium, which are, after all, interrelated.
The Groups (small and large) will give participants the opportunity to explore and connect experiential experiences with thoughts and knowledge on issues that have been and are of deep concern to human existence.
According to the philosophy of Group Analysis, the contribution of the audience to the discussion, both on the occasion of the presentations and within the Groups, is considered of equal importance to the prepared speeches.
It is necessary to submit a registration form, as places are limited.
The scientific papers of the Symposium will interact with artistic events (music, poetry, etc.).
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE :
- Yiotakis, K. Miliou, M. Britsa, K. Kostantopoulos, A. Gartziou-Tatti, M. Yiotakis, H. Bika, A. Pappa, M. Sratsiani.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE :
- Tzavaras, A. Gartziou-Tatti, F. Yiotakis, E. Kotzampopoulou, K. Kostantopoulos, N. Lamnidis, L. Teliani
SCIENTIFIC SECRETARIAT :
- Miliou, M. Barca, A. Vassiliou
SYMPOSIUM COORDINATOR :
Fotis Yiotakis, Psychiatrist PhD, Psychoanalyst Group, Ioannina
SYMPOSIUM CO-COORDINATOR :
Martina Britsa, Psychiatrist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and Group Analyst, Arta
CO-ORGANIZERS :
Municipality of Dodoni, Christos Dakaletsis, Mayor
Institute of Group Analysis “S.H.Foulkes”, Athens
Cultural Center of the Municipality of Dodoni
* We thank the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina and its head, Dr. Konstantinos Soueref, Archaeologist, for the concession of the Archaeological Site of Dodoni.
** We would like to thank George Polyzos who gave us the ancient Greek “Barbito” musical instrument that he made himself, for the needs of music creation and performance.
TOPICS OF PRESENTATIONS
Presentations of Psychoanalysts and Group Analysts
Guest of Honour: Nikos Tzavaras, Professor of Psychiatry, Teaching Analyst of the E.P.S., the German Psychoanalytic Association (DPV) and the IPA, and former President of the Hellenic Psychiatric Society, Athens.
Lecture: ‘Collective phenomena in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus on Colonus’, Nikos Tzavaras
- “The Intergenerational Psychological Trauma as a Grudge Pain in Group Analysis”, Fotis Yiotakis, Psychiatrist PhD, Psychoanalyst of IOAF-EGATIN-GASI Group
- “Reflections on the ontogeny of group analysis. A historical review”, Kostas Konstantopoulos, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist, IOAF Group Analyst.
- “Is there a (Dynamic) Unconscious in Antiquity?”, Nikos Lamnidis, Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst teaching at EPSE-iPA, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI, founding member and former president of IOAF, founder and editor of the journal Oedipus, Fellow of the College of Researchers of the IPA
- “Anti-group – Aggression within groups and its creative potential from antiquity to the present day”, Martina Britsa, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI
- “Group Supervision and the Municipal Church. The preservation of hope and the perpetual dialectic of conscious and unconscious in the myth of Sisyphus”, Katerina Miliou, Clinical Psychologist MSc, Psychotherapist of psychoanalytic direction, Parent Group Consultant, Author. Sophia Maria Moraitou, Sociologist, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN, Regular member of the Group Analytic Society (International), Supervisor and associate member of the Institute of Group Analysis, London.
- “A group analytic approach to community”, Amalia Stamataki, Psychiatrist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI, Group Supervisor.
- “The group as a framework for the treatment of mental illnesses in antiquity and today”, Lena Teliani, Clinical Psychologist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI and Psychoanalyst
- “Large Group: Dialogue and impersonal companionship” Athena Tsukali, Psychologist and Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI
Presentations by Archaeologists and Historians
Lecture. Fotis Yiotakis, Psychiatrist PhD, Group Psychoanalyst
- “The expression of collectivity through burial customs in antiquity” Eleni D. Vassiliou, Archaeologist (MA, PhD), Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina
- “Education and social integration of young people in Ancient Greece” Georgios Georgoulas, Archaeologist, Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina.
