The third edition of the Annual Interdisciplinary School of Ancient Greek, Egyptology and Oriental Languages, organized by ISACCL, in partnership with the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Bucharest started on September 5, 2022, in online format. The opening ceremony was attended by Prof. Dr. Emil Constantinescu, president of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Prof. Dr. Joanna Popielska-Grzybowska (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Sciences), the scientific director of this event, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Luiza Oancea (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Bucharest), Dr. Ana-Maria Răducan (ISACCL) and almost thirty students and young researchers.
In his introductory speech, President Emil Constantinescu presented the School's project and emphasized the importance of classical languages in the contemporary world, following some philosophical inquiries about time and space, from a geological perspective. The scientific director of the event, Prof. Dr. Joanna Popielska-Grzybowska (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Sciences) offered a warm greeting to the participants, highlighting the formative role played by the exchanges between researchers and passionate students in the field of ancient studies. Assoc. Prof. Maria Luiza Oancea (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Bucharest) made a conceptual introduction of time and space in ancient Greek culture, showing the distinction between sacred and profane time and their intertwining in the ancient Greek philosophy and Christian theology.
Emeritus Professor Emil Constantinescu, President of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, President of Romania 1996-2000:
We feel that space and time are expanding, contracting, or that they no longer belong to us; and, in this time of uncertainty and anxiety, when everything is being built up or torn down far too quickly, we seek a series of powerful landmarks to anchor us in the world we live in, a world governed by perennial values such as love, courage, kindness, truth and beauty. The study of the Classical languages and the world of Antiquity can offer us these values, which are rooted in the heart and mind of the studious scholar, who will consequently be less easily deceived and manipulated by the deceptive glare that conceals the falsity of our modern world.
”Distinguished teachers, dear participants,
I am very pleased to be with you at the opening of the Third Edition of the Annual Interdisciplinary School of Ancient Greek, Egyptology and Oriental Languages, this year focusing on the concepts of Time and Space in Antiquity, organised by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization in partnership with the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature of the University of Bucharest.
One might think that philosophers and physicists would have long solved the problem of Time and Space. It speaks of the turmoil of scientists trying to find answers to complicated questions that they ask of themselves, among which both Space and Time occupy privileged positions. Even though my field of research traces geological phenomena that have been ongoing for four billion years; and even though the space wherein the processes that have shaped the planet’s current mountainous relief have taken place stretches, in the case of the Alpine orogeny, for example, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, in Europe and Asia, and from Alaska to the Tierra del Fuego in the Americas – even so, if you ask me what Time is, I have to say I do not know. The cosmologists that study the periods in which constellations have formed since the beginning of the Universe are themselves reluctant to answer this question.
It is true that those who study the chronology of events in the material and immaterial plane are nevertheless aware that Time is but an extension; however, an extension of what, I, for one, do not know; indeed, it would be surprising if it were not “the extension of the soul itself,” as Augustine thought, in line with the entirety of Christian philosophy about the three temporal instances of the past, present and future, all subject to changes and subjective perspectives, setting them in contrast to the eternity of Divinity, wherein no change from perfection can occur.
The same question also applies to space; Leibniz argued that space represents “the relations between things.” It does not exist independently of the things it connects, while Clark argued that space is an “omnipresent substance,” containing all things in the Universe, and while theologians and others believe that space represents the presence of God in the world.
We all perceive, in one form or another, the signs of Time’s passage and the changes it brings to our spaces – even though 21st-century technology allows us to break down certain space-time barriers which, just a few years ago, we thought impossible or supernatural. Now, we can connect with each other from our personal space into virtual spaces; we can be together in our own time, even though it is 5 pm in Romania, 4 pm in Poland and 11 pm in Japan. The pandemic has played an important role in this, drastically reshaping our perception of space and time, but also our perception of travel and of personal relationships. We feel that space and time are expanding, contracting, or that they no longer belong to us; and, in this time of uncertainty and anxiety, when everything is being built up or torn down far too quickly, we seek a series of powerful landmarks to anchor us in the world we live in, a world governed by perennial values such as love, courage, kindness, truth and beauty. The study of the Classical languages and the world of Antiquity can offer us these values, which are rooted in the heart and mind of the studious scholar, who will consequently be less easily deceived and manipulated by the deceptive glare that conceals the falsity of our modern world.
