Ritualia Webcomic

VISUALISING RELIGION THROUGH OBJECTS AND LANDSCAPE

One of my dreams growing up was to create comics. I took my first step on Webtoons, with my new archaeology and ancient history comic: RITUALIA.

Ritualia are objects used in connection with religious rites. In antiquity, deities and everyday life were inextricably linked, as evidenced by rituals, myths, and festivals. Ritualia is an ongoing WEBTOON that explores the symmetry between humans, material culture, and the landscape around them in antiquity. This webcomic explores the vibrant world of gods and heroes in antiquity through the stories of everyday men and women who created these incredible objects! Each chapter will look at a specific event through the lens of famous objects, in turn revealing fascinating stories about life in antiquity!

My background in Classics, Archaeology, History and Art have always created a holistic and strong interest in the objects of the ancient world, the stories they tell and the historical context that created them. This project was inspired by the object from Chapter 1: Dancing with Dionysus – the Pronomos Vase.

With the generous support of the British School at Athens through receiving the 2021 BSA Artist Award, I was able to immerse myself in their library collection which created a foundation for Chapter 1. Representing Athens in the 5th century, the City Dionysia, and Euripides’ Bacchae required a good amount of research, and the academic resources at the BSA were incredible.

I was also fortunate enough to conduct field work while staying in Athens. This included visiting archaeological museums and sites in Athens: the Piraeus, the Agora, the Acropolis, the Pnyx, and the cemetery of Kerameikos. I also popped down to the Peloponnesus to visit Sparta and then Thebes. As an archaeologist and artist, it was very important to me to actually see the places I was going to work into the story, since the landscape is equally as important to the Greek history and myths as the gods were.

Each Chapter will include Bibliographic information, reading lists and activity sheets to further explore the world of Ritualia.

I would like to thank the British School at Athens for their support. I could not have begun this project without their kind award.