Elena Franchi | University of Trento (original) (raw)
Papers by Elena Franchi
This article focuses on relations between Phokians and Athenians and in particular on two aspects... more This article focuses on relations between Phokians and Athenians and in particular on two aspects neglected by previous research : the ways in which stories about the relations were (re-)constructed over time and the role that those relations between the Athenians and the (other) members of the Delphic Amphiktyony played with regard to them. The analysis starts from a number of sources which demonstrate the historicity of the friendship between Phokians and Athenians, also in relation to the Delphic Amphiktyony ; this is followed by the examination of further evidence which reveals the continuous processes of shaping the stories about this friendship, the intentional elements underlying these processes and the tendency to project it (sometimes unduly) into the past. On the Athenian side, this tendency cannot be separated from relations with the Delphic Amphiktyony.
URL: https://books.openedition.org/puc/27261?mobile=1 . - DOI: 10.4000/books.puc.27226 Border wa... more URL: https://books.openedition.org/puc/27261?mobile=1 . - DOI: 10.4000/books.puc.27226
Border wars between neighbouring poleis or ethne were a widely spread phenomenon in Ancient Greece. Scholarship to date has rightly emphasized their agonistic character; the aim of battle was not victory, but excellence in arete. In a famous, if controversial, book published in 1961, Angelo Brelich proposed a different explanation, emphasising the ritual character of these wars. He argued that the agonistic aspects were still there, but only because such battles originally played a role similar to that of initiation ceremonies. This paper argues instead that some Ancient Greek border wars were rather represented as agonistic and initiatic battles at a discursive level in the sources; and that these sources mirrored oral traditions which were shaped by the very communities involved in battle. Such oral accounts reflected the need to provide an origin story staging the birth or rebirth of the community after a trauma, and this led to the representation of border wars as an arena for the making of men.
Les guerres frontalières étaient un phénomène largement répandu dans la Grèce antique. Beaucoup d’érudits ont souligné à juste titre leur caractère agonistique ; le but de la bataille n’était pas la victoire, mais l’excellence en arete. Dans un livre célèbre et controversé publié en 1961, Angelo Brelich a soutenu que les aspects agonistiques étaient toujours là parce que de telles batailles jouaient à l’origine un rôle semblable à celui des cérémonies d’initiation. Nous soutenons plutôt que les guerres frontalières de la Grèce antique apparaissent comme des batailles agonistiques et initiatiques à un niveau discursif dans les sources qui reflètent les traditions orales façonnées par les communautés impliquées dans la bataille. Ces récits oraux reflétaient la nécessité de fournir une histoire d’origine mettant en scène la naissance ou la renaissance de la communauté après un traumatisme et cela a conduit à la représentation des guerres frontalières comme une arène pour la fabrication des hommes
URL: https://utorontopress.com/9781487548315/localism-in-hellenistic-greece/ With this chapter t... more URL: https://utorontopress.com/9781487548315/localism-in-hellenistic-greece/
With this chapter the geographic scope of the volume shifts from Central Greece to the Peloponnese. It has long been noted that Sparta, although merely a regional wrangler for most of the Hellenistic period, continued to foster images of exceptional civic value – and to bolster corresponding claims for leadership. Elena Franchi takes readers to the reign of Kleomenes III (r. 235-222 BCE, cf. also Chapter 10), his campaigns in the Argolid and led against Argos in particular, Sparta’s long-time arch-rival in the Peloponnese. The Kleomenic War typically has a regional or Panhellenic ring to it, depending on whether its narration is couched in ongoing quarrels with the Achaian League or in Sparta’s unwillingness to yield to the rule of Macedon. Franchi’s take, however, is that of the local perspective. She explores how events on the battlefield were inspired by and, in turn, translated back into a distinct local discourse environment in Sparta. Examining historical traditions as well as a diverse body of evidence, including coinage, epigraphy, and popular Spartan sayings (apophtegmata), Franchi identifies three major themes that impacted exchanges and agencies on the ground: enmity with Argos; the Spartan education and its believed supreme value; and the myth of Herakles. Kleomenes’ actions in war, which culminated in the temporary but nonetheless unprecedented feat to take into possession a wide range of members of the Achaian League, were supplemented by a local discourse that paid due attention to these themes. Their prioritization in local conversations and voicing in various public media explains the longevity of Spartan worldviews in the Hellenistic Age. Moreover, this chapter offers an exemplary case study on the local paradigm and its capacity to further our understanding of localist self-fashioning in times of shifting power configurations in the world writ-large
URL: https://iris.unitn.it/handle/11572/398469 . - DOI: 10.15168/11572_398469
Mediterraneo Antico, 2023
Introduction to the conference in honour of Hans-Joachim Gehrke
This article investigates the role of memory in space studies and especially the role of space in... more This article investigates the role of memory in space studies and especially the role of space in memory studies. In particular, it examines the studies that gave rise to the spatial turn and attempts to reconstruct ‘the spatial turn before the spatial turn’ from the reflections of scholars such as Lucio Gambi, Henri Lefebvre and Michel Foucault. This backward review concludes with an analysis of Maurice Halbwachs’ work and the role played by space in Halbwachs’ conception of collective memory. The article closes with a case study focusing on the positioning of monuments in the sanctuary of Delphi. Delphi is understood as an ‘other space’ (in some ways therefore heterotopic, but above all heterochronic) in which different communities have reproduced but also contributed to the construction of their own history on several occasions and at different times. Such processes of construction and reconstruction are possible by virtue of the particular interdependence and reciprocal influence between space and anthropic intervention, the latter understood as the deployment of precise processes of memorialisation.
The history of Phokis is not a linear path from fragmentation to unity or from ethnos to koinon. ... more The history of Phokis is not a linear path from fragmentation to unity or from ethnos to koinon. It is, rather, a history of centrifugal movement, of a growing and deep-seated (yet irregular) unitary drive, as well as of an unresolved relationship with the international oracular centre of Delphi. From the Mycenaean period onwards, the territory of Phokis was remarkably heterogeneous and, more interestingly, resistant to ethnogenetic dynamics and unitary forces. This article examines the tension in Phokis between unity and centrifugal drives in light of the most recent archaeological and historical investigations. Issues such as the discontinuity/continuity between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, the genealogies of Phokos, the Archaic War of Krisa, and the conflict between the Thessalians and Phokians are re-examined in relation to the complex interplay between supra-regional, regional and local levels.
