19–25 July 2026 – International Symposium
The forgotten Ancestors
Actors–Dancers–Athletes–Warriors: The Example of the Marathon Warriors
This symposium aims to explore new perspectives in acting, movement, and embodied education through the lens of the Marathon warriors as a model of the citizen‑artist. Bringing together scholars, practitioners and interdisciplinary researchers, it examines acting as praxis, collective intelligence, and the role of embodied training in contemporary performance and civic life.
From Asymmetry to the Beautiful: Art as Collective Intelligence
The symposium “The Forgotten Ancestors” is dedicated to the Marathon warriors — not as monumental memory, but as a living model of the human being who unites within himself four identities: actor, dancer, athlete, warrior. Within this framework, the contemporary actor is not merely a performer; he is a citizen of the polis, a bearer of rhythm, reason and ethical action. The stage functions as a microcosm of society, where collective intelligence — the ability of many bodies to coordinate without central command — becomes visible and tangible. What artificial intelligence attempts to imitate through algorithms, the actor achieves through the body: rhythm, intention, adaptation, empathy, spatial awareness, collective action.
Aristotle, in the Poetics and the Politics, sees action as a bearer of truth and the education of the citizen as embodied philosophy. The students of his Lyceum were trained in theatre, dance and athletics not as entertainment, but as forms of episteme and philosophy in motion. This education prepared them for the polis, for technē, for war, for speech, for collective life.
a. Honour to the Forgotten – The Messenger, the Misconception and the Truth of Education
Until today, our collective memory celebrates the messenger — Pheidippides — and not the warriors. This choice, deeply rooted in modern imagination, is a collective misconception: we honour the message but forget those who made it possible. The Battle of Marathon was not won by one man who ran; it was won by a community of bodies trained to function as a single organism, as a swarm of high coordination. The symposium will be held in memory of the Marathon warriors, not only for the historical event, but for the way they acquired these qualities: through education, discipline, dance‑training, athletic practice, rhetoric, music, and martial art.
We do not honour the battle; we honour the education that made it possible.
We do not honour the messenger; we honour the trained citizens who created the message.
b. The Myth of Echetlaios – Collective Intelligence as Living Reality
The myth of Echetlaios, the mysterious figure who appeared in battle holding a plough, should not be read as a metaphysical phenomenon. Echetlaios is the poetic form of a much deeper reality: the collective intelligence that emerges when a group of people reaches an exceptionally high level of kinetic, sensory and rhythmic coordination. The Marathon warriors had been trained to function as one body with many members. One person’s movement anticipated the movement of another. One person’s intention became the rhythm of the whole. The battle was not chaos; it was choreography of high precision.
Echetlaios is not a ghost; he is the embodiment of collective intelligence — the moment when the community surpasses the individual and becomes a unified being capable of defeating a superior enemy.
c. Education as the Foundation of Victory of the Democracy and of the Polis
The Marathon warriors did not win because they were simply brave; they won because they were educated. Their education was holistic and embodied: theatre (hypokrisis), dance (orchesis), athletics, martial art, music and rhythm, rhetoric and speech, philosophy and ethos. This education created citizens capable of functioning as a highly coordinated swarm, where individual action is integrated into a collective entelechy. The symposium “The Forgotten Ancestors” honours precisely this — not only the event, but the education that generated it.
d. Art as the Entelechy of Action
Theatre must shape real life. And real life is the entelechy of existence in its fullness: the moment when the human being becomes what they can become. Action has ethical consequence not only for personal fulfilment but for the relationship with the other. When people truly commune, they generate collective intelligence. Technology is the result of this intelligence — not its cause.
e. The Body as a Topos of Meaning
Education must reintroduce the notion of micro‑movement — the subtle internal dynamics that shape the expressive capacity of the body. Education does not impose forms; it awakens rhythms, and movement becomes a mode of knowledge.
f. The Actor as Citizen of the Polis
The actor possesses the ability to think with clarity, analyse, synthesise and decide with speed — functioning like a living system of artificial intelligence. Most importantly: the actor knows not only his own position, but the position of others.
