Lecture on India and Greece by Dr Henry Bruce Greer Clark
Lecture: “From the Parthenon to Pentapotamia. Thoughts on Greece, India and Syncretism”
by Dr Henry Bruce Greer Clark
Friday, 17 January 2025 at 6 pm.
Benaki Museum, (Pireos 138)
The Friends of the Benaki Museum are organizing the lecture in memory of Antonis Benakis for the second year.
The talk will firstly refer to the recent resurgence of a peculiar ideological and cultural conflict, concerning the existence or non-existence of Greek influences in the shaping of the culture – and especially of sculpture – of ancient India. For some Indian and pro-Indian scholars, as well as Soviet archaeologists, the emphasis placed by several historians on the Greekness of Buddhist art reflects a mentality – in the view of its supporters – that is colonialist. Within a broader context, the speaker will present the reflection on whether, in a world where the relative weight of the liberal West is decreasing, there is a risk that the global prestige of Greek culture will also decrease accordingly.
After the speech, the documentary “From Cambridge with love: a call to mend the Parthenon’s broken treasures” will be screened. This concerns the views of Cambridge graduates, including the speaker, on the timeless issue of the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece.
Entry is free, all are welcome, and there is no need to register.
Bruce Clark is a writer and editor of the Economist magazine and many written and audiovisual media of global scope with subjects of culture, archaeology and the history of ideas, Ph.D emeritus of Aristotle University Thessaloniki, member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, Archon Interpreter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and holder of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix in recognition of his writing on Greek history.