Dr. Peter Schultz and students prepare to re-enact the Battle of Chaironea beneath the watchful gaze of a fourth century B.C. commemorative lion. In 338 B.C., King Philip II of Macedon and his young son Alexander (the Great), invaded mainland Greece and crushed the hoplite phalanxes marshaled against them. The relationship between the lion and this key battle is disputed. Some see the beast as a funerary marker that designates the burial site of the Sacred Band, a warrior cohort of 300 professional soldiers from the Greek city of Thebes. Others see the lion as a Macedonian victory monument erected by Philip to commemorate a battle that secured Macedonian control of Greece and spelled disaster for the independent Greek city-states. Either way, the lion provides an ideal opportunity for Concordia students to discuss the nuance-rich relationship between archaeology, history and our ability to rescue -- if only for a moment -- past events from oblivion.

In pedagogical terms, the Art Department’s May Seminar Abroad is designed as an intense, immersive adventure in the history of Western art. As such, Seminar leaders provide constant opportunities for students to directly experience the most influential painting, sculpture and architecture of Western world. Equally important, the Seminar is designed to allow students to engage the history of art as a history of ideas and cultures, focusing specifically on the economic, social and political structures that makes the art of the West a significant -- and fascinating -- discipline of study.

For more information, see the Concordia May Seminars page.