This awareness creates collective intelligence, where the ensemble thinks and acts as a single body. This is the model of the citizen of the polis: embodied, rhythmic, ethical, cooperative.
Guest Artists
David Glass
One of the most influential and visionary figures of contemporary international theatre, with a career spanning more than 45 years and over 75 countries. A pioneer of physical theatre, devised ensemble practice and socially engaged performance.
In connection with the Marathon Apocalyptica Symposium
We are pleased to announce the official launch of Michael Thoma’s book, The Aesthetic of the Aesthetic on the pursuit of truth through illusion
Keynote Speakers:
Paul Allain
Professor of Theatre and Performance University of Kent, former Dean of the Graduate School, University of Kent; Specialist in Actor Training and Physical Performance.
Dr. Michael Seibel
Stage director, Theatre and Opera Acting and Vocal Teacher Research Phenomenology in Acting.
Michael Thoma
Writer, educator, story editor Chair of the School of motion Picture arts at Capilano University, North Vancouver BC, Canada.
Dr Juliet Chambers-Coe,
Associate Artistic Director of The Makings of the Actor; Lecturer in Movement East 15 Acting School/ University of Essex; Academic Tutor – Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; Founder & Director of Labanarium: Resource & Network Centre; Principal Editor of the Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities (Intellect).
Dr. Stavros Tsonias
Historian of Olympism, Education Consultant in Physical Education, Activity and Sport
DIRECTORATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION OF EAST ATTICA
Morwenna Rowe
Course Leader, MA Acting; Senior Lecturer in Voice, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Dr. Rob Roznowski click here for more info
Dr. Angelo Romagnoli click here for more info
Dr. Stephen Atkins click here for more info
Dr. Kiki Selioni click here for more info
The symposium invites papers, teaching demonstrations, workshops and short performances and films that engage with the themes emerging from embodied education, collective intelligence, and the mode of citizen‑artist.
Themes:
1. Acting on Stage and Screen
The actor as a unified presence across theatrical and cinematic environments; rhythm, intention and embodied intelligence in both mediums.
2. Synthesis and Creativity in Performance
The stage and the screen as spaces of synthesis where movement, speech, rhythm and collective action generate new forms of creation.
3. Embodied Practices in Acting
The body as a place of meaning: micro‑movement, sensory awareness, kinetic precision and the recovery of the “small movement”.
4. Voice, Rhythm and Body Language
The expressive intelligence of the face and voice; rhythm as the foundation of communication and ensemble coordination.
5. Kinesthesia, Presence and Collective Intelligence
The actor’s capacity to perceive, anticipate and coordinate with others — the human equivalent of what AI attempts to imitate.
6. Ethics and Acting
Action (praxis) as ethical choice; the actor as a bearer of responsibility, clarity, decision‑making and civic presence.
7. Education and Theatre Praxis
Theatre, dance, athletics, music and rhetoric as forms of philosophy in motion and foundations of democratic life.
8. Art as an Educational Tool
Art as a mode of knowledge, analysis and synthesis; performance as a way of understanding and shaping real life.
9. Pedagogy and New Learning Environments
New models of training that integrate embodied philosophy, interdisciplinary practice and collective learning.
10. Ecology and Agricultural Landscapes in Education
Natural field of education; the relationship between landscape, movement, perception and presence.
11. New Spaces and Outdoor Environments for Actor Training
Training outside the city: open fields, natural terrains and historical sites as catalysts for embodied intelligence and ensemble practice.
12. Universal Conceptions of the Human Being in Acting
Understanding human capacity beyond categories or distinctions in artistic world
13. Fight and Group Scenes on Stage and on screen
We welcome contributions from scholars, educators, practitioners, directors, choreographers, filmmakers, movement teachers, philosophers, and interdisciplinary researchers.
For papers, please send your abstract of 200 words for your oral presentation in Word doc form, including title, institutional affiliation, your brief CV and email address. The paper presentations will be 40 min, followed by a 10 min discussion with the audience/participants.
