Messenia to Mesopotamia: New Directions in the Art and Archaeology of the Second Millennium BCE Symposium
December 6 @ 9:00 am - 4:15 pm
Messenia to Mesopotamia: New Directions in the Art and Archaeology of the Second Millennium BCE
Hosted by the
UCLA SNF Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture
in collaboration with
The J. Paul Getty Museum
and held in conjunction with the exhibition
The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Mycenaean Greece
Saturday, December 6, 2025
9:00 A.M. – 4:15 P.M.
314 Royce Hall, UCLA Campus
Reception to follow
Symposium Description: TBD
Bios:
Emily Catherine Egan is Assistant Professor of Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Art and Archaeology in the Department of Art History & Archaeology at the University of Maryland. She holds a dual B.A. in Classics and Old World Archaeology and Art from Brown University, an M.Phil. in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Cincinnati. Her research focuses on artistic practice in the Bronze Age Aegean, and particularly on the production, consumption, and iconography of Mycenaean painted surface decoration. She has undertaken archaeological fieldwork in Italy, Turkey, Jordan, Armenia, Cyprus, and most recently in Greece, where she is engaged in the study of wall and floor paintings from the Palace of Nestor at Pylos, and Petsas House, Mycenae.
Joanne Murphy is a professor of Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Archaeology at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she has worked since 2008 and serves as Department Head. She is also the current Director of the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies, President of The American Friends of the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies (a 501c non-profit), and an Academic Trustee at the Archaeological Institute of America. She received her BA and first MA from University College Dublin, Ireland, and an MA and PhD from University of Cincinnati. Her research focuses primarily on religion and death and how they connect with identity, community, and political economies. As well as giving tens of lectures both nationally and internationally, she has published over 30 papers and five edited volumes on these and related topics and has one monograph in press and two other volumes underway. She has led two major research projects: one, a legacy study, on the tombs around Pylos in southwestern Greece and one, an archaeological survey on the Greek island of Kea. She has received awards for her research and for initiatives at UNCG and non-profits from various foundations including INSTAP, the Mellon Foundation, the Onassis Foundation, the NEH, and the Loeb Foundation. She has also been recognized for her teaching and was awarded the Archaeological Institute of America’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and UNCG College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence Award. She has a great love of sharing the past and has led tours in Greece, Ireland, France, England, Italy, and Turkey, as well as running an annual archaeological field school in Greece.
Efthymia Tsiolaki is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Classics at the University of Toronto. She is an archaeologist specializing in the Bronze Age Aegean, with a focus on the social and economic organization of the Greek mainland. Her current research project explores the long-term history of settlement and land use in Messenia from the bottom-up, integrating surface survey and excavation data with GIS-based analysis to highlight the dynamic character of peripheral communities before and during the rise of the Mycenaean palace at Pylos (ca. 3000 – 1100 BC). She also studies the technology and function of ground stone tools across several archaeological projects, examining their roles in domestic and craft activities.
This event is organized by Professor David Schneller (UCLA) and Dr. Claire Lyons (Getty) and is made possible thanks to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
Co-Sponsored by:
UCLA College Division of Humanities
Peter J. and Caroline B. Caloyeras Endowment for the Arts
George P. Kolovos Family Centennial Term Chair in Hellenic Studies
Gefyra
UCLA Global Antiquity
The Joan Palevsky Chair of Classics at UCLA
UCLA Department of Art History
UCLA Department of Classics
UCLA Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures
UCLA David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design
Don’t miss our other upcoming programs in collaboration with the J. Paul Getty Museum here:
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Pylos and Minoan Crete
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Messenia to Mesopotamia: New Directions in the Art and Archaeology of the Second Millennium BCE Symposium