According to some sources, the friendship between the Athenians and the Phokians dates back at l... more According to some sources, the friendship between the Athenians and the
Phokians dates back at least to the time of the First Sacred War and proved resilient enough to withstand, and adapt to, the different balances and constellations of alliances that took shape in the classical period. The bipolar Greece of the fifth century meant the Phokians had to choose between the Athenians and the Spartans. For both the Athenians and Spartans, friendship with the Phokians was important for extending their influence in central Greece and in the Delphic Amphictyony, although the Boiotian factor should not be overlooked. The years of Spartan hegemony saw the Phokians allied with the Spartans, also in an anti-Theban key, but when Spartan hegemony was on the wane, the Phokians had no choice but to allow themselves to be drawn into the Theban orbit. This represented a significant turning point: once Spartan power had
diminished, Athens no longer needed to form an alliance with the Thebans against Sparta, and the new Spartan-Athenian axis offered the Phokians a fresh range of prospects. The Athenian-Phokian axis lasted also during the delicate phase of negotiations for the conclusion of the Peace of Philokrates and influenced memories of the archaic War of Krisa.
A partire dal tardo arcaismo il mondo particolaristico delle poleis sperimenta fenomeni di aggreg... more A partire dal tardo arcaismo il mondo particolaristico delle poleis sperimenta fenomeni di aggregazione ‘superstatale’ di diversa natura che comprendono sia poleis che comunità politiche non poleiche e assumono una centralità sempre maggiore.
Nel Catalogo delle Navi, la sezione dell’Iliade che elenca le forze degli Achei in partenza per T... more Nel Catalogo delle Navi, la sezione dell’Iliade che elenca le forze degli Achei in partenza per Troia e che fu redatta e rimaneggiata tra l’VIII e il VI, i «Beoti» appaiono come un contingente di 29 città. A partire dal VI (forse prima) la regione da essi abitata è detta Beozia e cominciano a circolare storie su Boiotós, il loro antenato comune (l’eroe eponimo). Il loro senso di unità fu favorito dal confronto con Ateniesi, Focidesi, Locresi orientali e Tessali: contro i Tessali i Beoti avrebbero vinto a Ceresso (Beozia meridionale) intorno alla metà del VI. Sarebbe sbagliato tuttavia ritenere che i Beoti rappresentino fin dalle origini un’unità compatta di tutti gli abitanti della Beozia di età classica, la quale anzi è attraversata da dinamiche centrifughe e di aggregazione a vari livelli. Sono significative comunità cultuali subregionali incentrate su diversi culti, mentre città come Orcomeno e Tebe cominciano presto a competere per un ruolo egemone. A ciò si aggiunga che all’epoca delle guerre persiane i Beoti non si schierano in modo unitario e dunque i beotarchi, che nell’occasione li avrebbero comandati, non sono capi di tutti Beoti. Tali spinte centrifughe non ostacolano però lo sviluppo di una «politeia» comune a tutti i Beoti definita «antica» da Tucidide. Essa prevede una partizione in 11 distretti che forniscono ciascuno un beotarca e 60 consiglieri nonché 1000 soldati e 100 cavalieri. Il sinedrio federale si riunisce a Tebe, che progressivamente assume un ruolo predominante tanto che nel 379 il consiglio viene sostituito da un’assemblea primaria (cioè non rappresentativa).
La costruzione della comunità politica è un processo che non ha riguardato solo le poleis: proces... more La costruzione della comunità politica è un processo che non ha riguardato solo le poleis: processi di definizione della comunità politica nei suoi limiti, nelle sue componenti e nelle sue articolazioni interne sono attestati anche per comunità non poleiche. Infatti, gli antichi Greci seppero concepire e dare vita a una molteplicità di modelli della comunità politiche; molti di essi ci sfuggono, ci sono però casi in cui la documentazione ci permette di cogliere l’originalità e la complessità dei loro livelli di articolazione.
The Thukydidean tessares logoi — the speeches made by the Korinthians, the Athenians, the Spartan... more The Thukydidean tessares logoi — the speeches made by the Korinthians, the Athenians, the Spartan king Archidamos and the ephor Sthenelaidas on the eve of the Peloponnesian War — constitute crucial evidence on two Spartan foreign policy orientations that were well rooted and (both) traditional in their Thucydidean representation. The first, was a 'wait-and-see' stance; the second, promoted intervention. With regards to Athens, the first policy was inspired by the idea of dual hegemony, with division of control between Sparta and Athens, the second was rooted in the idea of a more aggressive duopoly. This article focuses on how these policies were based on very different selected memories of the past. More precisely, the extent to which both the proponents of 'wait and see' policies and the interventionists invoked continuity with their Spartan past, respectively evoking two distinct and competing memories: one emphasized waiting/delaying; the other, Spartan intervention in military actions outside the Peloponnese, especially Attika. It is also likely that this manipulation of memories of the Spartans at war was somehow affected by the need to justify delays which had occurred in some of the Spartan interventions in battles against the Medes.
Keywords: Archidamos, Sthenelaidas, invasion of Attika, dual hegemony
This article focuses on relations between Phokians and Athenians and in particular on two aspects... more This article focuses on relations between Phokians and Athenians and in particular on two aspects neglected by previous research : the ways in which stories about the relations were (re-)constructed over time and the role that those relations between the Athenians and the (other) members of the Delphic Amphiktyony played with regard to them. The analysis starts from a number of sources which demonstrate the historicity of the friendship between Phokians and Athenians, also in relation to the Delphic Amphiktyony ; this is followed by the examination of further evidence which reveals the continuous processes of shaping the stories about this friendship, the intentional elements underlying these processes and the tendency to project it (sometimes unduly) into the past. On the Athenian side, this tendency cannot be separated from relations with the Delphic Amphiktyony.
URL: https://books.openedition.org/puc/27261?mobile=1 . - DOI: 10.4000/books.puc.27226 Border wa... more URL: https://books.openedition.org/puc/27261?mobile=1 . - DOI: 10.4000/books.puc.27226
Border wars between neighbouring poleis or ethne were a widely spread phenomenon in Ancient Greece. Scholarship to date has rightly emphasized their agonistic character; the aim of battle was not victory, but excellence in arete. In a famous, if controversial, book published in 1961, Angelo Brelich proposed a different explanation, emphasising the ritual character of these wars. He argued that the agonistic aspects were still there, but only because such battles originally played a role similar to that of initiation ceremonies. This paper argues instead that some Ancient Greek border wars were rather represented as agonistic and initiatic battles at a discursive level in the sources; and that these sources mirrored oral traditions which were shaped by the very communities involved in battle. Such oral accounts reflected the need to provide an origin story staging the birth or rebirth of the community after a trauma, and this led to the representation of border wars as an arena for the making of men.
