People

 Kleoniki Rizou, Alumni

Alumna

Kleoniki Rizou (Germany 1988)

M. Ed. in Greek Philology and Mathematics

PhD project
Landscapes of the mind and the mind of landscape – the Muses in literature and ritual tradition
The Muses, personifications of song, poetic inspiration and also of the poet’s mind, are a Greek peculiarity: As Martin L. West has stated, no other culture has created the notion of a deity being exclusively charged with granting song. Although a Panhellenic phenomenon, their sphere of action being purely intellectual, they are associated to a great extent with concrete regions and landscapes, namely Mt. Olympus, Mt. Helicon and Mt. Parnassus. In order to obtain the full image of a deity, regard has to be paid to various aspects: It is part of lifeworld reality, which can be gained through features of rite and cult; it is also a literary character and, as such, to some degree subject to the respective author’s creative will. Myth is the linking element between these two aspects. In case of the Muses, scholars have surveyed literature and rite apart, mostly, lacking to acknowledge the mutual influence they wield on each other. Therefore this PhD project aims at investigating the character of the Muses by joining the two aspects, exploiting both literary sources and archaeological remains. A point of peculiar interest will be the Muses‘ connection with the landscapes named above. The environment works upon the deities’ character as parts of the poetic, religious and artistic imagination and builds landscapes of the mind. But the concept of these deities also works upon a notion of their landscapes, building a mind of landscape.
Research interests Greek Literature
Education

Since November 2013
Member of the Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes”.

November 2013
Master degree in Greek Philology and Mathematics, CAU Kiel.

2008 - 2013
Studies of Greek Philology and Mathematics, CAU Kiel.

Work experience

2009 - 2013
Student assistant at the Department of Classics, CAU Kiel.

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