Ancient World and its Reception

The origin of Europe lies in Antiquity, especially in the circummediterranean cultures. Up to the present day the different ways of adoption of the Greco-Roman Antiquity, its reception and transformation play a central role for the creation of the identity of the Western civilization.

The research area Ancient World and its Reception addresses the history of the Greco-Roman Antiquity between 1200 BC and 600 AD, also including the early advanced civilizations from Mesopotamia to Egypt as well as the peripheral cultures in education and research.

Research topic is the material as well as the textual heritage of the classical Mediterranean cultures (Greece and Rome as well as the peripheral cultures) to capture human life (from religion to eating habits) in this time. The history of reception includes transformation and interpretation of Antiquity in later times, especially in modern and contemporary history.

Coordinators

Irmtraud Fischer, Wolfgang Spickermann