The Faces of the other

Otherness in the Greco-Roman World

Researcher in charge:

  • Dr Academy research fellow Maijastina Kahlos (Classics, University of Helsinki)

Other members:

  • Lic. Phil. Päivi Collander (History, University of Turku)
  • Dr. Phil. Markus Mertaniemi (History, University of Oulu)
  • Lic. Phil. Marika Rauhala (History, University of Oulu)

The research project The Faces of the other – Otherness in the Greco-Roman world focuses on the perception of the otherness – other peoples or religions – in Greco-Roman antiquity. The research of attitudes and conceptions of the ancient Greeks and Romans aims to deepen the historical understanding of the depictions of otherness in modern Western culture. The project Faces will trace the roots of the argumentation about religious or ethnic otherness within European civilization and, thus, it will take part in the on-going discussion on the conflict and dialogue between cultures as well as on tolerance and intolerance.

Moreover, the project Faces participates in the current discussion on Greek and Roman identities and the others of the Greco-Roman world. The major contribution of our project to the scholarship of the Greco-Roman antiquity will be the application of the historical research of images. The Faces also combines the modern scholarly discussions both on encounter between religions and on Greek and Roman encounters with other peoples: this is a considerable innovation in classical studies.

The Faces is an interdisciplinary research project consisting of three historians and one classicist/historian. It aims at achieving better and deeper understanding of the ancient history of ideas, concentrating on the Greek and Roman attitudes towards the otherness. The period covered by the project (from the classical Greeks to the late Romans) is extensive but the focus on perception of the otherness sharpens the perspective to reasonable limits. Moreover, this makes it possible to outline some major changes in the Greco-Roman history of attitudes and ideas.

The members of the group

  • The researcher in charge, Docent Maijastina Kahlos (Dept. of Classics, University of Helsinki, Academy researcher until July 31, 2011) graduated in the Department of History (Univ. of Helsinki 1991) and then took her doctoral degree in the Department of Classics (Univ. of Helsinki 1998), specialising in late antique studies. She has finished her own research project Debate and Dialogue and is now working on her new project From Defence to Assault, both funded by the Finnish Academy.
  • Lic. Phil. Päivi Collander (History, University of Turku) finished her Licentiate’s thesis on the Huns in 2005. In 2000-2001 she was a post-graduate exchange student in Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität). In addition to her doctoral thesis The Clash between Sedentarists and Nomads - oman Perspectives of the Huns as Others and Enemies, she will write an article “The Huns as others” for The faces of the other. She was a visiting scholar at the university of Tel Aviv in 2008-2009.
  • Dr. Phil. Markus Mertaniemi (History, University of Oulu) made his doctorate with the doctoral thesis Profani Homines - The image of Christianity in the writings of the Non-Christian Graeco-Roman elite in 260-313 at the university of Oulu in June, 2009. Mertaniemi has published several articles on the historical research of image. He will contribute the book The faces of the other with an article “Christians as others”. He was a visiting scholar at the university of Aarhus in 2008-2009.
  • Lic. Phil. Marika Rauhala (History, University of Oulu) finished her licenciate’s thesis on the Greek Elite’s Image of the Cult of Cybele before the Hellenistic Time (in 2006). She continues with her doctoral thesis on the same topic widening the perspective and time span even to the Hellenistic period. She has participated the archaeological excavations at Soli/Pompeiopolis. She will write an article “The images of the cult of Cybele in imperial Rome” for The faces of the other.

The publications of the project in 2006-2009

The major task of the project is to publish the collection of articles The Faces of the Other – Religious and Ethnic Otherness in the late Roman world.