29.04.2025 Kick-off Workshop of the EUPeace Fund Project: Legitimation/Delegitimation of War and Violence in Ancient Literature

Show gallery

Last week, from 24 April to 26 April, the joint kick-off workshop, organised by Prof. Dr. Dennis Pausch, was held by Philipps-Universität Marburg, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, and the Università della Calabria in cooperation with the EUPeace Fund. The event commenced on Thursday evening with a convivial conference dinner, fostering an atmosphere of collegial exchange and setting the stage for the days to follow.

Over the subsequent two days, participants engaged in profound and wide-ranging discussions on the theme of the legitimation and delegitimation of war and violence in ancient literature. The workshop’s thematic focus was structured into four distinct panels:  

• Juridical (De-)Legitimation,
• Representation in Historical Literature,
• Representation in (Epic) Poetry, and
• Representation on Stage.

In preparation for the workshop, all participants received the speakers’ papers in advance, enabling a format in which each session began with a brief keynote impulse by the respective speakers. This was followed by in-depth discussions of the individual contributions and culminated in an overarching plenary debate, allowing for a synthesis of perspectives and the identification of cross-cutting issues.

The workshop proved to be a resounding success, distinguished by stimulating conversations, lively intellectual exchange, and the generation of new avenues for scholarly inquiry. Building on this promising foundation, the next phase will focus on deepening collaboration among the partner universities and further developing the joint research project. To this end, additional meetings are planned in the near future to refine the research questions and to determine the most appropriate methodologies within the field of classics. These forthcoming discussions will aim to clarify both the thematic contours and the methodological approaches best suited to address the complex issues surrounding the (de-)legitimation of war and violence in antiquity.