Ancient World

Gratulerer til dr. Christina Videbech som har feiret publisering av sin bok: SINDETS ILD!

Sindets ild sætter Romerrigets kejserne på briksen og undersøger, hvordan forskellige tiders moral og idealer har formet vores syn på psykisk sygdom, køn og seksualitet.

Sindets ild - sindssygdom og galskab i antikken - FADL's Forlag (external link), kan også bestilles gjennom Akademika.

Every other week the group offers research seminars for its members and other interested parties. The contributions are held by the group's own members or by visiting scholars. 

Here you will find our seminar series' programme, as well as information about time, place, and topic.

O Muse, tell me of that man of many ways, who travelled
Far and wide, after he sacked the sacred citadel of Troy;
Many mens’ cities he saw and knew their minds,
Many pains too he suffered at sea (Homer, Odyssey. 1.1-4)

From the earliest epic narratives about the heroic wanderings of Odysseus and Gilgamesh to the early Christian pilgrimage to the ‘Holy Land’ in late antiquity, humans have been preoccupied with the dangers and benefits of travel. Mobility, both inside communities and crossing borders, creates networks, enables (cross-)cultural contact and facilitates changes. Although the ancient world lacked the fast methods of travel and mass communication that defines the modern world, it was nevertheless a world of travel, interaction, and communication. From travelling individuals, such as traders, pirates, and monks, to multi-ethnic empires stretching to the edges of the known world, many agents and institutions facilitated mobility and contact. In this world, urban communities were often nodes in these networks. This research group is interested in the mobility of individuals (human and divine), goods and texts, as well as ideas, and the role urban centers played in dissemination and distribution. It will look both at networks at a macro level and at individual case studies.

The research group has two reading groups of ancient languages which meet weekly. 

Greek reading group:

• When: Every Thursday at 16:00
• What: Currently reading Lucian of Samosata
• Where: The special collections room at the HF-library

Demotic reading group:

• When: Every Wednesday at 14:15
• What: Diverse demotic texts
• Where: The HF-Library

• Year round: research talks by members and guest researchers
• 2023: workshop at the Norwegian institute in Athens for members presenting contributions to antology
• 2024: workshop at the Norwegian institute in Rome for members submitting final draft for antology
• 2025: Wrap-up workshop at the Norwegian institute in Athens for all members to develop new reserach projects