Artistic Production

Art had a central role in Old Europe. It wasn't just for decoration purposes, but was an authentic part of this civilization's creative processes. By means of artistic production, our institute wants to develop an appreciative and supportive atmosphere for art in our times, as well as relay the spirit of Old Europe to modern people in a memorable way. The artwork is related to intellectual content expressed in our blogs on these webpages.

Seikilos Epitah

The first work of art is the Seikilos Epitaph, which dates back to Ancient Greece and was discovered as an engraving on a tombstone. It is a rarity, since both the words and musical notation have survived. Mikko Idlax has translated the song into Finnish. We have chosen the Seikilos Epitaph because we believe its words convey the ambiance of Old Europe and because it's melody is easy to use for a circle dance. Circle dances were frequently danced in Old Europe. Kadi Vija has arranged and sung the Seikilos Epitaph in both its traditional and modernized versions. Nemat Battah acompanies with the oud, which is an old arabic string instrument similar to the Western lute.
Producer: Virpi Lehtinen

Papittaren laulu ("Song of the Priestess")

The second work of art is called Papittaren laulu ("Song of the Priestess"). It is about a flood which nowadays is thought to have led to the birth of Old European civilization. The song is performed, composed, written and arranged by Petra Streng. It is based on a monologue delivered by a priestess, intended to give courage to travellers facing a crisis. The monologue is from Irya and the Great Flood, a recently published novel by Christine Labrige that deals with the story of the flood.

Land of Hope

Land of Hope is the theme song of the Institute of Archaeomythology European Branch, composed by Petra Streng and Riku Kivilinna and written and performed by Petra Streng. The lyrics are based on the poem "The Mystery of the Treasure" by Harald Haarmann.

T-shirts

The third type of artwork are elaborately hand-printed t-shirts. Artist Lidia Kivinen texts Sappho's (600–500 BCE) poems in Finnish onto t-shirts. Sappho, the ancient world's most famous poetess, was known as a skillfull wedding singer and for her written verse. Her poems have only survived as fragments, all except for one. Even as fragments, they are influential and attest to Sappho's masterful way with words. Pentti Saarikoski's acclaimed Finnish translations are from a collection of poetry called Iltatähti, häälaulu (published by Kulttuuriosuuskunta Partuuna, 2022). Hexameter, the poetic meter used by Sappho, originally comes from Old Europe. Linguists consider hexameter to be ill-suited to Ancient Greek, and thus it is thought to be of earlier origin and from a different language. Saarikoski's Finnish translation does not use hexameter. Sappho's poems flow with sensuality, and exalt the wonder of Nature, love and life. The idea behind the printed t-shirts is that the entire collection of Sappho's translated poems would travel around the city as people wear them. If you encounter a t-shirt bearing Sappho's name, you will know that it is a part of a greater whole, as is the Old European attitude to life.
Producer: Virpi Lehtinen