Les guerres frontalières étaient un phénomène largement répandu dans la Grèce antique. Beaucoup d’érudits ont souligné à juste titre leur caractère agonistique ; le but de la bataille n’était pas la victoire, mais l’excellence en arete. Dans un livre célèbre et controversé publié en 1961, Angelo Brelich a soutenu que les aspects agonistiques étaient toujours là parce que de telles batailles jouaient à l’origine un rôle semblable à celui des cérémonies d’initiation. Nous soutenons plutôt que les guerres frontalières de la Grèce antique apparaissent comme des batailles agonistiques et initiatiques à un niveau discursif dans les sources qui reflètent les traditions orales façonnées par les communautés impliquées dans la bataille. Ces récits oraux reflétaient la nécessité de fournir une histoire d’origine mettant en scène la naissance ou la renaissance de la communauté après un traumatisme et cela a conduit à la représentation des guerres frontalières comme une arène pour la fabrication des hommes
URL: https://utorontopress.com/9781487548315/localism-in-hellenistic-greece/ With this chapter t... more URL: https://utorontopress.com/9781487548315/localism-in-hellenistic-greece/
With this chapter the geographic scope of the volume shifts from Central Greece to the Peloponnese. It has long been noted that Sparta, although merely a regional wrangler for most of the Hellenistic period, continued to foster images of exceptional civic value – and to bolster corresponding claims for leadership. Elena Franchi takes readers to the reign of Kleomenes III (r. 235-222 BCE, cf. also Chapter 10), his campaigns in the Argolid and led against Argos in particular, Sparta’s long-time arch-rival in the Peloponnese. The Kleomenic War typically has a regional or Panhellenic ring to it, depending on whether its narration is couched in ongoing quarrels with the Achaian League or in Sparta’s unwillingness to yield to the rule of Macedon. Franchi’s take, however, is that of the local perspective. She explores how events on the battlefield were inspired by and, in turn, translated back into a distinct local discourse environment in Sparta. Examining historical traditions as well as a diverse body of evidence, including coinage, epigraphy, and popular Spartan sayings (apophtegmata), Franchi identifies three major themes that impacted exchanges and agencies on the ground: enmity with Argos; the Spartan education and its believed supreme value; and the myth of Herakles. Kleomenes’ actions in war, which culminated in the temporary but nonetheless unprecedented feat to take into possession a wide range of members of the Achaian League, were supplemented by a local discourse that paid due attention to these themes. Their prioritization in local conversations and voicing in various public media explains the longevity of Spartan worldviews in the Hellenistic Age. Moreover, this chapter offers an exemplary case study on the local paradigm and its capacity to further our understanding of localist self-fashioning in times of shifting power configurations in the world writ-large
URL: https://iris.unitn.it/handle/11572/398469 . - DOI: 10.15168/11572_398469
Mediterraneo Antico, 2023
Introduction to the conference in honour of Hans-Joachim Gehrke
This article investigates the role of memory in space studies and especially the role of space in... more This article investigates the role of memory in space studies and especially the role of space in memory studies. In particular, it examines the studies that gave rise to the spatial turn and attempts to reconstruct ‘the spatial turn before the spatial turn’ from the reflections of scholars such as Lucio Gambi, Henri Lefebvre and Michel Foucault. This backward review concludes with an analysis of Maurice Halbwachs’ work and the role played by space in Halbwachs’ conception of collective memory. The article closes with a case study focusing on the positioning of monuments in the sanctuary of Delphi. Delphi is understood as an ‘other space’ (in some ways therefore heterotopic, but above all heterochronic) in which different communities have reproduced but also contributed to the construction of their own history on several occasions and at different times. Such processes of construction and reconstruction are possible by virtue of the particular interdependence and reciprocal influence between space and anthropic intervention, the latter understood as the deployment of precise processes of memorialisation.
The history of Phokis is not a linear path from fragmentation to unity or from ethnos to koinon. ... more The history of Phokis is not a linear path from fragmentation to unity or from ethnos to koinon. It is, rather, a history of centrifugal movement, of a growing and deep-seated (yet irregular) unitary drive, as well as of an unresolved relationship with the international oracular centre of Delphi. From the Mycenaean period onwards, the territory of Phokis was remarkably heterogeneous and, more interestingly, resistant to ethnogenetic dynamics and unitary forces. This article examines the tension in Phokis between unity and centrifugal drives in light of the most recent archaeological and historical investigations. Issues such as the discontinuity/continuity between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, the genealogies of Phokos, the Archaic War of Krisa, and the conflict between the Thessalians and Phokians are re-examined in relation to the complex interplay between supra-regional, regional and local levels.
According to some sources, the friendship between the Athenians and the Phokians dates back at l... more According to some sources, the friendship between the Athenians and the
Phokians dates back at least to the time of the First Sacred War and proved resilient enough to withstand, and adapt to, the different balances and constellations of alliances that took shape in the classical period. The bipolar Greece of the fifth century meant the Phokians had to choose between the Athenians and the Spartans. For both the Athenians and Spartans, friendship with the Phokians was important for extending their influence in central Greece and in the Delphic Amphictyony, although the Boiotian factor should not be overlooked. The years of Spartan hegemony saw the Phokians allied with the Spartans, also in an anti-Theban key, but when Spartan hegemony was on the wane, the Phokians had no choice but to allow themselves to be drawn into the Theban orbit. This represented a significant turning point: once Spartan power had
diminished, Athens no longer needed to form an alliance with the Thebans against Sparta, and the new Spartan-Athenian axis offered the Phokians a fresh range of prospects. The Athenian-Phokian axis lasted also during the delicate phase of negotiations for the conclusion of the Peace of Philokrates and influenced memories of the archaic War of Krisa.
A partire dal tardo arcaismo il mondo particolaristico delle poleis sperimenta fenomeni di aggreg... more A partire dal tardo arcaismo il mondo particolaristico delle poleis sperimenta fenomeni di aggregazione ‘superstatale’ di diversa natura che comprendono sia poleis che comunità politiche non poleiche e assumono una centralità sempre maggiore.
