Classical Athens is widely known for being the birthplace of democracy, a political system in which any free male could participate in the governing of the city-state. Yet this democratic system excluded a range of individuals from citizenship, including women, slaves, and immigrants. This talk will explore the archaeological evidence for one of these groups: immigrants, including both Greeks from other city-states and non-Greeks such as Phoenicians or Egyptians. Despite coming from a range of places around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, all of these immigrants all died in Athens and were laid to rest in one of the city’s cemeteries. The archaeological evidence of these burials will be used to tell the stories of some of these immigrants, including a man from the island of Chios, a young girl from the island of Lesbos, and a community from the region of Messenia. By re-creating these ancient funerals, this talk sheds light on the lived experience of migrants and centers them as agents rather than “victims” of the Athenian state.
Pre-register for the zoom link here.