- “Collectivity and Freudian intuitive dualism in the Dionysian cult: Interpretive Approaches”, Marios Yiotakis, Archaeologist, Museologist (MA), student of Psychology (BSc)
- “The group dance in Ancient Greece”, Ariadne Gartziou-Tatti, Professor Emeritus, University of Ioannina, Greece
- “Aspects of group performance in Aeschylus’ Oresteia: Theatrical Conventions and Deviations”, Eleni Gasti, Associate Professor of the Department of Philology, University of Ioannina, Greece
- “We are condemned to eat – together. Eleni Kotzampopoulou, Archaeologist, MPhil, PhD, Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina, University of Thessaloniki, University of Ioannina, Greece, Professor of History, University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaloniki, University of Ioannina.
- “Seeking treatment in the Ancient Asclepias”, Eleni K. Skalisti, Archaeologist, Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina, PhD, MPhilos, MPH, PhD, PhD, Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina
- Abstracts of Presentations by Psychoanalysts and Group Analysts
Collective phenomena in Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus on Colonus by Sophocles
Nikos Tzavaras, Professor of Psychiatry, Teaching Analyst of the H.P.S.E., the German Psychoanalytic Association (DPV) and the IPA and former President of the Hellenic Psychiatric Society, Athens.
Oedipus remains, as presented in Sophocles’ two tragedies, a figure of constant reference in Psychoanalytic Thought that seeks to exploit the inexhaustible resonances of dramatic material in the human psyche. One of the characteristics that emerge in the two classic plays is Oedipus’ relationship with human groups, with the masses of citizens who surround him, turning to his redemptive abilities or commenting as Chorus on his evolving fate. The King of Thebes, patricidal and incestuous, does not always seem to understand the hermeneutics dictated by the dialogue with collective presences as he regresses, regresses, to the inevitable tracing of his individual past. Thus is noted his distraction from his obligations to the City and his neurotic slip into the vortex of his horrific, subjective past.
The Intergenerational Psychic Trauma as Grudge Pain* in Group Analysis
Fotis D. Yiotakis, PsychiatristPhD, Psychoanalyst, IOAF-EGATIN-GASI Group
In this paper, theoretical approaches concerning Intergenerational Trauma (I.T.), as an unprocessed and unresolved Grief, are initially reviewed.I.T. is associated with traumatogenic situations that occur on an individual (painful, violent or morally reprehensible events, etc.) or collective (crises, wars, genocides, etc.) level, and cause strong psychosomatic arousal. The subsequent memories and the emerging feelings of fear, shame and guilt remain disconnected and unintelligible, as foreign bodies, within the psyche and seriously disturb the pleasure-displeasure dichotomy.
In the following, views related to the intergenerational transfer of trauma from ancestors (perpetrators or victims) to third-generation descendants, through unconscious identifications, are explored, as well as to the intergenerational trauma object, which may involve ancestors, events or fantasies. The fundamental and dynamic matrix of the Foulkes group is also studied as a therapeutic framework for healing traumatic experiences. It is emphasized that the severity of trauma mobilizes the primal defense mechanisms of dichotomy and denial and violates the individual’s capacity for trust and symbolization.
Illustrative cases of therapists in Group Analytic Psychotherapy are cited whose Trauma, and the resulting distress and suffering, are not obviously linked to events in their own lives and their generation. It is observed, however, that the “there and then” concerning catastrophic experiences of their previous generations, is revived in the “here and now” of group communication and interaction, and through the specific group therapeutic factors, the transitive and countertransitive phenomena and interpretations, is symbolized by making meaning within the Group.
In particular, it is pointed out that mass, historical socio-economic intense crises, from Greek antiquity to the present day, are associated with collective I.T., which may have been unconsciously transmitted to subsequent generations, have been encapsulated in collective memory and potentially, may be selectively activated as dysfunctional identity elements.