Nel Catalogo delle Navi, la sezione dell’Iliade che elenca le forze degli Achei in partenza per T... more Nel Catalogo delle Navi, la sezione dell’Iliade che elenca le forze degli Achei in partenza per Troia e che fu redatta e rimaneggiata tra l’VIII e il VI, i «Beoti» appaiono come un contingente di 29 città. A partire dal VI (forse prima) la regione da essi abitata è detta Beozia e cominciano a circolare storie su Boiotós, il loro antenato comune (l’eroe eponimo). Il loro senso di unità fu favorito dal confronto con Ateniesi, Focidesi, Locresi orientali e Tessali: contro i Tessali i Beoti avrebbero vinto a Ceresso (Beozia meridionale) intorno alla metà del VI. Sarebbe sbagliato tuttavia ritenere che i Beoti rappresentino fin dalle origini un’unità compatta di tutti gli abitanti della Beozia di età classica, la quale anzi è attraversata da dinamiche centrifughe e di aggregazione a vari livelli. Sono significative comunità cultuali subregionali incentrate su diversi culti, mentre città come Orcomeno e Tebe cominciano presto a competere per un ruolo egemone. A ciò si aggiunga che all’epoca delle guerre persiane i Beoti non si schierano in modo unitario e dunque i beotarchi, che nell’occasione li avrebbero comandati, non sono capi di tutti Beoti. Tali spinte centrifughe non ostacolano però lo sviluppo di una «politeia» comune a tutti i Beoti definita «antica» da Tucidide. Essa prevede una partizione in 11 distretti che forniscono ciascuno un beotarca e 60 consiglieri nonché 1000 soldati e 100 cavalieri. Il sinedrio federale si riunisce a Tebe, che progressivamente assume un ruolo predominante tanto che nel 379 il consiglio viene sostituito da un’assemblea primaria (cioè non rappresentativa).
La costruzione della comunità politica è un processo che non ha riguardato solo le poleis: proces... more La costruzione della comunità politica è un processo che non ha riguardato solo le poleis: processi di definizione della comunità politica nei suoi limiti, nelle sue componenti e nelle sue articolazioni interne sono attestati anche per comunità non poleiche. Infatti, gli antichi Greci seppero concepire e dare vita a una molteplicità di modelli della comunità politiche; molti di essi ci sfuggono, ci sono però casi in cui la documentazione ci permette di cogliere l’originalità e la complessità dei loro livelli di articolazione.
The Thukydidean tessares logoi — the speeches made by the Korinthians, the Athenians, the Spartan... more The Thukydidean tessares logoi — the speeches made by the Korinthians, the Athenians, the Spartan king Archidamos and the ephor Sthenelaidas on the eve of the Peloponnesian War — constitute crucial evidence on two Spartan foreign policy orientations that were well rooted and (both) traditional in their Thucydidean representation. The first, was a 'wait-and-see' stance; the second, promoted intervention. With regards to Athens, the first policy was inspired by the idea of dual hegemony, with division of control between Sparta and Athens, the second was rooted in the idea of a more aggressive duopoly. This article focuses on how these policies were based on very different selected memories of the past. More precisely, the extent to which both the proponents of 'wait and see' policies and the interventionists invoked continuity with their Spartan past, respectively evoking two distinct and competing memories: one emphasized waiting/delaying; the other, Spartan intervention in military actions outside the Peloponnese, especially Attika. It is also likely that this manipulation of memories of the Spartans at war was somehow affected by the need to justify delays which had occurred in some of the Spartan interventions in battles against the Medes.
Keywords: Archidamos, Sthenelaidas, invasion of Attika, dual hegemony
Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Le... more Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia; Universität Zürich - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte, 13.-14. Oktober 2023
Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Le... more Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia; Universität Zürich - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte, 13.-14. Oktober 2023
Internationale Tagung zur Alten Geschichte, Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschicht... more Internationale Tagung zur Alten Geschichte, Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia; Universität Zürich - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte, 13.-14. Oktober 2023
Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Le... more Universität Regensburg - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte; Università di Trento - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia; Universität Zürich - Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte
Sektion: Zwischen Faktizität und Konstruktion: fragile Fakten als historisches und historiographi... more Sektion: Zwischen Faktizität und Konstruktion: fragile Fakten als historisches und historiographisches Problem in der Alten Geschichte, Sektionsleitung: Elisabetta Lupi, Alexander Meeus, Anabelle Thurn
In the Hellenistic period the Achaean League and the Aetolian League were able to expand and stre... more In the Hellenistic period the Achaean League and the Aetolian League were able to expand and strengthen themselves to the point that they could dialogue on an equal footing with the most powerful Hellenistic rulers. What was the secret of their resilience? Federalism?, as scholars have been wondering for decades? Did federalism lead to an ultimate resolution of conflicts and thus promote internal peace, which in turn promoted cohesion and strength? Investigations into Greek Federal States have been dominated by this question for decades. Articulated and nuanced answers have been developed, although these have scarcely been conclusive. FeBo does not seek an answer to that question because it starts from the assumption that with regard to Ancient Greece the
question we should be asking is a different one, and it focuses on borders: how did the Greek federal states deal with the problem of internal (intra-federal) and external borders? Did border management policies aim at peaceful coexistence per se or rather at a balance of power and
stability? Did they take into account economic, ethnic, cultural, athletic and religious cross-border networks?
Die antiken Quellen berichten von einer alten und lang andauernden Feindschaft zwischen Thessaler... more Die antiken Quellen berichten von einer alten und lang andauernden Feindschaft zwischen Thessalern und Phokern, die „von Anbeginn“ im Konflikt miteinander gestanden haben sollen. Die ersten Streitigkeiten sollen auf die Zeit der Einwanderung der Thessaler in ihr Siedlungsgebiet zurückgehen; später kämpften Thessaler und Phoker in weiteren Kriege in größeren Koalitionen gegeneinander, vor allem im sogenannten 1. wie im 3. Heiligen Krieg. Zur Zeit dieses letzteren Krieges erlebten die Phoker ihren spektakulärsten Aufstieg und Niedergang: In der öffentlichen Debatte kam es damals zu einer starken Umdeutung der archaischen Konflikte gegen die Thessaler und damit der phokischen Vergangenheit, die wiederum von der Erinnerungskultur des 4. Jh.s geprägt war. Das vorliegende Buch versucht, diese Geschichte der phokisch-thessalischen Kriege und der Phoker im allgemeinen jenseits dieser Umdeutung zu rekonstruieren. Dabei werden die komplexen historischen, archäologischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und anthropologischen Fragen, die diese Konflikte aufwerfen, untersucht.
E. Franchi - G. Proietti (a cura di), Guerra e memoria nel mondo antico, Trento 2015, 17-125
War is a characterizing feature in ancient societies under several perspectives: political, insti... more War is a characterizing feature in ancient societies under several perspectives:
political, institutional, social, economic, juridical, religious, and cultural.
Accordingly, as the first part of this paper illustrates, modern studies in
ancient polemology have developed along different, though complementary,
currents: war is analyzed as both a crucial moment within military-political
history and as a socio-economical phenomenon; it is considered in both its
religious and widely cultural implications; and, most recently, it is investigated
as a moment of ‘founding’ relevance concerning the social memory and
collective identity of a given community. Starting from the seminal Cadres
sociaux (1925) by the French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs, the investigation
of collective memory in both ancient and modern communities has in fact
undergone an outstanding theoretical development, which, as the second part
of this paper precisely shows, has exponentially increased the directions of
research within classics and the humanities in general. In the last two decades
so-called ‘memory studies’ have been increasingly applied to the study of
war and conflict. This contribution provides modern bibliography on war, on
memory and on war and memory, and tries to pinpoint main themes on the
study of war and memory for future research.
