The orientalist fallacy: Greek-Persian enmity in ancient Athens. This project aims to investigate classical Greek depictions of Persians and their mythological cognates across the 200 years of the Persian Empire. The mid-sixth century BC Persian conquest of West Asia introduced a dangerous neighbour to the Aegean. The historical record focuses on enmity between Athenians and Persians, especially after the Persians sacked Athens in 480-79. The unofficial record, however, tells a different story. ....The orientalist fallacy: Greek-Persian enmity in ancient Athens. This project aims to investigate classical Greek depictions of Persians and their mythological cognates across the 200 years of the Persian Empire. The mid-sixth century BC Persian conquest of West Asia introduced a dangerous neighbour to the Aegean. The historical record focuses on enmity between Athenians and Persians, especially after the Persians sacked Athens in 480-79. The unofficial record, however, tells a different story. Representations in Greek vase-painting exhibit a range of psychological responses beyond hostility, including accommodation and curiosity. The project will yield insight into changes in private thought as well as public representation and undercut the dominant paradigm that presumes enmity is the basic form of cultural exchange.Read moreRead less
Settlement sustainability and societal change in the ancient Mediterranean: the case of Zagora. A settlement becomes a community when its physical design supports its social structure and thrives when diversity secures its economic base. Probing the failure of once-prosperous centers like 8th-century BC Zagora will illuminate past approaches to issues of settlement sustainability in the face of environmental, social and economic challenge.
A spring of silver, a treasury in the earth: coinage and wealth in archaic Athens. The purpose of the project is to study the impact of locally mined silver on the public treasury of the Athenians, and thus on the developing political economy of this important city-state during the years c.550-480 BC, by examining its employment for the minting of coins.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101577
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$364,362.00
Summary
Like frogs around a pond: Maritime Religion and Seafaring Gods of Ancient Greek Culture. Maritime religion is an important but overlooked factor in ancient Greek culture. Cults of seafaring gods throughout classical antiquity included rituals of embarkation, prayers at sea and offerings for a safe arrival, all of which contributed to establishing and maintaining a collective Greek cultural identity around the Mediterranean Sea. This project aims to assemble both textual and archaeological eviden ....Like frogs around a pond: Maritime Religion and Seafaring Gods of Ancient Greek Culture. Maritime religion is an important but overlooked factor in ancient Greek culture. Cults of seafaring gods throughout classical antiquity included rituals of embarkation, prayers at sea and offerings for a safe arrival, all of which contributed to establishing and maintaining a collective Greek cultural identity around the Mediterranean Sea. This project aims to assemble both textual and archaeological evidence for ancient Greek maritime religion; to explore the significance of cults of seafaring gods for ancient Greek ethnic identity, migration and colonisation; and to contextualise ancient Greek maritime religion with comparable modern customs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101110
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,928.00
Summary
Popular Perceptions of Roman Emperors from Augustus to Theodosius I. This project aims to examine how Roman emperors were perceived by the inhabitants of their empire, from soldiers, slaves and freedmen to senatorial aristocrats. It has two main aims: to explain the different ways in which the emperors' military, judicial, religious and moral authority was conceived, interpreted and transmitted in the Roman world; and to analyse the continuities and changes in these aspects between the first and ....Popular Perceptions of Roman Emperors from Augustus to Theodosius I. This project aims to examine how Roman emperors were perceived by the inhabitants of their empire, from soldiers, slaves and freedmen to senatorial aristocrats. It has two main aims: to explain the different ways in which the emperors' military, judicial, religious and moral authority was conceived, interpreted and transmitted in the Roman world; and to analyse the continuities and changes in these aspects between the first and fourth centuries A.D. The significance of this study lies in its demonstration that the popular reception of imperial rule is crucial to understanding how and why the institution of emperorship endured in the Roman world. This outcome will enhance scholarly and public understanding of the Roman empire.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101493
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The transfer of global hegemony: geopolitical revolutions in world history. Global hegemony is shifting from West to East. This project seeks to highlight another titanic shift in global power that saw the transfer of hegemony from the Turco-Mongol Empires of Inner Asia to Western Europe, which will also have important ramifications for managing our transition into a new phase in world history.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100919
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,260.00
Summary
How Old are the Oldest Christian Manuscripts? The Modern History of Ancient Christian Papyri and a New Approach to Establishing their Dates. Ancient Greek papyri from Egypt are one of our most important witnesses to the text of the New Testament. The papyri fascinate both scholars and the general public, largely because of the early dates often assigned to them by the analysis of handwriting or palaeography. However, palaeography is an imprecise science that produces only ranges of possible date ....How Old are the Oldest Christian Manuscripts? The Modern History of Ancient Christian Papyri and a New Approach to Establishing their Dates. Ancient Greek papyri from Egypt are one of our most important witnesses to the text of the New Testament. The papyri fascinate both scholars and the general public, largely because of the early dates often assigned to them by the analysis of handwriting or palaeography. However, palaeography is an imprecise science that produces only ranges of possible dates, not the specific dates often assigned to biblical papyri. This project pairs a fresh investigation of the earliest remains of the New Testament, built on a new methodology for dating the texts, with an historiographical analysis of their use in the academic world and popular media. The result will be a thorough revision of what we know about the earliest form of the Christian Bible.Read moreRead less
The invention of Rome: Biondo Flavio's Roma triumphans and its worlds. The subject of this project, Biondo Flavio's Rome triumphant, is of vital importance in the revival of classical antiquity in the renaissance. A new presentation and comprehensive study of the text will at last make this work widely accessible to modern readers and provide a new and deeper view on the cult of Rome in Western civilisation.