Finally, it is concluded that the verbalization and expression of Grief, either through therapeutic processes,or through cultural commemorative events, contributes to the connection and awareness of experiences and potentially helps to stop the intergenerational transmission of Trauma and avoid the repetition of violence.
*Aeschylus, Agamemnon : (179-180): Dwells in my sleep before my heart / a pain of revenge
Seferis G., Last Station, Poems, Ikaros (19th edition), Athens 1998, p. 215
Reflections on the ontogeny of group analysis. A historical review
Kostas Konstantopoulos, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist, IOAF Group Analyst
Through the presentation of the precursor phase of Group Psychotherapy, as it appears in the early 20th century and subsequently in the work of S.H. Foulkes, founder and pioneer of Group Analysis, we will highlight his influences from Freudian Psychoanalysis and social theories, as well as the subsequent course and development of Group Analysis. We will also attempt to discuss the analogies between Hesiod’s myths and the creation and development of Group Analysis.
The Unconscious (Dynamic) Processes in the Ancient Greeks
Nikos Lamnidis, Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst, IPA, Group Analyst IOAF- EGATIN-GASI, founding member and former president of IOAF, founder and editor of the journal Oedipus, Fellow of the IPA College of Researchers
Based on selected passages from tragic texts, the presence of unconscious (dynamic) processes in ancient Greek thought will be shown. It will also be pointed out that the above hypothesis is valid only under certain social and societal conditions, which ensure the minimum necessary level of epistemic trust and stability in social and (therefore) personal relationships.
Anti-group – In-group aggression and its creative potential from antiquity to the present day.
Martina Britsa, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI
The term anti-group refers to the destructive forces that develop in group entities in general and in analytic therapeutic groups in particular -because of their specific characteristics. These negative forces threaten the coherence, integrity and therapeutic development of groups. The aggression that emerges in these deconstructive group dynamics stems from interactions of individuals, subgroups, or the group as a whole.Aggressive dynamics and their perpetual conflict with creativity have been recognized in collectives since ancient times. In sources of ancient Greek literature they are depicted through Violence and Kratos (power) personifying the maximum of the forces used by Zeus to punish Prometheus. The symbolism of the destructive will of the State as opposed to the Promethean will for evolution, as well as the good and evil Eris of Hesiod with the corresponding symbolisms of Discord and Labor, are dynamics that are also observed in group analytic therapy whose goal is the early recognition and proper management of these dynamics in order to promote therapeutic work.
Group supervision and church of the municipality. The preservation of hope and the perpetual dialectic of conscious and unconscious in the myth of Sisyphus
Katerina Miliou, Clinical Psychologist MSc, Psychotherapist with a psychoanalytic orientation, Parenting Group Consultant, Author.
Sophia Maria Moraitou, Sociologist, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN, Regular member of the Group Analytic Society (International), Supervisor and associate member of the Institute of Group Analysis, London.
What might a modern Supervision Group have in common with the ancient City Church? What are those processes of the psyche that are possible in a perpetual dialectic to sink into the darknesses of the unconscious and be drawn back into consciousness to “serve” the group – public and individual good, the healing of man’s ills? Like dreams as “the royal road to the unconscious”, myths, like that of Sisyphus, can provide us with tools, above all thinking tools, to continue to draw psychic material from the unconscious to the conscious, to resolve our conflicts and passions, and to maintain hope. Particularly in times of crisis, when the balance of the forces of life is disturbed with destructive forces and death in favour of the latter, the individual within the group-collective effort, or the group-collective within the individual effort, in favour of life, even when it may seem absurd in part, can never be in vain.
Thoughts and associations will be presented in the light of psychoanalytic, group-analytic and philosophical considerations, especially those of Foulkes, Winnicott, Klein, Potamianos and Camus, with the desire to generate new thoughts and dialectical discussion.
