The Cult of Mephitis
the reasons for a timeless myth

May 20, 2024 10 a.m.

CNR-ISMed
Humanities Pole (VI floor)
Via Cardinale Guglielmo Sanfelice, 8
80134 Naples

ACCESS BY REMOTE on Teams platform.

The dense work of years of research, proposed in synthesis in this seminar, systematizes the contribution offered by knowledge from various disciplines and represents an anthropological reflection on a topic that remains a subject of scientific debate that is still open.

It is a real space-time journey from the 4th century B.C. to the present day, whose primary objective is to understand the impact of the archaic goddess Mephitis, in contemporary times, passing through the study and analysis of the multiple aspects that characterize the deity and the place she presides over: the Ansanto Valley. A peculiar and dangerous place in Irpinia, which boasts the highest emission of toxic gases worldwide.

The analysis of the proposed topic, due to its complexity, necessitated a methodology marked by the use of mixed sources that included, as an added value, field research, fundamental in the investigation of the contemporary, to confirm that the myth of Mephitis is indeed timeless. What is certain is that the popular and contemporary testimonies collected, seem to mirror the controversies scientifically found in the course of the dense research, just as it is certain that the Mephitis myth and all that revolves around it, is still alive today, greatly impacting contemporary times. It is hard to imagine how it could become extinct.

SPEAKER

Valentina Noviello
CNR-ISMed

INTRODUCES AND MODERATES

Andrea Ercolani
CNR-ISMed

FINAL DEBATE

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Michele Colucci, Gabriella Corona, Antonio De Lorenzo, Valentina Noviello
CNR-ISMed

INFO AND CONTACTS
valentina.noviello@ismed.cnr.it
www.ismed.cnr.it

HOW TO ATTEND
The seminar is open to the public, subject to availability.
It is possible to participate remotely on Teams platform

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