Symposium: Cosmopolities in Antiquity and Modernity – Mechanisms of Multiethnicities
15–16 May 2026, Pythagorio/ Samos
German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Athens / Eleonora-Schamberger-Foundation, Munich
On 15–16 May 2026, the Eleonora-Schamberger-Foundation in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute at Athens (DAI) will host a symposium on Cosmopolities in Antiquity and Modernity – Mechanisms of Multiethnicities. The Symposium will take place in Pythagorio (Pythagorio 83103, Samos).
We invite the submission of proposals for papers contributing new perspectives and case studies that address the symposium’s key aims until October 15, 2025 to the address given below.
Purpose and objectives of the symposium
The basic aspiration of the symposium “Cosmopolities in Antiquity and Modernity – Mechanisms of Multiethnicities” is to contribute to deepening our understanding of multi-ethnicity: how intercultural contact zones emerge and how they are maintained; what the mechanisms of coexistence and exchange were; what lived experiences in multicultural settings looked and felt like in specific geographies and in a specific ancient period.
For that sake, we want to diachronically look at those phenomena in concrete examples from the ancient world – e.g. Samos, Naukratis, Athens – but also in historical periods as recent as the late 19th and early 20th century – e.g. Smyrna, Alexandria etc. Even if diverse historical phenomena are never directly comparable, examining and contrasting them in their respective contexts may still help to get to new perspectives for archaeology, classical studies, and the humanities/social sciences more widely.
Background
The symposium is organized in connection with the 100th anniversary of the DAI’s excavations in one of antiquity’s most important international sanctuaries, the Samian Heraion. To mark this anniversary, in 2025, the German Archaeological Institute is organizing the exhibition “Bridging Cultures” in cooperation with the Schwarz Foundation and support by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The exhibition at the Art-Space Phytagorion/Samos focuses on the ancient lifeworld of the island community of Samos and the cult in the internationally important Heraion.
The exhibition 2025 as well as the symposium in 2026 thrive from the extraordinary density of contacts between the Samians and the cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean from the 8th to the 6th century BC, due to its connectivity with main trading routes. These exchanges were decisive for the genesis of Greek culture as a corner stone for modern European identity.
In addition to borrowings from Anatolian-Mesopotamian cultures, there were close links with Egypt – a big theme at the exhibition and at next year’s symposium. The results of these contacts in the form of technical, artistic and cultic innovations are vividly illustrated by the archaeological remains on Samos. At the same time, evidence from Greece and Egypt also provides an insight into the socio-political structures of contact on which inspiration and adaptation was based, and in particular the dynamics of direct interaction between Greeks and Egyptians on Egyptian soil. A special contact zone was founded in the city of Naukratis, the only supra-regional trading port in Egypt explicitly legitimized by the Egyptian authorities with a multi-ethnic population.
Despite significant new data, and insights having emerged from fieldwork and research over the past decades, many aspects of ancient intercultural contact, however, remain little understood. This is true especially with regards to the people who shaped and were shaped by this multicultural, interconnected world: Who were they and what were their experiences? How did sacred spaces, material culture, and rituals shape the emotional and intellectual responses to foreign encounters? Examining questions such as these are crucial for a deeper understanding of intercultural contact and its impact, including the various processes often subsumed under the term ‘acculturation’.
Moving beyond the initial reference points of the Samian Heraion with its international visitors and the multi-ethnic port of Naukratis, the symposium aims to examine comparable phenomena of intercultural contact zones in different regions and periods from antiquity up to the present day – places such as ancient Classical Athens, or 19th/20th century Smyrna, Alexandria or similar places. Its key aim is to investigate underlying motivations, structures and mechanisms: How is the coexistence of culturally heterogeneous groups organized? Where are the points of contact? What mutual perceptions and influences can be identified? Who adopts which cultural inspirations – how and why? What can we learn today from the experiences of the past?
Methodological Approach
The symposium aims to promote a diachronic and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on recent debates in material culture studies, particularly those concerned with the interpretive potential of everyday objects and spatial practices.
Of central concern is the reconstruction of lived experience in intercultural settings. Instead of emphasizing overarching political or imperial dynamics, the symposium intends to explore micro-level encounters and peaceful cultural exchanges among ordinary individuals. By foregrounding the emotional, practical and symbolic dimensions of cross-cultural interaction in everyday life – whether in sacred spaces, marketplaces, domestic contexts or port cities – the symposium aims to shed light on how cultural hybridity, adaptation and mutual influence were actively lived and negotiated beyond elite or state-directed processes.
Proposals for Papers
We invite you to propose papers that investigate interculturality on this micro-level, focussing on human interaction and motivations on a strong methodological foundation. The case studies to be discussed will integrate material and archaeological evidence to varying degrees, depending on the nature and preservation of sources from each respective period. While for some early historical contexts the focus necessarily lies on artefactual and spatial data, more recent epochs may allow a stronger incorporation of textual and visual sources. We particularly welcome papers that engage with more recent periods of history, or that consider the relevance of antiquity for contemporary societies from different disciplines of cultural studies, like Ancient Studies, Social Sciences, Ethnology, and other relevant disciplines.
The symposium “Cosmopolities in Antiquity and Modernity – Mechanisms of Multiethnicities”, organized by the Eleonora-Schamberger-Foundation and the German Archaeological Institute at Athens, will take place from 15–16 May 2026 at Pythagorio / Samos (Greece).
We invite Postdoctoral researchers and PhD candidates also to contribute to the conference with academic posters.
Submissions should address the symposium’s central themes, focusing on intercultural contact zones, lived experiences in multicultural settings, and mechanisms of coexistence and exchange across different historical periods in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Please submit your proposal (in English), including an abstract of 200–300 words of your proposed 30-minutes presentation, or a poster proposal, by 15 October 2025 to: [email protected] and [email protected]
We look forward to your contributions!