A group-analytic approach to community
Amalia Stamataki, Psychiatrist, IOAF-EGATIN-GASI Group Analyst, Group Supervisor
In this paper we will refer to the peculiar manifestations of Greekcommunalism, as it developed as a collective way of life from antiquity to modern times. After a brief reference to philosophical and sociological approaches to the concept of community, we will focus on the investigation of the psychological constitution of this collective traditional form in the Greek space over time. In an attempt to understand it in group-analytical terms, we will refer in detail to the concept of the Matrix, to solidarity “from below” and to those conditions that determine the communal physiognomy.
The group as a framework for the treatment of mental illness in antiquity and today
Lena Teliani, Clinical Psychologist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI, Psychoanalyst
The idea that the group is therapeutic has been known for a long time, long before psychoanalysis and psychotherapy recognized it as such. We see it in certain rites of Dionysian worship, as represented in Euripides’ Bacchae and in ritual dances of other societies.
It will be attempted to explore the psychological roots of these rituals and possible connections with Freud’s observations on mass phenomena as they manifest themselves in mobs and crowds.
Finally, Foulkes’ group-analytic approach will be briefly described, according to which the group is recognized as a peculiar psychic entity and, by extension, as a space for processing and transforming the psychic reality of the subjects that compose it.
Large Group: Dialogue and impersonal companionship
Athena Tsoukali, Psychologist, Group Analyst IOAF-EGATIN-GASI
This presentation will focus on the large group theory of the innovative group analyst Patrick de Mare (1991). The large group is a transitional space for leaving the family and entering the community, society: it acquires a different range of meanings with cultural context as a central theme. The means of communication is the group dialogue with the aim of shared knowledge. By the term society de Mare refers to the exercise of a cultural process, which constitutes the radical transformation of the hatred caused by the frustration of close interpersonal relationships and the “narcissism of small differences” as he calls the reduced interest in the other’s point of view (Bhurruth. M. 2019). The large group constitutes an appropriate context for achieving a culture of impersonal companionship and responsible citizenship. De Mare inspired the concept of impersonal companionship, from the Athenian democracy and the right of participation, which was given to the Athenian citizens, in the City Church. In contrast, Platonic dialogues took place in symposia between two to eight people (de Mare 1991). The difference between the mass gathering in ancient Athens and the large analytical group is in terms of context, subject matter and voting rights. Analogies are also noted between the mass assemblies at the Pnyx and the theatrical performances in the ancient theatre of Dionysus with its dense citizen participation (Baldry, H.C. 1971).
Abstracts of Papers by Archaeologists and Historians
Group communication in the Oracle of Dodona
Ariadne Gartziou-Tattis, Professor Emeritus, University of Ioannina
Fotios D. Yiotakis, Psychiatrist PhD, Psychoanalyst of IOAF-EGATIN-GASI Group
The Oracle of Dodona, as a Panhellenic sanctuary with a cult and political role, was a pole of attraction for pilgrims throughout Greek antiquity. The questioners, both individuals and representatives of cities, communities and nationalities, asked questions on issues concerning, among other things, the whole community or the house, such as justice, war, economy, the granting of political privileges, etc., while Zeus, alone or in cooperation with Dione and the other prudent deities, was the recipient of their requests. In the service of the sanctuary and its visitors were the hypophytes, the promontories, the priestesses and officials such as the dietitians and the hieromnemon, while from the foundation of the Commons onwards the presence of the creators and protectors was also noticeable. Indicative examples of this complex group communication will shed more light on certain aspects of the functioning of this illustrious oracle.
The expression of collectivity through burial practices in ancient Epirus
Eleni Vassiliou, Archaeologist (PhD), Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina
The image we recognize in burial practices is not a faithful reflection of social organization. The burial process is an active field of action, where social relations are formed and redefined. Through burial practices, the individual identity of the deceased is projected and at the same time the unity, rallying and self-sufficiency of the living community is determined.
The present communication seeks, through the burial practices that were applied in Epirus at the end of the Bronze Age, the way of expressing the collective identity of the social groups of that period.
