Conflict in Communities: Forward-looking Memories in Classical Athens

As our two previous volumes of the same series (Forme della memoria e dinamiche identitarie nell'antichità greco-romana, 2012, and Guerra e memoria, 2014), this book originated in the intellectually stimulating environment of the LabSA (Laboratorio di Storia Antica) at the Department of Humanities of the University of Trento. While the relationship between the memory of the past and present needs was at the core of our two preceding volumes, this book aims at exploring the relations of the past with future perspectives and expectations, while the milieu where social memories were contested and the aftermath of such conflicts are still very much at the center of our endeavor. The essays featured in this volume, all dealing with Classical Athens, explore different aspects of the relationship between the past and the future, which can be variously traced within the Athenian civic community in a context of conflict and/or its aftermath. By combining a traditional focus on the ancient evidence with a memory studies approach, all of the contributors try to answer the same question: how were collective memories of the past influenced by present needs and future perspectives and expectations? And how does a specific image of the past in turn influence its future receptions and uses? While not aimed at a comprehensive treatment, this volume strives to show the way towards further investigation of this intriguing subject through a series of case studies.