For several months now, the Luwian Studies Foundation has been organizing a monthly soirée at its premises near Zurich’s Paradeplatz, to which only five to six guests are invited. The aim is to provide sponsors and friends of the Foundation with first-hand information on current developments in the study of Luwian culture and related communication activities at exclusive events in a personal atmosphere right where the action is. On November 15, 2023, a guest speaker appeared for the first time. Dr. Jorrit Kelder, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, spared no expense or effort in traveling from his new home in Athens to give a one-hour lecture on “In Search of Agamemnon’s Lost Kingdom.” A number of features of Mycenaean culture suggest an overarching coordination. These include a unified writing system and an administration that spanned all the kingdoms. The dimensions, materials, and decoration of Mycenaean palaces also suggest a unified design in some respects. According to Jorrit Kelder, this indicates that the small kingdoms were not completely independent. His argument was so cogent that it impressed even previously critical participants. It was a phenomenally successful evening. The guests – mostly archaeologists and linguists – stayed in conversation for a long time.
Luwian Studies Soirée with Jorrit Kelder