Education and social integration of young people in ancient Greece.
Georgios Georgoulas, Archaeologist, Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina.
In the process that determined the young person’s path to adulthood, Greek antiquity had devised a complex system of rituals and social practices that regulated the integration of boys and girls into social life.
By presenting evidence from the best-studied regions of Greece, such as Athens and Sparta, as well as lesser known ones such as Macedonia, the paper will attempt to approach the issue through the prism of the effort of ancient Greek societies to organize the pre-adolescent period of their members on the basis of a common effort of optimal socialization and group integration.
Collectivity and intuitive Freudian dualism in Dionysian worship: Interpretive approaches
Marios Yiotakis, Archaeologist, Museologist (MA), Student of Psychology (BSc)
The aim of this paper is to explore the symbolic dualism and collectivity in representations of the Dionysian cycle over time, as it was reflected in the art of Greek antiquity and influenced Byzantine and Renaissance art, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis. The Dionysian cult as a “collective phenomenon” is strongly evident in the festivals in honour of Dionysus, which are accompanied by group processions and dramatic games (Anthesteria, Lenaea, Small and Great Dionysia), as well as from the iconography of Dionysus, who is represented with an escort (Maenads, Silenes, Satyrs) in symposium vessels, vases, frescoes and mosaics.
The events, myths and artefacts associated with the ‘Bacchic theme’ are manifestations of the human psyche (Eros and Death), based on the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Jung. In the “sanctuary” of the Dionysian mysteries, intoxication alters the state of consciousness and creates euphoria, the mind deifies and appeases the physical element, mourning is transmuted into art through the use of rituals to heal the trauma of loss, and existential fears are externalized through ancient drama.
The group character of ancient Greek dance
Ariadne Gartziou-Tattis, Professor Emeritus, University of Ioannina, Greece
Homer’s masterful description of the dance of the youth and virgins in the poetic representation of Achilles’ shield(Iliad S 590 c.), highlights the special significance of the group dance that unfolds before the whole community. From the Minoan to the late Hellenistic period, the rich and complex field of chorea, the main expression of the social cohesion of the ancient Greeks, is illustrated by dances of armour, mythical, wedding, symposia, menadic, eulogy, etc. In my paper I will try to present some indicative examples that will allow us to delve deeper into the therapeutic processes related to both the participants and the spectators of this group phenomenon.
Aspects of group performance in Aeschylus’ Oresteia: Theatrical conventions and deviations
Eleni Gasti, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek and Latin Philology, University of Ioannina.
The dance is a common heritage of both tragedy and comedy, on the one hand from ritual (e.g. the so-called circular dances), and on the other hand from archaic lyric and choral poetry, which combined the member with the orchestra. The choral element, in other words, refers to the origins of drama (social, ritual and artistic). Tragedy, as a complex artistic product, in its formation assimilated elements from all its predecessor poetic genres. In particular, from archaic lyric poetry it inherited the crucial distinction between two different modes of performance: the group and the individual. The hypocrite is the bearer of individual performance in tragedy, while the Chorus constitutes the group performance bearer, characterized by melodic speech and rhythmic, group-coordinated movement. Although the dance originated in the archaic tradition, it is not merely a conservative relic of the past, but is a fundamental component of ancient Greek drama, as the interaction between the dance and the actors gives it its special character. The chorus is a multi-member group of men or women, wearing identical costumes and masks and functioning as a homogeneous, inseparable whole, i.e. rarely individualized. Often the Chorus participates in the dialogue and functions as an agent of action, but in these cases it is represented by its leader.
