2013 Edgar and Dorothy Davidson Lecture Dr. Steven Fine, Yeshiva University "The Golden Menorah of the Arch of Titus: Public Architecture and Religion from Imperial Rome to Modern Israel" Thursday, February 7, 2013 Time: 8:00pm Carleton University - Senate Room - 608 Robertson Hall For more information visit: http://www1.carleton.ca/jewishstudies/cu-events/steven-fine-lecture Co-sponsored by the Edgar and Dorothy Davidson Fund in Religious Studies, the M.A. in Religion and Public Life Program, and the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies. This program was made possible by the Association for Jewish Studies Distinguished Lectureship Program. The Arch of Titus celebrates the triumph of the Roman emperor Vespasian and his son Titus in the Jewish War of 66-73 CE. One of a group of public structures-- including the Coliseum, built to celebrate this victory -- the Arch of Titus has served as a “site of memory” for Jews, and then for Christians, for centuries. The most famous element of the Arch is its panel showing that the golden Menorah and other holy objects were taken to Rome as booty from the Jerusalem Temple, some of which were exhibited in a Temple of Peace built by Vespasian. The menorah – a symbol of profound Jewish loss and hope for redemption – is today emblazoned on the seal of the State of Israel. This lecture will discuss the public nature of the Arch of Titus in antiquity, and the continuing fascination with this structure and its menorah by Jews and Christians. It will highlight recent discoveries by a team led by Prof. Fine in Summer, 2013, of the original color of the menorah, using the newest technological means. STEVEN FINE, professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University and director of the YU Center for Israel Studies, is a cultural historian who specializes in Jewish history in the Greco-Roman period. His work focuses on the literature, art and archaeology of Judaism during the Talmudic period, and the ways that modern scholars have interpreted the Jewish past. To learn more about the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project, visit http://yu.edu/cis/activities/arch-of-titus.