We accept submissions for online paper presentations and teaching demonstrations (prerecorded).
Submissions of teaching demonstrations must be in English and can be up to 4 pages (including references and figures) in a Word doc form, including title, institutional affiliation, your brief CV and email address. The first 2 pages are expected to describe your approach.
The third and fourth pages are expected to be used for images, references, and technical requirements. You can expect wireless network access. 15-25 students will be provided for all accepted demonstrations. The demonstrations allow practitioners/researchers to demonstrate their works in teaching in a dedicated session of 100 min., followed by a 20 min discussion with the audience/participants.
For short performances and films, please include a brief description of technical requirements (sound, projection, space, lighting). Outdoor or site‑specific proposals are welcome.
Please send your submission by the 23rd June 2026 to:
kikiselioni@yahoo.gr and cc to: themakingsoftheactor@gmail.com
Acceptance Notification: 25th April 2026
If an official invitation is required earlier for research funding purposes, please contact kikiselioni@yahoo.gr and ensure that you submit your abstract as early as possible.
Fees:
Papers: 100 euros
Teaching Demonstrations: 200 euros
Performances and films 150 euros
Participation Fee (Full Programme)
For all attendees who wish to follow the entire symposium programme (19–23 July 2026), the participation fee is €100.
This includes: Attendance (physical presence or online) to all keynote lectures-Access to all paper presentations- Entry to all workshops (as observers)- Participation in discussions & Q&A sessions- Performances (physical presence). Access to the evening pilot rehearsals of Apocalyptica: The Last Battle of Marathon-Symposium materials & certificate of attendance
Symposium, is part of the Sheed Apocalyptica Festival, which will officially begin in 2027 under the artistic direction of David Glass. Evening rehearsals for this pilot will take place daily from 20:00 to 23:00, offering participants the opportunity to experience the first creative steps of the festival’s large‑scale performance. For those interest in participate please let us know.
Apocalyptica: The Battle of Marathon is an international festival that brings together embodied education, artistic creation, and democratic practice. Rooted in the historic landscape of Marathon, it revives the ancient model of the citizen‑artist — actor, dancer, athlete, and warrior — through contemporary theatre, film, and collective performance.
The festival is structured around three pillars:
The Academy, offering international workshops and training;
The Agora, hosting talks, dialogues, and artistic research;
and The Climax, a large‑scale performance and film event directed by renowned theatre‑maker David Glass.
Apocalyptica honours the Marathon warriors — the “Forgotten Ancestors” — as a living model of collective intelligence and embodied citizenship, proposing a new vision for art, education, and community in the 21st century. Link
23–30 July – Daily Morning Workshops
David Glass — Devising Theatre Practice Ensemble
General director of the performance and creator of the crowd scenes.
Dr Kiki Selioni — Stage Combat & Crowd Scenes in the Laban System
Laban Movement Analysis, kinetic precision and martial action.
Kasper Ranvhoj — Risky Movement Training
Acrobatics, falls, dynamic transitions, physical trust.
Fees: 300 euros for the whole program
Each workshop costs: 100 euros
Book Launch – Michael Thoma, The Aesthetic of the Aesthetic
29 July, 17:00–18:30 click here for more info
Availa Artistic Space
L. Poseidonos 8, Marathon Beach, Agios Panteleimon, Marathon, Greece
In connection with the Marathon Apocalyptica Symposium
Book Launch – Michael Thoma, The Aesthetic of the Aesthetic
29 July, 17:00–18:30
We are pleased to announce the official launch of Michael Thoma’s new book, The Aesthetic of the Aesthetic — a work that restores aesthetics to its deepest and most original domain: ontology. In this book, Thoma begins from a fundamental and urgent question: “Who is going to save us from ourselves?”
From this starting point, he reveals that mimesis is not representation nor image, but zōon — a living process through which being is formed and disclosed. Art does not depict the world; it brings the world into presence.
click here for more info