Archaeological Institute of America Spring Lecture

Sobocinski to speak on "The Capitoline on Coins: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Roman Temple"

Western North Carolina Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America presents their first 2013 spring lecture on February 21, with Dr. Melanie Grunow Sobocinski of the University of Michigan Dearborn as the speaker. Dr. Sobocinksi, a specialist in Roman architecture and numismatics and the 2012/2013 AIA Metcalf Lecturer, will lecture on "The Capitoline on Coins: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Roman Temple."

The biggest and most important of Rome's temples, the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was the first temple ever to appear on Rome's coinage. It was also one of the most repeatedly represented buildings in the city. This lecture will focus on the numismatic evidence for the Temple of Jupiter, with primary attention to the question of how coins can help us visualize the temple. In her talk, Dr. Sobocinksi will consider how looking at the actual remnants of the building, the descriptions in ancient sources, and coins help us to understand the most important facets of the ancient experience of architecture: the physical exertion to arrive and move around the structure, awe, smell, dirt, ancillary artworks and dedications, and the embedded cultural knowledge giving it meaning. The lecture will take place on February 21, 2013, at 7:30 p.m., in the Whitman Room of Ramsey Library.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For information on this and future events, contact Dr. Laurel Taylor, Lecturer in Departments of Art and Classics, 828-251-6290 or ltaylor@unca.edu.