In this paper we will analyse the comments embedded in the text that highlight the collective voice of the Dance, its homogeneity and its coordinated group character. We will also be concerned with the way in which the disruption of the unified voice of the Chorus in moments of tension is commented upon within the text, at the risk of overturning the entrenched conventions of tragedy. Specifically, we will examine the terms that refer to the unified voice of the Chorus as a choral ensemble: monofront Hercules (Agam. 255-57), hominy (Hoep. 10), stasis(Agam. 1086, Hoep. 458, Eum. 311), chorus scratchy; komos -in part(Agam. 1186-1193, Choef. 332), κοινουσθαι (Agam. 1347), as well as those passages where reference is made to the breakdown of the unified voice of the Chorus or to the fixed theatrical conventions concerning its role in the Ancient Tragedy(Agam. 1343-1576, Choef. 870-874).
We are doomed to eat‧ together. An archaeological approach to the social dimension of food.
Eleni Kotzampopoulou, Archaeologist (MPhil, PhD), Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina
If we eat by “natural selection”, then, we eat, evolutionarily, by “cultural selection”. We eat together.
Together, then, with a series of interrelated and long-standing processes and procedures – such as, for example, the use of tools and utensils, the use of fire – the meal – around the hearth, the table or the altar, in private or public spaces, at home, at festivals and celebrations – was an equally crucial parameter and a decisive field of creation, negotiation, differentiation, contestation, etc. social relations, structures, roles and identities.
The paper will attempt a sketch of the crucial contribution of archaeology in tracing and documenting the meal – from preparation to consumption – as a cultural institution and analytical category/instrument, where the individual and the collective intersect and patterns are constructed that unify or separate in time and space.
Seeking healing in ancient Asclepias
Eleni K. Skalisti, Archaeologist, Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina
The insecurity created by disease and the impending fear of death justifies a priori, on the one hand, the deification of health and its convention with other healing deities – particularly Asclepius – and, on the other hand, the recourse of patients or their relatives to the healing sanctuaries – Asclepias. The patients who came en masse to the Asclepias usually suffered from mental or psychoneurotic illnesses, from ophthalmological diseases, from rheumatic diseases, from stomach disorders, etc., while many of them were women who had fertility problems. The treatments applied, which depended not only on the nature of the disease but also on the personality and character of the patient, covered a wide range of practices such as hydrotherapy, enema, the use of various herbal preparations and even minor surgical operations.
Sanctuary treatments were part of a wider framework of social integration and group participation on the part of both visitors and sanctuary staff. The high attendance of patients at the Asclepias, the growing experience over the years and the treatment of a variety of cases by the specialist priest-healers contributed to the acquisition of important medical knowledge. Yet the nature of healing remains committed to the belief in the omnipotence of God. This element of faith is undoubtedly documented in the innumerable anatomical offerings uncovered in the more than 300 Asclepias of the Mediterranean area and in the inscribed records of the iamas – a reminder of the presence and healing of the faithful who were healed after their pilgrimage, which serve as irrefutable witnesses to the perception that the mythical deity of Asclepius retains its place in our collective unconscious.
Two-day program
SATURDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2019
Location : HOTEL “PRYTANEIO”
08:30 – 09:00 | Registration
9:00 – 09:15 | Opening Ceremony
Music: Dimitris Karageorgos
“Hei, a polyphonic voice”, (Homer’s Odyssey, Rhapsody t, v. 520).
Narration: Selected passages from ancient Greek poetry and Nietzsche’s Dithyrambs for Dionysus (Translation: Nikos Tzavaras).
The texts are interpreted by the actors: Eleni Demopoulou, Yolanda Kaperda, Gianna Koula, Vassilis Siafis
Text selection: Ariadne Gartziou-Tatti, Fotis Yiotakis
Photos: Peros Behlis
- Sophocles – Trachiniae
Published by. KAKTOS
Translation. Tasoos Roussos - Homer – Iliad
Translation. K. Stephanopoulos
(The Shield of Achilles) - Friedrich Nietzsche – Dithyrambs for Dionysus
Translation. Nikos Tzavaras
(Only madman! Only poet!)
