{"id":182,"date":"2019-07-17T18:17:58","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/backtopolytheism\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:17:58","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:17:58","slug":"backtopolytheism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/backtopolytheism\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 Dr. Richard McKim returns ‘Back to Polytheism’ in lecture at WCSU"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"ImageDANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 Dr. Richard McKim<\/a>, the fall 2014 Macricostas Chair in Hellenic and Modern Greek Studies<\/a> at Western Connecticut State University<\/a>, will discuss the polytheistic vision of life in ancient Greek religion in a lecture on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014<\/strong>, on the university\u2019s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury.<\/p>\n

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McKim, who earned his Ph.D. in classics and philosophy at Princeton University, is a specialist in ancient Greek philosophy who previously served on the classics faculty at the University of Texas at Austin. His lecture, \u201cBack to Polytheism? How Ancient Greek Religion Made Sense of Human Experience,\u201d will be at 5:30 p.m. in Science Building Room 125. Admission will be free and the public is invited to attend; a reception will follow the talk.<\/p>\n

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McKim\u2019s lecture will be presented by the WCSU School of Arts and Sciences<\/a> as part of the lecture series sponsored by the foundation of Brookfield industrialist and philanthropist Constantine \u201cDeno\u201d Macricostas and his wife Marie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In describing his lecture, McKim observed that modern debate about religion focuses exclusively on monotheism versus atheism. \u201cThe third main alternative in Western tradition, Greek polytheism, has been demoted to the realm of myth, its gods merely colorful characters in a rollicking set of tall tales,\u201d he said. \u201cWe forget that Greek religion was once a deeply felt and highly sophisticated worldview that gave meaning to people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMaybe the Greeks were on to something,\u201d McKim remarked. \u201cWhat if their polytheistic view of life is in many ways more intuitive, more satisfying and more consistent with our experience than anything that monotheists or atheists can offer?\u201d Through his lecture, he said, \u201cwe\u2019ll try to imagine what it was like for the Greeks to believe that the world is full of gods, and in the process raise some questions about our own beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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McKim, who also holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in classics from the University of Toronto, has published widely on themes ranging from the works of Plato to the gospels and Latin poetry. He complements his passion for the study and teaching of classical culture and philosophy with a diversity of pursuits outside the academic world as a lecturer on cinema and as a music producer, songwriter and composer. He recently completed a rock-based musical, \u201cDown at the Inferno<\/a>,\u201d inspired by Dante\u2019s vision of hell in \u201cThe Divine Comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486. <\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York.\u00a0 Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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