Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. EST
Location: Center for Hellenic Studies, 3100 Whitehaven St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 and via Zoom
Speakers: Mateu Portells Watson, Panagiota Bantavanou, and Giorgos Athanasiadis, Predoctoral Fellows in Hellenic Studies 2025–2026
Please join us on for three hybrid research presentations by our 2025–2026 Predoctoral Fellows in Hellenic Studies. Mateu Portells Watson, Panagiota Bantavanou, and Giorgos Athanasiadis will share their work with the CHS community. The presentation is open to CHS fellows and affiliates as well as to the CHS community via Zoom. Pleaseuse this link to register for the Zoom.
See the Pre-doctoral Fellowships in Hellenic Studies description on the CHS Greece website.
Schedule
11:00-11:20 AM: Mateu Portells Watson
Presentation title: “Voluntary and forced migrants in the transfer of Greek language and literature towards Rome (240 BCE – 27 BCE)”
During the mid and late Roman Republic, enslaved and formerly enslaved people were key agents in the processes of cultural transfer from the Greek-speaking eastern Mediterranean towards Rome. This arrival of enslaved intellectuals coexisted with the migration of freeborn individuals towards the city. How do the biographies of free migrants differ from those of literate enslaved persons who were taken to Rome against their will? And how did the coexistence of these two simultaneous, but radically different, patterns of mobility affect the development of literature in Republican Rome?
11:20-11:40 AM: Panagiota Bantavanou
Presentation title: “Integrating Bioanthropological Analysis and Ancient Texts in the Study of Cremation from the Hellenistic to Roman Period”
This study investigates the influence of multicultural dynamics on the burial practice of cremation across the Hellenistic (323-31 BCE) and Roman (31 BCE – 324 CE) periods, showcasing the city of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece). The evolutionary patterns of cremation are explored through the analysis of human cremated remains utilizing innovative technological methodologies (Histology, SEM-EDS, FTIR-ATR) coupled with descriptions derived from ancient Greek and Latin literature.
11:40 AM-12:00 PM: Giorgos Athanasiadis
Presentation title: “[Θεσσαλ]ονίκῃ μόνῃ συν<ήπτ>ετο ἡ τι[μὴ]: Roman Rule and Local Society in the Capital of provincia Macedonia”
This paper examines Roman authority in Thessaloniki from the Roman conquest of Macedonia in 168 BCE to the third century CE. It focuses on the mechanisms through which power was exercised, the political and institutional transformations introduced under Roman rule, and their impact on local society—particularly on the civic elite, which shaped its activities within this framework. As the seat of the Roman governor, Thessaloniki provides an ideal case study for exploring these dynamics.