METOIKOS – The contribution of foreigners to the ancient and modern history of Athens

What would Athens look like without foreigners? Which professions and what crafts would be missing? How different would have been the customs, the music and the food of the city, if there had been no migrants, refugees and other travelers who came and stayed at this place without necessary having planned it?

A century after the influx of refugees from Asia Minor, which radically transformed the character of the modern Greek state, we are attempting an evaluation of the diachronic role of migration (intentional and unintentional) in the urban life of Athens. We will focus both on the ancient and modern history of the city, and explore such topics as the social status and rights of the different types of foreigners who came to Athens in various periods, their role in economy, politics and the cultural life of the city, prejudice and discrimination against migrants, politics of social integration, etc.

Titled after the name of a specific class of migrants in classical Athens (the metoikoi), the seminar aims to shed light on the diachronic phenomenon of migration, and to reveal the rich and multifaceted contributions of foreigners in the long history of Athens. At the same time, we will explore how the concept of “foreigner” is transformed through time.

The seminar is curated by Kostas Vlassopoulos, Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Crete, and Tassos Sakellaropoulos, Head of the Historical Archives of the Benaki Museum. Speakers include the historians and archaeologists Nikos Andriotis, Sophia Aneziri, Maria Dimitriadou, Charis Kanellopoulou, Despoina Tsiafaki. Concept and organization: Nikolas Papadimitriou, Canellopoulos Museum.

All lectures are available in Greek.

 

Wednesday 1 March 2023
at 19.30 EET
ΘΡΑΚΕΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΑ ΑΘΗΝΑ
Despoina Tsiafaki (Research Center ‘Athena)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z_qPGXzT_Q&list=PLwmaOYydn6GAZzSudMlNA7egh16WtitpY&index=3