Finito di stampare nel mese di ottobre 2012 presso la Tipografia Temi (Trento)
An Interview with Prof. Bernd Steinbock (Western Ontario, Visiting Professor in Trento)
Was verbindet und was spaltet die Europäer? Wie ist die eigentliche Idee von Europa entstanden? D... more Was verbindet und was spaltet die Europäer? Wie ist die eigentliche Idee von Europa entstanden? Diese und andere Fragen standen im Mittelpunkt der Lectio inauguralis des akademischen Jahres 2019-2020 des CeASHum (Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities) des Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia (21. November). Wir haben Hans-Joachim Gehrke, Professor emeritus für Alte Geschichte an der Universität Freiburg im Breisgau und ehemaliger Direktor des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, für das Webmagazin interviewt.
There is now a growing international trend to use federal arrangements as a way of handling intra... more There is now a growing international trend to use federal arrangements as a way of handling intrafederal conflicts. Federalism appears to offer a means for accommodating ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences and tensions – even promoting peace. It is therefore hardly surprising that the effectiveness of federalism as a tool for conflict resolution has become a popular area of study in both ancient and modern federal studies. In fact, this topic was a key focus of a recent conference on intra-federal relations in ancient Greece, funded by the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung, which took place in Trento on 26 and 27 October 2021. A number of talks focused on the tension between cooperation and competition in federal states in ancient Greece, while a round table of scholars compared ancient and modern federalism. We also enjoyed a lively discussion with Hans Beck, full professor at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, host university for the Humboldt Project “Federalism at war”, of which I am the principal investigator, as well as partner in a new Erasmus agreement jointly promoted by the universities of Münster and Trento.
Unitn magazine 132, 2012
Il tributo delle vergini locresi nell'Alessandra di Licofrone. Conversazione con Giulia Biffis, h... more Il tributo delle vergini locresi nell'Alessandra di Licofrone. Conversazione con Giulia Biffis, honorary fellow presso lo University College London
Ce volume collectif s’intéresse à la question de l’espace au IVe siècle av. J.-C. Sont considérés... more Ce volume collectif s’intéresse à la question de l’espace au
IVe siècle av. J.-C. Sont considérés les différents espaces de
la cité grecque, leur histoire, leurs fonctions, mais aussi
leurs représentations fi gurées. Vingt ans après l’ouvrage
de Pierre Carlier (Nancy, 1996), des historiens de l’art, des
archéologues, des spécialistes de l’aménagement du territoire
des cités antiques éclairent de leur réfl exion les effets de
continuité, rupture, reprise et les particularités des espaces
de la cité de ce moment particulier de l’histoire grecque.
Materiali per l'esercizio dell'abilità dell'ascolto. Fascicolo 1: livello A2; Fascicolo 2: livell... more Materiali per l'esercizio dell'abilità dell'ascolto. Fascicolo 1: livello A2; Fascicolo 2: livello B1; fascicolo 3: livello B2. Con Anna Bignotti, Martina Bolognini, Valentina Esposito, Marcella Perisutti, Amanda Rando, Astrid Sibilla, Barbara Tonello. Consulenza scientifica di Katia D'Angelo.
Generazioni di studenti hanno cominciato a interessarsi di Sparta antica sollecitati dal film ‘30... more Generazioni di studenti hanno cominciato a interessarsi di Sparta antica sollecitati dal film ‘300’ (Zack Snyder, 2007) e soprattutto da un improbabile Gerard Butler-Leonida che nel mezzo di una carneficina declamava allucinato “This is Sparta”: se l'idealizzazione di Sparta ha certo radici antiche- riconducibili a quello che la ricerca ha definito ‘miraggio spartano’- essa ha indubbiamente subito ulteriori distorsioni nell’età contemporanea. Insegnare Sparta antica è oggi più complesso (anche) per questa ragione.
Il ciclo di webinars “Questa è Sparta?” propone 3 interventi tenuti da altrettanti esperti di Sparta di fama internazionale i quali proporranno una decostruzione di stereotipi antichi e moderni sugli Spartani in guerra: dalle sepolture dei guerrieri al militarismo della società spartana fino al ruolo della donna in guerra gli studenti e gli interessati saranno invitati a riflettere sulla complessità della documentazione antica e sull’ingannevolezza di certe categorie, antiche e moderne.
Nuova Antologia Militare (NAM), Fascicolo 2 / 2020 Storia Militare Antica, 2020
Nuova Antologia Militare (NAM), Fascicolo 2 / 2020 Storia Militare Antica.
In ancient Greece we find two forms of political exclusion from community borders, physical as we... more In ancient Greece we find two forms of political exclusion from community borders, physical as well as symbolic, atimia and ataphia. Both are the consequences of actions judged contrary to citizen’s right behavior and punished severely by the polis. These forms of punishment are dealt also by Plato and Aristotle, especially when they write about their ideal State. Starting with the analysis of some passages of these authors, we will center on the relationship of atimia and ataphia with the political space of the community.
This contribution will focus on the evolution of the representations and occupations of the borde... more This contribution will focus on the evolution of the representations and occupations of the borderlands by the city of Argos. By focusing on this specific case, a city in the Peloponnese, we will question the theories of historiography on the becoming of frontiers during the major changes that are the guardianship of Greek cities by the Macedonian Kings, then by the Roman State. While during the Classical and early Hellenistic periods, the Argives integrated extra-urban and border areas into their political and cultic system and into the representations they made of their city, there was a change of territorial paradigm under the domination of Hellenistic tyrants. These rulers privilege the centralization of the political, diplomatic and cultic functions within the walls of Argos, to the detriment of the extra-urban spaces condemned to become peripheries, which keep only economic or symbolic functions. Under the Roman domination, the community reappropriates part of these peripheral spaces and invests them with new functions, notably linked to the imperial cult.
Within the Achaean Koinon peace among the member-states was an absolute prerequisite for close co... more Within the Achaean Koinon peace among the member-states was an absolute prerequisite for close collaboration and the consistent pursuit of common goals. Violent confrontations had to be averted and prevented. Therefore peace-building measures such as mediation, conciliation and interstate arbitration were employed regularly. The question of how much of an influence the federal government was able to exert on the parties to the dispute has not yet been conclusively settled and has taken on new significance following the discovery of a long inscription in Messene.
