The Ancient World

In addition to bringing antiquities researchers together in Bergen, the research group will also contribute to improving national and Nordic cooperation on antiquities research

The research group The Ancient World has as its overall objective to create a collaborative platform for research and teaching in antiquity and unite researchers from Department of Archaeology, History, Culture studies and Religion (AHKR), Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic studies (LLE), Department of Philosophy (FoF) and other universities.

In addition to bringing antiquities researchers together in Bergen, the research group will also contribute to improving national and Nordic cooperation on antiquities research. Here we will especially gather around using the Norwegian institutes in Rome and Athens, which we have a special national responsibility for maintaining the activity at.

We also have common interests in developing national strategies to maintain a strong teaching offer in ancient subjects, and increase the recruitment of bachelor's, master's and PhD students.

Pågående prosjekter

O Muse, tell me of that man of many ways, who travelled
Far and wide, after he sacked the sacred citadel of Troy;
Many mens’ cities he saw and knew their minds,
Many pains too he suffered at sea (Homer, Odyssey. 1.1-4)

From the earliest epic narratives about the heroic wanderings of Odysseus and Gilgamesh to the early Christian pilgrimage to the ‘Holy Land’ in late antiquity, humans have been preoccupied with the dangers and benefits of travel. Mobility, both inside communities and crossing borders, creates networks, enables (cross-)cultural contact and facilitates changes. Although the ancient world lacked the fast methods of travel and mass communication that defines the modern world, it was nevertheless a world of travel, interaction, and communication. From travelling individuals, such as traders, pirates, and monks, to multi-ethnic empires stretching to the edges of the known world, many agents and institutions facilitated mobility and contact. In this world, urban communities were often nodes in these networks. This research group is interested in the mobility of individuals (human and divine), goods and texts, as well as ideas, and the role urban centers played in dissemination and distribution. It will look both at networks at a macro level and at individual case studies.

Programme spring 2024

Greek reading group