Beyond being imaginary worlds of refuge entered into through our reading, the worlds of Antiquity can show us another modus vivendi: dignified, courageous, based on solid principles and on the teachings preserved and passed down over the centuries and across vast territories by people who loved books and the light they carry.
It is your passion and enthusiasm, as both teachers and students, that has inspired this beautiful project, now into its third iteration. Some of you have been with us since the first edition in 2020 and have stayed with us; others have joined us along the way. The project of this school was presented with great academic generosity to our institution in 2020 by Professors Maria-Luiza Oancea from the Faculty of Classical Languages of the University of Bucharest and Renata Tatomir of the Hyperion University of Constanța, whom we would like to deeply thank for their love of ancient languages and of their students, as well as for their constant efforts to turn this project into reality. They were shortly joined by the Scientific Director of this year’s event, Professor Joanna Popielska from the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures in Poland, with whom – to our great honour – we have a solid partnership. Our intention is to develop this project in the coming years, and to hopefully organize it in person.
I have the pleasure of welcoming the organizers of this edition of the School: its Scientific Director, Dr Joanna Popielska-Grzybowska of the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Science, Associate Professor Dr Maria Luiza Oancea of the University of Bucharest, and also our younger colleagues from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization: Dr Cătălin-Ștefan Popa and Dr Ana-Maria Răducan, as well as their distinguished guests: Dr Heidi Kopp-Junk (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences), Dr So Miyagawa (National Institute of Japanese Language), Dr Stefan Zară (Archdiocese of Bucharest), Dr Beniamin Laurențiu Chircan (University of Bucharest), as well as the young alumni of the first edition of the School: Cristian Ioan Dumitru, Cristian Șimon and Valentin Cocan.
I wish you all the best in your proceedings and activity and, regardless of the spaces and times in which you will live, I hope you will continue to treasure this key to ancient languages, keeping it alive to open a door to bygone eras whose wisdom, in these complicated times, we so keenly need.”
Prof. Dr. Joanna Popielska-Grzybowska, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Sciences, the scientific director of the Annual Interdisciplinary School of Ancient Greek, Egyptology and Oriental Languages:
Students are the future. This is your dedication, hopes and dreams that will lead open a better future for the world. I know quite well that student life is not easy. A diligent student juggles between exams and self-learning, as well as other everyday duties, that is why here we are ready to extend our best assistance to you all. Write your own story with dedication and passion. Your hard work is bound to result in a better understanding and a more conscious life.Time can be your best friend and your worst enemy depending on whether you use it or waste it. Just get started!
”Dear Mr. President, dear Professors, dear Colleagues, dear Students!
Hello. My name is Joanna Popielska-Grzybowska and I am professor at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Science. For the third time I am honored to be the scientific director of this wonderful project, that is the Annual Interdisciplinary School of Ancient Greek, Egyptology and Oriental Languages. Thank you very much for your trust and for this honour.
This year we are gathering in order to discuss about the concepts of time and space in Antiquity.
What is heartening to me as I view The Annual Interdisciplinary School of Ancient Greek, Egyptology and Oriental Languages is that we meet for the third time. This year the conferences are also held in Bucharest at the Institute of Advanced Studies for Levant Culture and Civilization in partnership with the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Civilizations at the University of Bucharest and my Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences. I am contented that the Annual School has been continued in a similar format since 2020. This way we are establishing a tradition. Therefore, it is my big pleasure and great honour to speak to you today and welcome all the illustrious guests and participants of this meeting that – I believe – can be found on the list of important events of academic life in Bucharest. It is my privilege and honour to welcome our most illustrious and esteemed guest Profesor dr. Emil Constantinescu (Chairman of the Scientific Council of The Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Honorary President of the Senate of the University of Bucharest, the President of Romania - 1996-2000) – an eminent and world- renowned scholar. Mr. President, thank you for everything you did for us.
As every year many worked to make this meeting successful. We are deeply appreciative and most grateful to Professor Luiza Popa, General Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization as well as Professor Ana-Maria Răducan, one of the organisers of the first, the second and the third editions of the Annual School from the part of the Levant Institute, and Professor Maria-Luiza Oancea representing the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature.
