Historical change in the ancient Aegean: A conference in honour of John Kenyon Davies
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 will take place in Rethymno, Crete, between 13-15 March 2020. Further details, including paper abstracts, can be found at the conference’s webpage: https://historicalchange.ims.
Conference Program
Friday 13/3
First panel: Political and Military Change
9.30-10.30 Katerina Panagopoulou (Crete) – Kostas Vlassopoulos (Crete): Introduction
10.45-11.45 Mait Kõiv (Tartu): Political change
11.45-12.15 Coffee break
12.15-13.15 Hans van Wees (UCL): Military change
Second Panel: Institutional, Legal and Identity Change
15.15-16.15 Gunnar Seelentag (Hannover): Institutional change
16.30-17.30 Edward Harris (Durham): Legal change
17.30-18.00 Coffee break
18.00-19.00 Ioannis Xydopoulos (Thessaloniki): Identities and change
Saturday 14/3
Third Panel: Social, Economic and Maritime Change
9.30-10.30 Kostas Vlassopoulos (Crete): Social change
10.45-11.45 David Lewis (Edinburgh): Economic change
11.45-12.15 Coffee break
12.15-13.15 Vincent Gabrielsen (Copenhagen): Maritime change
Fourth Panel: Narratives of Change
15.00-16.00 Marek Węcowski (Warsaw): The Archaic narrative
16.15-17.15 Christy Constantakopoulou (Birkbeck): The Classical narrative
17.15-17.45 Coffee break
17.45-18.45 Andrew Meadows (Oxford): The Hellenistic narrative
19.00-20.00 Nikolaos Giannakopoulos (Athens): The Roman narrative
Sunday 15/3
Fifth Panel: Sources and Change 1
09.30-10.30 Paola Ceccarelli (UCL): Change in the literary sources
10.45-11.45 Veronique Chankowski (École française d’Athènes): Change in the epigraphic sources
11.45-12.15 Coffee break
12.15-13.15 Robin Osborne (Cambridge): Material culture change
Sixth Panel: Sources and Change 2
15.00-16.00 Katerina Panagopoulou (Crete): Monetary change
16.15-17.15 Manuela Mari (Bari): Religious change
17.30-18.00 John K. Davies (Liverpool): Response