Over the course of his long career, J. K. Davies has made a substantial contribution to the study of the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. There are very few, if any, historians whose work has played a major role in configuring how we approach and conceive all three major periods of ancient Greek history. But Davies’ work is remarkable not only for its chronological range, but also for its thematic diversity. He has made major contributions to the study of social and economic history, institutional history, the history of politics, state-building and warfare, religious and cultural history, of epigraphy and ancient documents.

In order to honour Davies for his contribution to the study of ancient Greek history, the University of Crete and the Institute for Mediterranean Studies are organising an international conference which builds on Davies’ work in order to explore a major aspect of ancient Greek history: the issue of historical change in its various facets. Participants will explore the various aspects of historical change (political, military, legal, institutional, social, economic, religious, identity change), the periodisations and narratives of change, and the change in the nature of our sources and how these reflect historical change.

The conference was originally scheduled for 13-15 March 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. It will now take place electronically through Zoom, between October 16-18 2020.

In order to participate, a registration is required under the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AE6yxi3ORYezHosvYyT7lg

Further details, including paper abstracts, can be found at the conference’s webpage: https://historicalchange.ims.forth.gr/

Conference Programme

Friday 16/10
All times are local Greek time.

First panel: Political and Military Change
10.30-11.00 Katerina Panagopoulou (Crete) – Kostas Vlassopoulos (Crete): Introduction
11.00-11.30 Discussion
11.45-12.15 Mait Kõiv (Tartu): Political change
12.15-12.45 Discussion
12.45-13.15 Coffee break
13.15-13.45 Hans van Wees (UCL): Military change
13.45-14.15 Discussion

Second Panel: Institutional, Legal and Identity Change
16.15-16.45 Gunnar Seelentag (Hannover): Institutional change
16.45-17.15 Discussion
17.30-18.00 Edward Harris (Durham): Legal change
18.00-18.30 Discussion
18.30-19.00 Coffee break
19.00-19.30 Ioannis Xydopoulos (Thessaloniki): Identities and change
19.30-20.00 Discussion

Saturday 17/10

Third Panel: Social, Economic and Maritime Change
10.30-11.00 Kostas Vlassopoulos (Crete): Social change
11.00-11.30 Discussion
11.45-12.15 David Lewis (Edinburgh): Economic change
12.15-12.45 Discussion
12.45-13.15 Coffee break
13.15-13.45 Vincent Gabrielsen (Copenhagen): Maritime change
13.145-14.15 Discussion

Fourth Panel: Narratives of Change
16.00-16.30 Marek Węcowski (Warsaw): The Archaic narrative
16.30-17.00 Discussion
17.15-17.45 Christy Constantakopoulou (Birkbeck): The Classical narrative
17.45-18.15 Discussion
18.15-18.45 Coffee break
18.45-19.15 Andrew Meadows (Oxford): The Hellenistic narrative
19.15-19.45 Discussion
20.00-20.30 Nikolaos Giannakopoulos (Athens): The Roman narrative
20.30-21.00 Discussion

Sunday 18/10

Fifth Panel: Sources and Change 1
10.30-11.00 Veronique Chankowski (ÉFA) & Andrzej Chankowski (Lille): Change in the epigraphic sources
11.00-11.30 Discussion
11.45-12.15 Paola Ceccarelli (UCL): Change in the literary sources
12.15-12.45 Discussion
12.45-13.15 Coffee break
13.15-13.45 Robin Osborne (Cambridge): Material culture change
13.45-14.15 Discussion

Sixth Panel: Sources and Change 2
16.00-16.30 Katerina Panagopoulou (Crete): Monetary change
16.30-17.00 Discussion
17.15-17.45 Manuela Mari (Bari): Religious change
17.45-18.15 Discussion
18.30-19.00 John K. Davies (Liverpool): Response