09:15 – 09:45 | Greetings
Mayor of Dodoni: Christos Dakaletsis
IOAF President: Dominique Mylona
Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities: Kostas Soyerev
President of the Medical Association of Ioannina: Stavroula Tsiara
09:45 – 11:15 | First Round Table
Chair: Lena Teliani, Hara Kappa
“Group ways of communication in the Oracle of Dodoni”, Ariadne Gartziou-Tattis, Fotis Yiotakis
“The Unconscious (Dynamic) Processes in the ancient Greeks”, Nikos Lamnidis
“A group-analytic approach to community”, Amalia Stamataki
“The Intergenerational Psychological Trauma as Grudge Pain in Group Analysis”, Fotis Yiotakis
“We are doomed to eat- together. Archaeologically approaching the social dimension of nutrition”, Eleni Kotzampopoulou
11:15 – 11:30 | Break
11:30 – 12:45 | Second Round Table
Chair: Amalia Stamataki, Eleni Vassiliou
“Reflections on the ontogeny of group analysis. A historical review”, Kostas Konstantopoulos, Kostas Konstantopoulos
“The group as a framework for the treatment of mental illnesses in antiquity and today”, Lena Teliani
“Seeking treatment in the Ancient Asclepias”, Eleni K. Skalisti
“Collectivity and Freudian intuitive dualism in the Dionysian cult: Interpretive Approaches”, Marios Yiotakis
12:45 – 13:00 | Break
13:00 – 14:30 | Small Experience and Discussion Groups
Coordinators: Group Analysts
Discussants: Group Analysts, Archaeologists, Philologists and Historians
14:30 – 18:00 | Lunch Break
Location : ARCHAEOLOGICAL SPACE (ORCHESTRA OF ANCIENT THEATRE)
18:00 – 18:30 | Opening Ritual
Music: Dimitris Karageorgos
“Hei chaeiae polychene voice”, (Homer’s Odyssey, Rhapsody t, v. 520).
Narration: Selected passages of ancient Greek poetry and Nietzsche’s Dithyrambs for Dionysus (Translation: Nikos Tzavaras).
The texts are interpreted by the actors: Eleni Demopoulou, Yolanda Kaperda, Gianna Koula, Vassilis Siafis
Text selection: Ariadne Gartziou-Tatti, Fotis Yiotakis
- Friedrich Nietzsche – Dithyrambs for Dionysus
Translation: Nikos Tzavaras
(The sun is setting) - Sophocles – Oedipus Tyrannus
Translation. K. H. Myris - Friedrich Nietzsche – Dithyrambs for Dionysus
Translation. Nikos Tzavaras
(The Lament of Ariadne)
Theodoros Papagiannis sculpture exhibition: ‘Ode to Hesiod’
18:30 – 20:00 | Chair: Eleni Kotzampopoulou, Fotis Yiotakis
Lecture
“Collective phenomena in Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus on Colonus by Sophocles”, Nikos Tzavaras
Presentations
“Aspects of group performance in Aeschylus’ Oresteia: Theatrical Conventions and Deviations”, Eleni Gastis
“The expression of collectivity through funerary customs in antiquity”, Eleni D. Vassiliou
20:00 – 20:15 | Break
20:15 – 21:15 | Large Group
Moderator: Nikos Lamnidis
Sunday 8 September 2019
Location : HOTEL “PRYTANEIO”
09:45 – 10:00 | Opening Ritual
Music: Dimitris Karageorgos
“Hei polyhena phoni”, (Homer’s Odyssey, Rhapsody t, v. 520).
Narration: Selected passages of ancient Greek poetry and Nietzsche’s Dithyrambs for Dionysus (Translation: Nikos Tzavaras).