Introductory remarks by Elena Franchi (Department of Humanities, P.I. FeBo) and Jens Woelk (Faculty of Law-School of International Studies)
ERC Project FeBo+research project "Gli dei dell'Olimpo tra culto, letteratura e teatro dall'antic... more ERC Project FeBo+research project "Gli dei dell'Olimpo tra culto, letteratura e teatro dall'antichità all'età contemporanea" [P. I. Giorgio Ieranò] funded by the 2022-2027 Excellence Project awarded to the Department of Humanities of the Univ. of Trento)
Deities are important resources for social groups; they deal with issues pertaining to land management, mobility, natural risks, war and peace, alliances and dominions on other political entities, birth, marriage and death, epidemics and health… Among this wide panel of competences which humans allocate to gods, lays also the security of territories and their borders. In the footsteps of the ERC « Mapping Ancient Polytheisms » (MAP), which came to an end in June 2023, we will consider some of the divine onomastic sequences registered in the MAP database as an evidence of the way in which the gods were supposed to guarantee social cohesion within a given area and to avert potential threats. A set of case studies will be addressed: how do the gods (and their qualifications) play a role among Greek federative states (Boiotia, Elis…), but also in the link between an insular territory and its Perea (as in Rhodes), as well as how do they foster the relational dynamics between a city and its « Empire » (Athens and Delos) or a mother-city and its colony (Tyre and Carthage – in order to draw a comparison with non-Greek societies). Attention will also be paid to gods specialised in the protection of borders or treaties, in time of peace and war. Finally, we could compare the polytheistic and monotheistic management of borders, territories and federal dynamics, taking into account ancient Israel, defined as a tribal federation, with Yahweh (who became) its unique and shared god, whose onomastics bear the traces of a past between union and division.
The area along the northern side of the Corinthian Gulf, between Phokis and Central Aitolia, is p... more The area along the northern side of the Corinthian Gulf, between Phokis and Central Aitolia, is predominantly mountainous, with narrow routes leading to restricted lowlands. In the southern part of this area, population groups, which were later identified as Western Lokrians, may have been established as early as the Late Bronze Age, while in the north, in the mountainous hinterland, groups later identified as Kallieis formed part of the Aitolian community. The presentation explores the conditions under which identities were created, their connection with the environment, and the political developments as factors in the emergence of means for the peaceful resolution of disputes and the protection of borders.
The question of drawing borders is always a question of belonging as well. This will be the focus... more The question of drawing borders is always a question of belonging as well. This will be the focus of the lecture. It is a case study concerning the political association of Elis, which had a special significance due to its responsibility for hosting the Olympic Games. We know its internal order mainly through several inscriptions. A recently published text from the first half of the 5th century BCE, which contains regulations for the polis Ledrinoi (K. Hallof, Chiron 51, 2021, 99-122), offers further insight into the complexity of this order. The comparative analysis of the inscription in its context shows that there were different variants of belonging there and that it is not so easy to distinguish between internal and external boundaries as the concept of the modern state we are used to suggests.
Although the conferral of proxenia in the Hellenistic Period has often been viewed as a primarily... more Although the conferral of proxenia in the Hellenistic Period has often been viewed as a primarily diplomatic gesture that served to create a link between two communities separated by long distances, in recent years our perspective has shifted to the smaller, more local scale on which proxenia often operates. This shift in perspective also entails a shift in our understanding of how the institution operates: in the local or regional environment the privileges associated with the status of proxenos such as asylia, ateleia or isoteleia, and enktesis would have been highly beneficial and practical perks rather than mere honorifics. This smaller-scale use of proxenia comes with intriguing implications for our understanding of federal borders in the Hellenistic Mainland: many communities are attested as having granted proxenia to individuals who hailed from communities belonging to other koina. How did this cross-federal proxenia operate in practice? Was it something that was done as a means of circumventing federal borders, or was it an acknowledged mechanism of facilitating cross-border exchange? This paper will use the Hellenistic Peloponnese and its rich federal landscape as a case study for considering the dynamics of proxenia across federal borders as a means of casting some light on these questions which in turn have broader ramifications for our understanding of Hellenistic federalism.
The Greek federal states, whose beginnings date back to the 5th century BC, became a determining ... more The Greek federal states, whose beginnings date back to the 5th century BC, became a determining political power factor in Hellenistic times. The amalgamation of member states into a political entity based on federal principles opened up entirely new possibilities for ensuring an even balance between the insistence on individual state autonomy and the striving for cross-state security. The division of competences between the federal power and the member states did not follow any fixed rules, but was structured quite differently in the Greek federal states and was also repeatedly adapted to the changing needs of the member states in the course of time. However, the internal structure of the federal states was not only characterised by bipolar relations between federal power and member states. There were also intermediate levels with their own areas of responsibility. Several member states could be grouped together in districts (telē / merē), which were either newly created or also created by recourse to older structures. The various forms and functions of these “bordered” intermediate levels are the focus of the lecture.
More at: https://webmagazine.unitn.it/evento/lettere/116736/own-and-common-reflections-on-the-internal-borders-of-greek-federal-states
The framework in international, European and domestic law has radically changed in Europe over th... more The framework in international, European and domestic law has radically changed in Europe over the past two decades in all areas of law. In one field, however, this has happened to the extent that, arguably, a new branch of law has been created: the law of crossborder cooperation between subnational and local authorities. What used to be at best a tolerated practice, carried out in the penumbra of the law, has now become a normative paradigm and has developed an autonomous area of multilevel, transnational law. A law produced by diverse sources, implemented by different actors, dealing with an extraordinary variety of subjects, and yet unitary in its function: to make common sense work and to bridge artificial divisions.
The presentation will deal with the genesis, the evolution and the establishment of the law of CBC in Europe, as well as its legal nature and the main functions it serves, including the prevention and the resolution of conflicts. It is argued that the new law of CBC epitomizes the integrated legal order of the 21st century: a multisource, multilevel, multi-actors, multidisciplinary and multinational legal system, yet a unitary phenomenon, where soft law and actual practices also play an essential role. Notwithstanding the spectacular proliferation of international and supranational sources in recent years, the law of CBC, it is argued, still is and will remain essentially a constitutional phenomenon mostly regulated by domestic procedures, although increasingly promoted by international, supranational and subnational actors.
Within two years after the foundation of the League of Nations in 1919, historians such as Arthur... more Within two years after the foundation of the League of Nations in 1919, historians such as Arthur E.R. Boak wondered whether there were ancient predecessors of this interstate institution. The League of Nations was regarded as “a voluntary association of self-governing states for the purpose of promoting international peace and security” (“Greek Interstate Associations and the League of Nations”. American Journal of International Law 15, 375–83: 382, my italics). Boak examined both the federal states of antiquity and supra-state “federal” forms in the broad sense (such as hegemonic symmachies, Hellenic Leagues, amphiktyonies). Were these forms of federation forerunners to the League of Nations? Compared to the ambivalent history of Greek antiquity – characterised by peaceful conflict-resolution strategies as well as secular wars – for Boak the answer “no” was inevitable. The League of Nations had no precedent, and thus a certain optimism in it was permitted.