I am happy to welcome all and thank for years of fruitful co-operation with well-renowned Romanian scholars working in the field of Antiquity.
Our goal is to gather scholars and researchers dealing with antiquity, and students who want to broaden their knowledge about those distant times. We will exchange ideas and share our experiences, but also the results of research in several areas of studies on time and space in ancient cultures. Dear Students, take advantage of this and let it change you, let it make you develop. What is most precious about the work that we, lecturers, do is our mutual contact – our contact with you, dear students. We would be much, much poorer if we could not share our knowledge with you. Yet, as Albert Einstein said “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
I extend my warmest welcome and thank you for being with us to my colleagues with whom we will be lecturing for you, namely, Professor Maria Luiza Oancea (University of Bucharest), Professor So Miyagawa (National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics), Professor Heidi Köpp-Junk (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures at the Polish Academy of Science), Dr. Beniamin Laurentiu Chircan (University of Bucharest), Dr. Cristian-Ioan Dumitru (University of Bucharest), Dr. Cătălin-Ștefan Popa (ISACCL), Dr. Ștefan Zară (The Archdiocese of Bucharest), Dr. Ana-Maria Răducan (ISACCL). I am very anxious to listen to a section of this programme that will be dedicated and led by the alumni of the first and second editions – MA Valentin Cocan and MA Cristian Șimon (University of Bucharest).
Welcome whole-heartedly! It is truly heart-warming to see you all after a year. We are delighted to have you with us. Thank you very much indeed.
I would also like to invite you to participate in my lectures delivered today. This time I will consider time and space in ancient Egyptian religious texts with special regard to the Pyramid Texts.
Dear students – as I always will keep on repeating, this Annual School will not be possible if it were not for you! It is my pleasure to extend my enthusiastic and hearty welcome to you. I do hope and wish that you enjoy the lectures we created for you with commitment. I urge you to always strive for excellence, but I concurrently urge you not to be afraid of failure, as every failure has its benefits, too. Be imaginative and creative and work hard to achieve knowledge that will help you shape your own life and the lives of all your near and dear.
Students are the future. This is your dedication, hopes and dreams that will lead open a better future for the world. I know quite well that student life is not easy. A diligent student juggles between exams and self-learning, as well as other everyday duties, that is why here we are ready to extend our best assistance to you all. Write your own story with dedication and passion. Your hard work is bound to result in a better understanding and a more conscious life. Time can be your best friend and your worst enemy depending on whether you use it or waste it. Just get started!
We kindly invite you to participate to the lectures and seminars. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your attention.”
Associate Professor Maria-Luiza Oancea, University of Bucharest:
In the 7th century BC, we see a crisis occurring in the Greek world: namely, the emergence of a new image of Man. This would result in a real problem of time, which would only be solved by a change in the perspective of this notion. From then on, the individual would feel carried along by an irreversible flow, dominated by the fatality of death, so that the time in which his existence unfolds will appear to him as a destructive force, irretrievably undermining everything that, for him, constituted the price of life. Therefore, individuals would try to transform this time of their individual life into a totally reconstructed cycle (κύκλος); hence, their attempts to reintegrate human time into cosmic periodicity and Divine eternity.
”Dear Mr. President,
Dear colleagues,
Dear participants,
Welcome to the Third Edition of the Annual Interdisciplinary School of Ancient Greek, Egyptology and Oriental Languages, generously hosted by the Institute of Advanced Studies for Levant Culture and Civilization to whom we express our gratitude, represented by President Emil Constantinescu and by the Institute’s Director-General, Mrs. Luiza Popa, and coming under the direct guidance of Professor Dr Joanna Popielska Grzybowska of the Institute of Mediterranean Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
This year, the theme of our Summer School is "Time and Space in Antiquity," two concepts of great interest from a philosophical, anthropological, psychoanalytical and linguistic perspective.
The concepts of space and time were extensively discussed by the ancient Greeks, who formulated these ideas during their discussions on rhetoric, ethics, physics or metaphysics.
Philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Gorgias, Epicurus, as well as the Stoic, the Atomist and Pythagorean schools each had their own original ideas about the qualities and structure of space and time.
In the pre-Christian view, mythical time can be divided into sacred time, and profane time.
Sacred time has the paradoxical aspect of a circular, reversible and recoverable Time, a kind of eternal ‘mythical present’ into which one is periodically reintegrated through ritual.