The texts are interpreted by the actors: Eleni Demopoulou, Yolanda Kaperda, Gianna Koula, Vassilis Siafis
Text selection: Ariadne Gartziou-Tatti, Fotis Yiotakis
- Friedrich Nietzsche – Dithyrambs for Dionysus
Translation: Nikos Tzavaras
(The Last Will) - Sophocles – Antigone
Translation. I. N. Gryparis - Euripides – Bacchae
PATAKI
Translation. K. H. Myris
(The Lament of Agave) - Euripides – Hecuba
PATAKI
Translation. K. H. Myris
(The Lament of Hecuba) - Aeschylus – Persians
Stigmi Publishing House
Translation. P. Mullas
10:00 – 11:30 | Tuesday Round Table
Chair: Kostas Kostantopoulos, Eleni Skalisti
“The group dance in Ancient Greece”, Ariadne Gartziou-Tattis
“Anti-group – Aggression within groups and its creative potential from antiquity to the present day”, Martina Britsa
“Group Supervision and the Municipal Church. The preservation of hope and the perpetual dialectic of conscious and unconscious in the myth of Sisyphus”, Katerina Miliou
“Large Group: Dialogue and impersonal companionship”, Athena Tsukali
“Education and social integration of young people in Ancient Greece”, Georgios Georgoulas
11:30- 11:45 | Break
11:45 – 13:15 | Small Groups
13:15 – 13:30 | Break
13:30 – 15:00 | Large Group Review and Farewell
Chair: Martina Britsa, Katerina Miliou, George Georgoulas
Parallel Events
Theodoros Papagiannis, Professor Emeritus of the School of Fine Arts, exhibition of sculpture: “Ode to Hesiod”
Exhibition of Photography by Peros Behlis, artist and art conservator : “Absence or the negative of polygonal oaks”
Sculptural compositions by Panagiotis Bakas, amateur: “Amadryas and Royal Oak, Atermon, Shield”
Note on the music
Dimitris Karageorgos: music for the 2nd Group-Analytical Symposium of Ancient Dodona.
Title: “Hei polyhena phoni” (Homer’s Odyssey, Rhapsody t, v. 520)
After the evaluation meeting of the 1st Symposium, the idea of using ancient Greek instruments was born. The great Epirus artist who makes exact replicas of ancient Greek musical instruments, George Polyzos, provided me with a “Varvito” (stringed instrument of ancient Greece) to create my music.
– I thank him in particular –
The series of notes, (scale) that I use are based on the “Phrygian mode” of ancient Greek music which is predominantly Dionysian. It was considered “intoxicating, enthusiastic, violently stimulating and stimulating, emotional, bacchanalian”.
My long study of music, the study of music of ancient, primitive cultures, and especially of small communities, has taught me that music is learned and created experientially within the group, the relationship with which unconsciously releases critical inner forces.
My attempt is to combine all these elements in a different and contemporary way. And with the help of technology to create a new relationship, a new listening.
Barbitos: This is a stringed instrument accompanying banquets and Dionysian rituals. It had a tortoise shell soundboard like the lyre.
Anacreon, Sappho and Alcaeus introduced the barbito (‘barmon’) between the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
Findings from Dodona
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ferenczi, S. (1909). introjection & transference. in First Contributions to Psychoanalysis. London: Karnac, 2002.
Fonagy, P. & Allison, E. (2018). development of the Human Mind and Epistemic Trust. 311th EPF Conference, Warsaw, March 2018.
McCraw, B.W. (2015). the nature of epistemic trust. social epistemology 29.
Witholt, T. (2015). epistemic trust in science. british journal for the philosophy of science 64:233-253.
Freud, S. (1921). group psychology and the analysis of the ego. s.e. 18.
Fuchs (Foulkes), S.H. (1937) On Introjection, International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 18:269-290.
Elias, N. (1939). The Evolution of Civilization, ed. Efi Vaikousis. Athens¨Nefeli, 1997.
*1. Vitsa Zagori ( prefecture of Ioannina ), Bronze octagonal buckle. 9th century B.C. , No. wider. AMI 2323
*2. Title : Model of a circular dance of nymphs with a courtesan in the centre. Late 6th century BC. AE 3364, page 84.
Source : Zachos K., Douzouγli A., 2003. Lefkada. Historical. Archaeological Overview through the exhibits of the Archaeological Museum. Ministry of Culture. IB Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Dodoni.