In a different, yet equally vibrant context, Jakob A.O. Larsen (“Federation for Peace in Ancient Greece”. Classical Philology 39, 145-62) started from the same question and analysed more or less the same ancient Greek cases. Larsen was writing in 1944, as the world was being ravaged by war and searching for a way out. Could federal bodies promote peace? Like Boak, Larsen also looked to the ancient Greeks with hope, but unlike Boak, he allowed himself a degree of optimism even with regard to the ancients.
The “federation for peace” dilemma has dominated studies on federalism in general (not just ancient federalism) and has run through post-World War II Europe, the Cold War, and the nascent European Union. Moreover, federation for peace has been the hope to which many have clung in the face of crumbling nations, the dramas of ethnic conflicts and the challenge of religious conflicts. Something had to exist to keep nations united in peace. That something seemed to be federalism.
Investigations into Greek Federal States have also been guided by this question. Articulate and nuanced answers have been developed, although these have scarcely been conclusive. The evidence does not seem to allow for clear-cut conclusions, but that is not the decisive point. The important aspect is that we are still looking for answers to the same question, namely Boak’s question: did federalism promote peace?
FeBo does not seek an answer to that question because it starts from the assumption that with regard to Ancient Greece the question we should be asking is a different one, and it focuses on borders: how did the Greek federal states deal with the problem of internal (intra-federal) and external borders? Did border management policies aim at peaceful coexistence per se or rather at a balance of power and stability? Did they take into account economic, ethnic, cultural, athletic and religious cross-border networks?
Since intra-federal and external borders must necessarily be approached from different research perspectives and with divergent questions, FeBo organises two series of FeBinars, each with another focus, one on internal (The Management of Internal Borders by Federal States), the other on external borders (Crossing Federal Borders: Ancient and Modern).
The inaugural lecture delivered by Hans Beck, “Interpolis cooperation and competition: the case of Southern Boiotia” - 7 March 2023, initiates both series since it focuses on a case study involving both intra-federal and extra-federal borders. Here is the abstract:
Ancient Greek ethnos states were notoriously unstable creatures. The ties of regional belonging were open to dynamic change, political allegiances often volatile. The lands south of Thebes, across the Asopos river and into the folds of Mt Kithairon provide the curious case of a terrain where the vectors of local and regional interaction converged; ongoing rivalries between Thebes and Plataia are but one example. Hans Beck’s talk delves deep into the lived environment of the Asopos valley, a region that exercised a mythopoetic pull over the ethnos of the Boiotians but that also fueled concupiscence. From there it was only a few kilometers to the borderlands with Attica, which wielded their own impact upon the perfusing force of interpolis cooperation and competition in this core region of mainland Greece.
The Ancient Civilisation Lab (LabSA) of Trento (Italy) announces the second webinar of the webina... more The Ancient Civilisation Lab (LabSA) of Trento (Italy) announces the second webinar of the webinar series “Conflict Management in Greek Antiquity” which aims to explore experiences of conflict management of various kinds: intrapoleic, interpoleic and intrafederal. The lectures are addressed to the PhD students of the PhD program "Forms of Cultural Exchange", but they are also available to everyone via Zoom (registration is required, see below).
The second webinar will be held by Dr. Xenia Charalambidou (Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam):
The Lelantine Plain: a field of prosperity and a field of rivalry?
(05 April, 10.00 CET)
Registrations will close on April 04 at 12.00 CET: https://webmagazine.unitn.it/evento/lettere/105341/the-lelantine-plain-a-field-of-prosperity-and-a-field-of-rivalry
These webinars are also offered within the course of Greek History (MA): students will be supported through workshops of preparation and consolidation by their tutor. Before each webinar, an optional preparatory workshop for students will take place with the support of the tutors (PhD and final-year Master’s students). In these workshops, students will be divided into groups that work autonomously in Zoom breakout rooms on tasks prepared by the teacher in collaboration with the tutor. Groups will be selected in accordance with the principles of knowledge sharing so as to include diverse competences, as previously established through a student questionnaire. Group tasks will focus on the topics that the experts will discuss in the following webinar and will involve analysis of documents, reading of scientific articles, and preparatory activities that focus on the micro-language of topics to be dealt with by the webinar speakers. After each webinar there will be a consolidation workshop dedicated to discussing the most complex passages from the webinars and the analysis of sources discussed.
Hans Beck (Münster)-Eva Maria Belser (Fribourg)-Peter Funke (Münster) Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Freibu... more Hans Beck (Münster)-Eva Maria Belser (Fribourg)-Peter Funke (Münster) Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Freiburg)-Francesco Palermo (Verona/Bozen) Alice Valdesalici (Bozen)-Jens Woelk (Trento)
Registration by 25 October (13:00 GMT) at the conference web page https://webmagazine.unitn.it/evento/lettere/98801/humboldtkolleg-nachbarschaft-im-f-deralen-griechenlandkooperation-und-krieg-in
Organizer: Elena Franchi
The round table is part of the Humboldtkolleg "Nachbarschaft im föderalen Griechenland: Kooperation und Krieg in lokaler und regionaler Perspektive" / "Neighbourhood in the Greek Federal State: Cooperation, Competition and Localregional Tension" (26-27 October 2021).
I am delighted to announce the Humboldtkolleg "Nachbarschaft im föderalen Griechenland: Kooperati... more I am delighted to announce the Humboldtkolleg "Nachbarschaft im föderalen Griechenland: Kooperation und Krieg in lokaler und regionaler Perspektive/Neighborhood in the Greek federal state: cooperation, competition and local-regional tension", dedicated to the topic of intrafederal relations, which will take place in Trento (I) and online (via zoom) on 26-27 October 2021 (9-19, CEST).
The Kolleg is financed by the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung and is part of a wider project dedicated to intra-federal and inter-federal relations with a special focus on the impact of war on federalism carried out by Elena Franchi in collaboration with Hans Beck and financed by the same foundation. However, the specific focus of the Kolleg is not so much on intra-federal warfare as on the issue of intra-federal relations in general (see concept below).
The Kolleg is also the final workshop of the Experimental Teaching Project "Interpoleic Relations and the Ancient Greek Federal State" promoted by CeASUm (Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities) and the LabSA (Ancient Civilisation Lab). An introductory and a consolidation workshop will be organised on behalf of the MA-students of the Ancient Greek History courses and with the support of the History tutors and PhD students of the University of Trento. More information on the teaching project can be found here: https://webmagazine.unitn.it/evento/lettere/89773/federalism-and-conflict-resolution-in-greek-antiquity and below.
