While most students were attending Thomas Ricks’ lecture last Thursday, another aesthetically rich presentation took place in Olin 130 by Dr. Hector Williams of the University of British Columbia.  

The lecture, entitled “Goddesses, Whores, Vampyres & Archaeologists: Digging Up Mytilene (Lesbos),” was full of an array of facts about Lesbos, ranging from its culture to its history to various accumulated artifacts.  

Agriculturally, Williams described Lesbos as “very green” with multiple fisheries and a large crop of olive oil. Williams also pointed to several important figures of the island including Sappho, the creator of personal love poetry in Western culture. With examples such as Sappho, Williams enunciated the complexity of Greek culture, which also was economically booming due to globalization.  

But the most eye-raising component in Williams lecture was the presence of vampires, or revenants, on the island.  

“In the Balkans, vampires were a general fact of life and a general nuisance to have to deal with,” said Williams.

Greek Orthodox Christians, who were the majority in Lesbos, believed that as long as flesh stayed on the bones of a cadaver, the spirit had the possibility of returning. If the spirit chose to return, it created a vampire. To prevent the vampires from rejoining society, the ancient Orthodox Greeks pinned the bodies down-: with stakes.

 Williams and his team found multiple skeletons with meter-long iron stakes engulfed in their bones revealing the ancient preventative practice. Along with the vampire skeletons, Williams found many erotic plates with nude men and women, signifying the existence of a brothel.

 Lesbos also had multiple sanctuaries filled with fertility statues, including life-size sculptures of the goddesses of fertility, Demeter and Kore. Another indicator of sanctuaries for Williams, was the abundance of piglet skeletons. Piglets were a favored sacrifice for the inhabitants of Lesbos due to the fact that the average pig had 12 piglets at least twice a year. Williams also pointed to pictures of multiple plate and bowl shards, which were ritually smashed in sanctuaries to praise the gods.  

Though few students attended the lecture, one first-year, Rachel Hoar, found Williams particularly insightful.

“I had no idea that one island could contain so much history from so many cultures, and I really enjoyed it, especially since I’m interested in classics,” Hoar said.

Perhaps what made the lecture unique was Williams’ sense of humor.   When else would you see the eyes of a professional light up with the idea of a newspaper headline titled, “Lesbian vampire found in   Dukakis’ hometown?”   (Michael Dukakis was the Democratic U.S. Presidential nominee in 1988 his family was from northern Lesbos.