Profs and Pints Online presents: “Ancient Greek Social Networks,” with Diane Harris Cline, associate professor of classics and history at George Washington University and author of National Geographic’s The Greeks: An Illustrated History.

[ Rescheduled from  April 16th. This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

Around 450 B.C., Athens emerged as a center of innovation, higher education, discovery, and invention. Despite still being just a small town, with perhaps just 35,000 male citizens, on a remote peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean, it produced lasting works of literature, philosophy, architecture, and fine arts. It had more impact on the evolution of Western civilization than any other culture before or since.

What was the secret to the exceptional creativity of the ancient Greeks? What factors in their society, and in Athens specifically, led to such openness to creative people and their new ideas? How did their version of democracy provide a nurturing platform for innovations to develop and spread?

Come hear such questions explored by Diane Cline, who teaches courses on Greek history, mythology, literature, and culture. A pioneer in the digital humanities, she has studied ancient Greek life using a research method called Social Network Analysis, which investigates social structures through the use of networks and graph theory. By presenting social relationships among Athenians as nodes and links in a network, Cline illustrates how the structure of Athenian society in the mid-5th century B.C. enabled it leave such an unparalleled legacy.

Dr. Cline will describe how, like us, the ancient Greeks understood that social networks foster creativity and innovation. Deeply embedded in Greek culture were drinking parties, or symposia, where men of different families, neighborhoods and trades shared intense, multi-sensory social experiences, expanding their circle of friendships.

The Greeks leveraged their social networks to get buy-in to implement technological solutions to social problems, including the ballot box, lottery machine, and the timers to limit speeches in the law courts. Like our social networks, theirs enabled them to efficiently find the resources and partners needed to help new ideas catch on and spread.

Her richly illustrated talk might have a big impact on how you think about today’s social networks, giving you a much richer understanding of the potential of online meetings and discussions and your lists of LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends. While Profs and Pints Online might not be able to offer you the full symposium experience, it will at least let you have the thrill of watching big ideas emerge from an assembled group of people from different backgrounds. Whether you drink wine and nosh on grapes and Greek food during the talk is up to you.

Profs & Pints Online: Ancient Greek Social Networks