By Gracey Murphy
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It is assumed things evolve for the better. Life supposedly improves, but has government really changed since 300 B.C.?
Kent Rigsby will present a lecture in Schaeffer Hall at 5:30 p.m. today titled “The Actors’ Guild and Rome” about a worldwide union of actors in ancient Roman times. Rigsby has been preparing and researching this lecture since he retired from Duke University nine years ago after teaching for 35 years.
“In the Greek world, there was a union of actors [Technitai of Dionysus] that was invented in 300 B.C. and disappeared in 350 A.D.,” Rigsby said. “I’m mostly talking of that period of it. Trying to track down documents and translate them to English takes time.”
Rigsby searched for, and found, 200 to 240 documents on the topic scattered around the Mediterranean. He spent an abundance of time uncovering the work for this lecture, and University of Iowa students and faculty will be the first to hear what he’s learned.
Rigsby said he likes classical mythology, especially Greek history, because it is detective work, puzzles, and antiquity work of different pieces. Greek civilization raises questions of how government works and is the foundation of Western civilization.
At Duke, Rigsby never discussed his lecture subject in class. He only taught subjects relating to ancient history and the Roman Empire; his lecture research began after his teaching career ended.
“I mostly know about this organization through inscriptions on stone, so you have to get it put together to get a picture on it,” he said.
Attendees do not need to know the backgrounds of ancient Greece and Rome. It appeals to a large crowd of people because it relates to political science, Rigsby said. Anyone who knows even a bit about government could understand this lecture.
However, though his lecture is about an acting group, Rigsby said he isn’t all that interested in theater. The lecture is more so about the organizations than it is about theater. It discusses society and what brings it together. It coincidentally happens to relate to the theater program.
But theater students could still enjoy this program, Rigsby said. This lecture helps them learn of their heritage and groups before them.
The power of the Roman Empire still relates to government today. This actors’ guild is a real mystery, and it raises the question of how much power the Roman Empire had, Rigsby said.
“It coincided with the emergence of the strong type of government of Rome,” Rigsby said. “What I wonder is how it became one organization, and how did it stop existing in Fourth Century A.D.”
LECTURE
“Classics Colloquium: The Actors’ Guild and Rome,” by Kent Rigsby
When: 5:30 p.m. today
Where: 40 Schaeffer
Admission: Free