M. Eliade considered that, for the religious man of archaic cultures, the World was renewed every year. In archaic societies there was an assimilation of time by space, beyond the sacralization they had already undergone. Religious, archaic man lived in a sacred space dominated by a sacred time.
The religious phenomenon has always been closely linked to time and history:
The Pythagoreans considered the cosmos as a living being (ζῶον), with a breath and a principle of Boundary (πέρας).
For Plato and Aristotle, time and motion were closely associated, in a kind of mutual relationship.
Where the two most clearly diverged, however, was in Aristotle’s absence of contrast between ‘time’ and ‘eternity’.
Starting from the existence of time as εἰκών, Plato (at least implicitly) attributed an ontological status to time. Time even had a purpose in the order of things: namely, to enable people to quantify it.
For Aristotle, however, time was not a synonym for motion, but rather had to be understood apart from it. It is the recognition of the anterior/posterior sequence that will make people aware of time. The ancient philosophers, the Pythagoreans, sought the essence of time in movement, and namely in the rotation of the sky.
Also in ancient Greece, we see the development of a vast mythology of reminiscence, and even the existence in the Greek pantheon of a deity named after a psychological function: Μνημοσύνη, or memory.
In the 7th century BC, we see a crisis occurring in the Greek world: namely, the emergence of a new image of Man. This would result in a real problem of time, which would only be solved by a change in the perspective of this notion. From then on, the individual would feel carried along by an irreversible flow, dominated by the fatality of death, so that the time in which his existence unfolds will appear to him as a destructive force, irretrievably undermining everything that, for him, constituted the price of life. Therefore, individuals would try to transform this time of their individual life into a totally reconstructed cycle (κύκλος); hence, their attempts to reintegrate human time into cosmic periodicity and Divine eternity.
The ancient Greeks had two words for the concept of time: καιρός and χρόνος. Each of these concepts captured a different aspect of the experience of temporality.
Χρόνος represented the abstract quantitative measure of movement and change that we normally experience as 'time'.
Καιρός would refer to an experience of a critical moment. But καιρός additionally implied the wisdom of knowing how to act effectively at the right time, and was related to the concept of φρόνησις ("wisdom”, “judgment").
The Greeks used the words χῶρα, τόπος and κενόν for 'space'.
For the Greeks, Χῶρα represented an abstracted conception of a region populated by everything within (objects, beings, etc.).
Τόπος constituted a more precise conception than χῶρα, being, in fact, a place defined by a specific content – a part of the χῶρα.
In turn, Κενόν ("void”, “emptiness"), had three main uses in Greek:
(a) pure emptiness, or "nothingness";
(b) emptiness as empty space, such as, for example, the space between molecules;
(c) emptiness in the sense of an empty container, such as the empty interior of a bottle. Thus, according to Parmenides' description, κενόν constituted a kind of ‘Non-Being’.
From the perspective of Christian theology, as early as the 7th century, St Maximus the Confessor, in his dispute with Monophysitism and Origenism, set forth a Christological vision of historical time. For him, history would have a positive role, being the environment in which man grows in divinity.
According to St Maximus, God excluded time from His being. In fact, every determinate mode of existence is to be excluded from His being, otherwise He would no longer have the character of absolute infinity. St Maximus distinguishes between time and eternity, affirming that God is above all existence and that the end represents a new beginning.
St Maximus argued that ages, times and places are relative, existing for a certain purpose. But God, he said, is not part of those that exist for a purpose.
At the existential level, a difference of mentality will emerge between modern man and his predecessors – a difference suggestively highlighted in fine art by the advent of perspective and of what iconographers use in sacred representations as ‘reverse perspective’. This is, in fact, also the Church's solution to the crisis of modern man, which psychoanalysis characterises so well, to a certain extent.
Returning, however, to our Summer School and its specifics, we can say that it has already become a tradition for us to mainly focus, , on the deepening of the ancient texts in our courses; however, the theoretical perspective, aimed at clarifying the deeper meanings of these texts, is no less important to us.
We, therefore, invite you to enjoy seven interesting days of practical and theoretical courses in ancient Greek, Egyptian, Coptic, Hebrew and Syriac during this Summer School.
I wish you all the best of luck!”
