“Monsters and Marvels of Anatolia” Conference

Title: “Monsters and Marvels of Anatolia” Conference

Date: Aprl 14-16, 2027

Location: Bilkent University

Call for abstracts: click here.

Description: Why do so many monsters haunt Anatolia? From the astonishing hybrids depicted on the Neo-Hittite reliefs from Carchemish and Melid to the demons and jinn of Byzantine and Islamic hagiography right down to the otherworldly spirits of contemporary folk tradition, the Anatolian peninsula has always been home to a wide array of monstrous and marvelous beings. Uncanny geological wonders and mysterious ruins have given rise to tales of fire-breathing chimeras and of giants specializing in megalithic construction. From the perspective of outsiders, the unknown reaches of Asia Minor were sufficiently remote and exotic to populate with fabulous races, as witness the Greek myth of the Amazon warrior women or the Mesopotamian siting of the raven-faced Umman-manda deep in the Anatolian mountains. As a cultural crossroads and frontier space contested between countless empires, Anatolia has stimulated the construction of many a monstrous “Other” in the process of articulating the lines that divide “us” from “them,” the familiar from the foreign, civilization from chaos. And in the rich palimpsest that is contemporary Türkiye, creatures like the Snake Queen Shahmaran and the Lake Van Monster still function as emblems of regional identity and touristic enticement.

Primary organizers: Brian McPhee (Bilkent) and Selim Ferruh Adalı (Ankara University)

Organized by the Program in Cultures, Civilizations, & Ideas