Organized by the Columbia University Department of Classics and the Columbia Global Center in Athens, in partnership with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the international symposium titled Is(Lands) and Mainlands in Classical Antiquity will convene a diverse group of scholars to explore the enduring networks that connected the Aegean islands with mainland Greece and the Anatolian coast during Classical antiquity.
The symposium, taking place in Athens on July 25–26, 2025, will be led by Dr. John Ma, Chair of the Department of Classics at Columbia University, with the support of Dr. Koray Konuk, Senior Research Associate at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Both organizers are experts in the Hellenistic period, with wide-ranging interests in the epigraphic, historical, and geographical dimensions of Aegean-Anatolian connectivity across the longue durée.
The symposium will explore the Aegean and Anatolian region as a complex and interconnected space—culturally, politically, economically, and ecologically—where interactions across sea and land shaped identities and produced a rich material and textual record. Structured as a two-day workshop, the event is conceived as a preliminary and collaborative forum that emphasizes short presentations, methodological dialogue, and open discussion among participants from diverse disciplines. A key strength of this initiative lies in its commitment to fostering academic collaboration between scholars from Greece and Turkey—communities that, despite their geographic and historical proximity, are seldom brought together in joint scholarly ventures due to current geopolitical dynamics, making the topic of Aegean-Anatolian connectivity during Classical antiquity underexplored. By acilitating dialogue across national and institutional boundaries, the symposium contributes not only to advancing historical knowledge but also to promoting academic exchange and mutual understanding in a region where such cooperation carries added significance.
Date & Time:
📅 Friday, July 25 & Saturday, July 26, 2025
🕢 Friday 09:00-17:00 & Saturday 09:00-14:00
Location:
🏛 French School of Athens – Didotou 6, Athens
