SECTORS

The Department of History and Archaeology is composed of the following four sectors:

• Sector of Ancient and Medieval History 
• Sector of Modern History 
• Sector of Archaeology and Art History 
• Sector of Folklore Studies

 Presentation/Description of the Disciplines

1. Sector of Ancient and Medieval History (e-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

• Ancient Greek History: history of ancient Greece from the prehistoric period until the 3rd century AD.
• Epigraphy: study of ancient Greek inscriptions as key historical sources.
• Roman History: history of the Roman world from the founding of Rome to the Imperial times.
• Byzantine History: history of institutions, political, social, economic and intellectual history of the Byzantine state from the 4th to the 15th century AD and its relations with the Arab world.
• Balkan History: social history of the balkan people and the establishment of the Balkan States (6th-15th century). The medieval past in the Balkan states (19th-20th century).
• Medieval European History: history, economy and institutions of Medieval Europe until the 15th century AD.

2. Sector of Archaeology and Art History ( e-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

• Prehistoric Archaeology: theory, methodology and interdisciplinarity. Prehistory and Proto-history. Overview of Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age (Cycladic Minoan, Mycenaean cultures).
• Classical Archaeology: Early Iron Age, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
• Byzantine Archaeology: Early Christian period, Byzantine period, Post-Byzantine Archaeology and Art.
• History of Modern Art: From the Renaissance to the present day.

The Section of Archaeology and History of Art focuses on the research and teaching of archaeology from the first appearance of humans, 2.5 million years ago, and the material culture of food-gathering societies up to the end of the post-Byzantine period. The history of modern art from the Renaissance to the present day is also included.

The courses offered by the members of the Section, as well as their research address the theoretical and methodological principles of Archaeology and History of Art, modern interpretative approaches, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Their aim is to enhance our understanding of the life of people and the developments of their communities in the Aegean and the wider Mediterranean through the documentation and study of all available material evidence.

Prehistoric Archaeology investigates human evolution, the natural and built environment, social structures, paleoeconomy, religion, ritual practices, ideology, technology, and art from the Stone Age to the end of the Bronze Age (c. 1050 BC). Theoretical issues and the contribution of the sciences to archaeological practice are also examined.

Classical Archaeology focuses on the study of socio-political developments in mainland Greece, the Aegean, and the wider Mediterranean from the Early Iron Age and the 1st millennium BC to the end of the Hellenistic period, as reflected on the archaeological record. Courses address monumental topography and architecture, artefacts made of stone, metal, clay, and other materials, as well as cult and funerary practices.

The Archaeology of the Roman World explores architecture and spatial organization, as well as sculpture, painting, and other artistic forms of the Roman era. It also examines political ideology as expressed through art, issues concerning the art economy, the ideology of the social elite, as well as funerary and cult practices.

Byzantine Archaeology focuses on the spatial organization, the built environment, urbanism and habitation, economic remains, seals, and the art of the period extending conventionally from AD 330 to 1453. Comparable are the interests of post-byzantine archaeology, which continues the Byzantine tradition until the establishment of the Greek state in 1832.

In the study of the art of this period, particular emphasis is placed on architecture – temples, palaces, and fortifications – and painting. Icons, mosaics, frescoes, as well as luxury objects, like silk textiles, ivory carvings, sculptures, and miniatures are analyzed not only as autonomous works of art but also in their socio-cultural context. The relationships between artistic/material production with the imperial authority and the Orthodox Church, as well as the impact of Byzantine art on medieval Western art, Eastern Europe, and Orthodox Russia up to 1453 and beyond, are considered.

The teaching collection housed in the Museum of Casts of the Section of Archaeology is an invaluable contribution to students’ academic training. The casts of representative stone works of the Bronze Age and primarily of sculpture works of the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods – originally exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum, the Kerameikos Museum in Athens, and the Louvre– form the basis for training in the identification, description, and study of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In addition, the substantial corpus of original archaeological material in the Collection – including Paleolithic and Mesolithic stone tools, vase sherds, and clay figurines dating from the Neolithic and Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age and into the late Hellenistic period– allow students to familiarize themselves with archaeological classification, recording, study, and dating.

Students are also provided with the opportunity to participate in systematic excavations and other research projects conducted by the members of the Section on the Greek mainland and islands. Through the course “Excavation-Field Archaeology in Epirus”, fourth-year archaeology students are trained in excavation methodology and field research within the University Campus, at the archaeological site of Dourouti (https://acw.hist-arch.uoi.gr/anaskafes-erevnes/anaskafi-dourouti).

Excursions and on-site teaching at archaeological sites and museums in Greece, along with various educational activities – combined with lectures by invited speakers and participation in seminars and conferences– form an integral part of students’ academic development. Students are also encouraged to study abroad for a selected period within the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme, a unique academic and life experience.

3. Sector of Modern History(http://pms.hist-arch.uoi.gr/, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Research, study and teaching of modern Greek, Balkan, European and World History divided into two sections:

• Modern Greek History: political, social and economic history of Modern Hellenism, as well as the history of institutions, from the period of Venetian and Ottoman rule to the organization and operation of the modern Greek state from the early years to the modern era.
• Modern European and World History: all aspects of Europe's modern history, important events and issues of contemporary world history.

4. Sector of Folklore Studies (e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

• Theoretical directions of Folklore
• Social-economic structures and transformations
• Material life and culture. Pre-industrial technology and techniques
• Economic realities and collective mentalities in traditional society during the period of Ottoman rule
• Rural society and culture
• Clothing
• Musicology
• Oral history and collective memory
• Ethnic and national identities in the Balkans
• Genders and identities
• Ethical Folklore
• Popular literature