The final program and information for registration at the Kolleg can be found at this page: https://webmagazine.unitn.it/evento/lettere/98801/humboldtkolleg-nachbarschaft-im-f-deralen-griechenland-kooperation-und-krieg-in
Registrations will close on 25 October h. 13.00 (GMT).
https://webmagazine.unitn.it/evento/lettere/94221/lo-spazio-ritrovato
Zu den Verdiensten von Schöner Sterben gehört eine langfristige, vergleichende Perspektive. Dass ... more Zu den Verdiensten von Schöner Sterben gehört eine langfristige, vergleichende Perspektive. Dass das staatliche Gefallenengedenken bis zur europäischen Vormoderne ein fast ausschließliches Merkmal des klassischen Griechenlands war, bildet Cornelius Stöhrs Ausgangspunkt. Eine weitere Leistung des Buches ist, dass er sich nicht auf die Analyse des athenischen Falles beschränkt, sondern den Blick auch auf die gesamte Peloponnes und Boiotien lenkt. Sein Ziel ist es, zu verdeutlichen, warum die antiken Griechen dem kollektiven Gedenken so viel Raum gaben, welche Formen ihnen gemeinsam waren, welche nur in einzelnen Poleis vorkamen und ob sich für beide Fälle zeitliche Veränderungen und gemeinsame Entwicklungslinien feststellen lassen. Wie so oft wird die Aufgabe durch Lücken in der Dokumentation erschwert.
I am delighted to announce the Humboldtkolleg "Nachbarschaft im föderalen Griechenland: Kooperati... more I am delighted to announce the Humboldtkolleg "Nachbarschaft im föderalen Griechenland: Kooperation und Krieg in lokaler und regionaler Perspektive/Neighborhood in the Greek federal state: cooperation, competition and local-regional tension", dedicated to the topic of intrafederal relations (Trento, I 26-27 October 2021, 9-19, CEST). The Kolleg is financed by the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung and will also include a posters session aimed at PhD students, post docs and early career researchers.
We are inviting submissions of original papers and book reviews to be considered for publication ... more We are inviting submissions of original papers and book reviews to be considered for publication in the next issue of NAM, which will be published in spring 2022. Papers should deal with warfare in the ancient world, with particular attention to the Greek and Roman worlds, and may cover different aspects: tactics; strategy; armour; political, economic and social aspects of war; memory of conflict and commemoration; anthropology of conflict. Submissions can be made in Italian, English, French, German, or Spanish; they should be no less than 6 000 and no more than 8000 words in length and should be accompanied by an abstract of 100-250 words in English. Each submission will be reviewed by two anonymous external reviewers.
“Warfare is only an invention-not a biological necessity”: con queste celebri parole, l’antropolo... more “Warfare is only an invention-not a biological necessity”: con queste celebri parole, l’antropologa Margareth Mead sostenne con forza l’idea che la guerra non fosse la conseguenza inevitabile di una propensione innata alla violenza, ma un’invenzione culturale. Prendendo spunto da questa provocazione, il seminario propone una riflessione sulla predisposizione dell’essere umano alla violenza. L’essere umano è programmato per natura alla violenza e alla guerra? O violenza e guerra
sono costruzioni culturali? Tali quesiti, che costituiranno il punto di partenza delle nostre riflessioni, sono stati affrontati anche dall’antropologia culturale, dall’etologia e dalla primatologia. Elena Franchi esporrà il dibattito condotto nell’ambito dell’antropologia culturale e dell'antropologia del mondo antico; Carlo Brentari presenterà alcune tesi emerse negli studi sul comportamento animale (a partire dal libro di Konrad Lorenz sull’aggressività) e nelle ricerche sulle scimmie antropomorfe. Seguirà una parte dialogica in cui gli studenti saranno stimolati a proporre le proprie riflessioni.
Lezione tenuta nelle seguenti sedi:
-Istituto Nightingale, Castelfranco Veneto, Treviso, Seminari Tematici Orienta, 16.12.2020; con Carlo Brentari
-Istituto Marie Curie, Liceo Linguistico, Pergine Valsugana, Seminari Tematici Orienta, 27.01.2023, con Carlo Brentari)
-Istituto Marie Curie, Liceo delle Scienze Umane, Pergine Valsugana, Seminari Tematici Orienta, 03.02.2023, con Carlo Brentari)
-Liceo Rosmini, Liceo Scientifico, Rovereto, Seminari Tematici Orienta, 10.02.2023, con Carlo Brentari)
“Warfare is only an invention-not a biological necessity”: con queste celebri parole, l’antropolo... more “Warfare is only an invention-not a biological necessity”: con queste celebri parole, l’antropologa Margareth Mead sostenne con forza l’idea che la guerra non fosse la conseguenza inevitabile di una propensione innata alla violenza, ma un’invenzione culturale. Prendendo spunto da questa provocazione, il seminario propone una riflessione sulla predisposizione dell’essere umano alla violenza. L’essere umano è programmato per natura alla violenza e alla guerra? O violenza e guerra sono costruzioni culturali? Tali quesiti, che costituiranno il punto di partenza delle nostre riflessioni, sono stati affrontati anche dall’antropologia culturale, dall’etologia e dalla primatologia. Elena Franchi esporrà il dibattito condotto nell’ambito dell’antropologia culturale e dell'antropologia del mondo antico; Carlo Brentari presenterà alcune tesi emerse negli studi sul comportamento animale (a partire dal libro di Konrad Lorenz sull’aggressività) e nelle ricerche sulle scimmie antropomorfe. Seguirà una parte dialogica in cui gli studenti saranno stimolati a proporre le proprie riflessioni.
Krisen sind in aller Munde. Die Konferenz geht von einer doppelten Affinität gegenwärtigen Krisen... more Krisen sind in aller Munde. Die Konferenz geht von einer doppelten Affinität gegenwärtigen Krisenempfindens mit lebensweltlichen Verhältnissen im antiken Griechenland aus. Erstens bestimmt die Selbstdiagnose als einer Epoche der Dauerkrisen die Krise als Normalzustand. Zweitens haben Krisenkonzepte der Antike nichts mit einem modernen, auf Revolutionen gerichteten Krisenverständnis zu tun. Krisen in der Antike sind vielmehr von ihrer systemimmanenten und damit auch systemerhaltenden Funktion her zu denken.
Der Fokus der Tagung liegt auf der Erprobung eines neu ausgerichteten Krisenbegriffs, der es erlaubt, Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Bündnern nicht primär als Vorboten eines Bündniszerfalls, sondern als Kreativität herausfordernden Dauerzustand bilateraler und föderaler Gebilde anzusehen.
